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One of Hulu's newest limited series is based on the book by Jon Krakauer's Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith.
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Brenda Lafferty
Brenda Lafferty grew up in Kimberly Idaho, she had five sisters and one brother. Brenda was a talented singer and loved theatre when she was in high school. At the time of her death she the wife of Allen Lafferty and mother to 15 month old Erica.
Brenda was a former beauty queen and very confident and outspoken. Although she grew up Mormon, her parents did not take it to extreme.
She was attending Brigham Young University majoring in broadcast journalism. She met Allen at at an LDS group led by students at BYU.
Both Brenda and Allen were devote Mormons and members of the Church of Latter Day Saints.
Brenda had every intention of finishing school and pursuing a career in journalism but after she married Allen he wanted her to be a housewife and start a family.
A year after their 1982 nuptials, they welcomed a baby girl they named Erica. The small family lived in American Fork Utah, about 30 miles Southeast of Salt Lake City.
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Allen Lafferty
Allen Lafferty was the youngest of the large Lafferty clan. He grew up in a very strict Mormon family in Utah.
His father was very religious and used his religion to keep a tight hold on his children. There are many reports out there about the Patriarch being filled with rage and lashing out at his wife, children and even family pets.
Allen grew up very opposite of Brenda, his family was very extreme in their Mormon beliefs and these fundamentalist beliefs would cost Allen his wife and little girl in the most brutal way.
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Dan Lafferty
Ron Lafferty was the eldest Lafferty child but Dan held the most influence over all of the Lafferty brothers.
Dan attended chiropractor school in Los Angles to follow in his fathers footsteps. Dan was married to Matilda and together they had four children and Matilda had two children from a previous marriage.
Later Dan would start researching the history of his Mormon faith. Dan's research led him to the belief than plural marriages is okay among other degrading things that his wife would have to soon endure.
Dan soon became anti government and an extreme Mormon fundamentalist. He did not believe in paying taxes and started believing in plural marriage among other extreme behaviors.
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Ron Lafferty
As stated before, Ron was the eldest child of the Lafferty clan. He was married to Dianna and together they had six children.
Ron was a councilman and member of the Mormon Church. He was a very well respected member of the community. Ron would try to talk his brother out of his newfound beliefs but Dan was so charismatic that he was able to talk his brother into joining him.
Ron would end up losing everything because of his new found beliefs mainly his wife and children. Dianna packed up the kids and moved to Florida. Ron was crushed. This would end up being his motive for murder.
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"Removed"
After Dan convinced his big brother Ron to see things his way, Ron changed. He wanted more wives, he wanted to marry off his teenage daughters. This was too much for his wife to tolerate. She ended up leaving Ron and taking their children with her.
Ron blamed Brenda for this, he thought that the outspoken Brenda had put thoughts in Dianna's head. He wasn't going to tolerate this from his sister-in-law.
In February of 1984, Ron claimed to have received his first message from God. Ron claimed that it was God's will for several people to die including Brenda and baby Erica. They had "become obstacles in My path" and they must be "removed in rapid succession that an example be made of them."
Ron told his brother Allen his message from God and asked what he thought about it. Allen told Ron that he would defend his wife and child at all cost. Allen would never tell his wife what Ron said about her and Erica. If it had told her, she may still be alive today.
It needs to be said that Ron and Dan did not care for Brenda because she was so outspoken and spoke against the brothers often for their fundamentalist views.
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The Discovery
On July 24, 1984 around 8pm Allen came home from work and found Brenda in a pool of blood. The phone cord had been ripped out of the wall so he could not call for help. He went down the hall to the bedroom to call 911. When he passed his 15 month old daughters room he found that her bed and cover were covered in blood. The bedroom phone wasn't working either so he ran to a neighbors house to call 911.
Investigators would say that Brenda fought hard for her life and Erica's life. Dan and Ron beat Brenda and berated her calling her a bitch all while Brenda begged for her baby's life. Ron walked down the hall to kill Erica and while Dan got a knife from the kitchen and slit Brenda's throat.
According to Time, after the murder of Brenda and Erica, Ron and Dan fled from Utah to Nevada, where Ron and Dan were caught in a casino buffet line in Reno and arrested.
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Trial and Punishment
Dan Lafferty represented himself during his trial, although he had access to the standby counsel. The jury trial resulted in a guilty verdict, and he was sentenced to two life sentences to be served concurrently without the possibility of parole.
Ron Lafferty was tried, convicted and sentenced to death. Ron decided to by executed by a firing squad but would die in prison of natural cases in 2019.
Where to Watch
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