John Daniel Kingston, who according to court testimony once had 14 wives, was on hand in 2011, when his sons held an open house at the Washakie production plant in Plymouth near Interstate 15 and . The lawsuit includes a copy of whats alleged to be an agreement children had to sign before going to college. All of their children who survived the Great Famine emigrated. Its hard to leave when thats all youve known, says one former member, who was forced to marry her cousin when she was 15. Log In Once logged in, you can add biography in the database. Suddenly, Stephens brother David lost control of the truck and it rolled over, killing David instantly. For more than a decade, the group has publicly spoken out against child-bride marriages and the DCCS has a policy encouraging its members to marry within the legal age of consent. The Kingston Group is believed to have a few thousand members, mostly in Utah and Idaho. The education figures he cited would be a few percentage points higher than the average for Utah as a whole, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. A short, blustery man with a hair-trigger temper, Daniel Kingston had reportedly once kidnapped two boys at gunpoint and led them out to the Great Salt Lake (the charges were later dropped). At Washakie, he forced clan children to decapitate cows with chain saws to toughen them up, and sometimes beat the children for some infraction of the Orders rules like forgetting to face the Home Place three times a day and pray. Girls are told they will need to pray to God so he might show them who their No. If someone is mature enough, they should be able to do whatever they want.. Her own father David Kingston has 18 wives and around 200 kids. Consumed with guilt over his brothers death, Stephen lashed out. Markey said the plaintiffs are making the case to a judge that the Kingston Group is a cult and criminal enterprise rather than a religion. When Stephen was a boy, the clan would gather for the New Year in a warehouse in the city for its annual ritual: the numbering of the men. View Site Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune A recent estimate is that he has 34 wives and more than 500 children, as several of his wives have had as many as 16 children each! A body of research suggests the teenage brain is not developed enough to make the kind of long-term decision needed for marriage. They both have the same high cheekbones, the same pale skin, the same wide-set eyes. Terrified, he went out and bought a stash of guns to arm himself, just in case his family tried to gun him down. For Stephen and the other kids on the ranch, the highlight of each week came on Sundays, when they traveled the hour and a half south to Salt Lake for church. The Knight brothers were driving new trucks, and so were their friends, says Levi Kingston. Church leader Paul Kingston conducted the service and his brothers John Daniel and David were speakers. Pulling up, he noticed the getaway car parked in front of the house. His father stood on the stage and called out the names of the men who were to receive one of the clans highest honors. During his tenure, some members have continued the practice of plural, and intra-family marriage,[3] although neither is practiced by the majority of members and the practice is not required to gain status in the group. Luke and Scott often visited the home of one of their aunts, Rachel Young. Boys are taught that the prophet demands absolute loyalty and that they should be prepared to defend the clan. Kingston taught his followers that they are the literal descendants of Jesus and one of his wives, who had come down to Earth to found a race of chosen people. Four of those appear to be couples from polygamous groups. Whether she gives her blessing, she said, will depend on the answers to those questions. They steer clear of banks, fearing theyll steal their money. As time passed, his dogma became even stranger. During his tenure, Kingston has followed his father's practice of plural, child, and intra-family marriage. But 16- and 17-year-olds in Utah need only the consent of a parent to wed. Idaho, Colorado and Nevada, where the The Tribune also found Kingston Group marriages, have similar age and parental-consent requirements. Not desiring to be a plural wife doesnt necessarily mean she hoped to leave the Davis County Cooperative Society, also known as the Kingston Group. Every now and then, as hes driving around the ranch, his phone will ring. Her top choice the one whom she felt God told her to marry was a man five years older than she and to whom she was related on both sides of her family tree. This is an indication that an experienced qui tam firm looked at the facts, Markey said, and realized it was a case that was worth pursuing.. The 100 Best Albums of 2022. Paul passed away on month day 1973, at age 92 at death place, Oregon. Instead, she volunteered for extra shifts at the Kingston Group-run coal mine near Huntington, where she worked as a dispatcher. I dont think theyre organized crime in that regard, but the racketeering statute defines it as any conspiracy or pattern of illegal activity done in concert with others. Known variously as "Brother Paul," "the leader," and "the man on the watchtower" by Order members, this unremarkable, balding middle-aged man reportedly has 27 wives and over 300 children. We dont expect any of the claims to prevail in a court of law.. He mandated that children should drink tea brewed from the herb every morning, and that Order members should feed it to their cows. Mafi recalls Paul Kingston telling the children who attended that meeting that The Order was going to be trying out something new, the lawsuit says. But because they were the sons of the prophet, they got away with it., Stephen vehemently denies that he or his brothers had anything to do with the heist. A sheriffs deputy traced the license plate of the Honda to a run-down house in a working-class suburb south of the city. Paul Vallas' Net Worth In 2023 Explored. But women who are disobedient and fail to bear children including because they miscarry face ostracism, the lawsuit claims. She then met with two women who helped her complete financial aid forms. When he had finished, he walked toward Stephen, who was sitting on the tractor. That cousin is also a defendant in the lawsuit. The groups, whose members believe polygamy brings exaltation in heaven, are offshoots of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. That wasnt the only reason Jessica liked him. The pressure became so intense DeRieux stopped going to dances. Snow says she chose to get married to escape an abusive living situation. Kingston succeeded his father John Ortell Kingston as the leader of the Kingston Clan on his father's death in 1987. 12 Paul J. WILFONG was born on 4-13-1912 in Marlinton. They did it, says Christian Kingston. Ive lived a good life. Sometimes, lying in bed at night, he thinks of his brother who died not far from here, and the rest of his siblings who remain in the Order. A young child is also one of the accusers in the suit with allegations the child was raped by his or her father, who allegedly raped the mother. Jessica suspects her dad was pushing her toward another man. The well-kept yellow house sat on the corner of a tidy cul-de-sac called South Bonner Circle surrounded by a black wrought-iron fence. Jessicas father relented during the meeting and gave his approval for his daughter to marry her No. It was time. The clan, known privately as the Order, runs what prosecutors believe is one of the largest organized-crime operations in Utah, overseeing its far-flung empire from a string of secret locations and backrooms. She grew up in Woods Cross and hated The Order all her life, she said in a recent interview. Thats your Uncle Paul, she said. He served one day in jail. According to people who have left the Order, the cult exploits its 2,000 members as virtual slave labor and hides profits from tax collectors. Jessica saw the list. While the sect is headquartered in Utah, members will travel to Colorado to wed because cousin marriages are legal there. Directories Newly added. A week later, the two were profiled on the CBS program Whistleblower for their work in exposing fraud at Washakie Renewable Energy, the biofuel company operated by two of Mary Nelsons first cousins. She called her sister-in-law Patty Kingston, who lived across town. When Paul turned 21, he married Richaun Dye. We've received your submission. What he told me was, Hansen said, Get her married so we dont have to take care of her anymore.. She was instructed, the complaint adds, to deposit the excess funds at a South Salt Lake office building, where the sects bank is located. My 4-year-old comes to me and says she has to find out her No. A nationwide debate is underway about teens, especially girls, marrying. 210 King Sobhuza II: King of Swaziland (now Eswatini), lived 1899-1982, is thought to have had 70 wives. The groom wore a suit. Jessica Kingston wore a white dress. He picked fights at school, shot a teacher in the face with a water gun and refused to do homework or answer questions. And then, when the men get mad at each other, they wont let the [other] mans sons come forward to marry one of their daughters. Thanks for your understanding. He had arranged for a banner to be placed over a bridge there. The suit says sect members might have obtained tens, if not hundreds, of millions of dollars through false applications. Paul married Frances G Chez Kingston. Snow said the classes also taught the girls to be submissive to their husbands and to keep a good house for them. Now, two years later, Stephen still sleeps with a gun near his bed. When a girl doesnt want to be a polygamist, that information is shared among boys and men in the sect. Over 75 years, the Kingstons have amassed a fortune worth an estimated $300 million, but the operation skirts the edges of the law. He had yet to lose his hair, and thanks to his fanatical devotion to healthy food and alternative medicine, he had the ropy build of a well-toned athlete. It is a common and intentional practice in the Order to require girls and women to submit sexually to their husbands even if the sexual submission is against their will because having children results in workers for the benefit of the Order, the lawsuit states. This is nothing more than a continued attempt in a long history to keep DCCS members from accessing education and services every other U.S. citizen is legally entitled to. On this much, though, mother and daughter agree: Snows father was the primary driver. We really know what your game is.. After the wedding, Richaun chose the name Knight randomly a practice designed to prevent prosecutors from proving that men in the Order have multiple wives. Were fucked, they told their cousin. Matt Gaetz Called Out for Citing Chinese Propaganda in Hearing I was scared to death when I left. From a clan ranch in Nevada, Stephen called his brother Ben, who had left the Order a few years before. Among those Kingston Group brides who marry as minors and for whom The Tribune was able to find birthdates, the average age was 16 years, 7 months and 12 days. She also is a star of "Escaping Polygamy." Shortly after 10 p.m. on June 7, 2021, Alex Murdaugh called 911 from his property in Islandton, South Carolina, to report that he had found his 22-year-old son Paul and his wife Maggie, 55, murdered. Over the last four years, these audits have occurred for DCCS members at a rate 9.5 times higher than the average population. Managed by: Kent Johnson, a spokesman for the Davis County Cooperative Society (DCCS), which also is named as a defendant, said members are strongly encouraged to strictly adhere to every legal guideline when applying for financial aid. Paul E. Kingston, considered the top man, signed as a witness for four of the marriages that The Tribune found outside Utah. If the father believes his son received true direction from God, the son is sent to Paul Kingston or one of the people he designates to consider marriages. DeRieux did marry the next year at age 18 to a cousin who was 19. Kiki Kannibal: The Girl Who Played With Fire. The parents of the 16-year-olds also completed a form granting their permission. Alex's wife and son, Maggie and Paul, were shot to death at their home in 2021, and Alex is currently on trial for their murders.. Did the Utah Legislature do enough to save the Great Salt Lake? It was all on me, and, for the most part, thats the case where it is the girls decision whether she wants to get married at that age., She said she knows of a few cases in which the girl was pressured by family or faith leaders to marry, but I can count them all on one hand.. Incest is endemic in the clan, with uncles marrying much younger female relatives; in 2003, police showed up at an Order barbecue and arrested a clan member for marrying his underage cousin. On February 26th, 2009, the Salt Lake County Sheriffs Office got a call of suspicious activity in the foothills above the city. Hopefully, the politician is leading a comfortable . For this article we will focus on forced child labor in the context of modern day slavery that takes place in the Kingston polygamous group. Investigators have said 52-year-old Maggie Murdaugh was shot four or five times with a rifle, while 22-year-old Paul Murdaugh was killed by two shotgun blasts near kennels on the family's . . Rates of college attendance that meet or exceed the Utah average have been a point of pride in the Kingston Group, whose members have offered such statistics to counter the stereotype of children from polygamy, especially girls, being uneducated with no opportunity for self-improvement. Women and girls, after theyre married, submit to their husbands and men answer to higher-ranked men, the suit alleges. Snow and her mother, Shirley Hansen, have differing stories on what the moms role was in her daughters marriage. The other seven are brothers or sons of Paul Kingston. Two are nieces. Mrs. (Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) The Salt Lake Community College Redwood Road campus is pictured Thursday, Dec. 12, 2019. The Tribune, with assistance from former sect members who reviewed the records, also found 20 cases in which both the bride and groom were at least 18. She, in turn, wrote a letter to the judge on their behalf, and the case was settled without a trial. There, stacked on the concrete floor, were crates filled with bars of silver. Viewers Can Watch Prince Harry Talk to a Trauma Expert for $33.09 took great pains to never show his wealth and taught his followers to do the same. Andrea Johnson was buried on June 13, 1992, at the Bountiful Memorial Park. One of them approached the front door while the other kept a lookout. Others say they buried it out in the desert and are slowly cashing it out. Fortunately, our population has already attained a higher graduation rate for high school and associates degrees for men and women in the DCCS. Her husband, John Daniel Kingston, told his children to marry up, she said, meaning marry into a well-regarded family in the Kingston Group. While some despised Ben for his apostasy and refused to speak with him, Stephen had remained in touch with his brother. That usually means marrying a Kingston descendant. Paul lived in 1935, at address, Washington. At age 15, Snow wanted out of the Kingston Group. If that father says yes, the groom talks to the girl. Jessica has begun working with Hope After Polygamy, a charity started by the cast of Escaping Polygamy and other former Kingston Group members to assist people leaving polygamous sects. One of the Orders leaders did jail time for severely beating his own daughter after she fled an arranged marriage to his brother. The son of the clans prophet, Knight, then 18, had once seemed destined for a leadership role within the Order. Paul F Kingston. All rights reserved. Very little is publicly known about her or their marriage but Paul shared a heartfelt Facebook about . Paul Elden Kingston has been the leader of the Mormon fundamentalist Latter Day Church of Christ and the Davis County Cooperative Society in the United States of America since 1987. Paul Kingston is one of eight men named as defendants in the lawsuit. One day, not long after the gold disappeared, Knight got an anonymous phone call. Snow said she was forced to fast, pray and read the Bible. A husband and wife died while on a fishing trip after falling through thin ice in the region. Everyone knows it., After the gold disappeared, the Knight brothers suddenly seemed to have a lot of money especially for young men on their own in the world for the first time. Those cousins and two others have since pleaded guilty to crimes that include fraud, conspiracy, money laundering and witness tampering in a plot to pocket federal energy tax credits. The Kingstons operate in a self-contained universe, completely cut off from the outside world. Michaels and Mary Nelson describe similar experiences with their financial aid applications and awards. Colbert Reimagines Disney Park as 'De-Wokeified' DeSantis World, Sex, Drugs, and the Biggest Cybercrime of All Time, I could boil down what theyre about in three words, says a member who broke with the Order. Older teenagers were crammed five and six to a room, sleeping on the floors of trailers. When one of his favorite wives died, he missed her so much that he dug her up from her grave. During his tenure Kingston has followed his father's practice of plural, child, and intra-family marriage. Paul Kingston told her congratulations. Eventually, there was a meeting between Jessica Kingston, her parents and Paul Kingston. He also had dozens of children a brood that would eventually grow to around 300 and he had a hard time telling them apart. She is the fifth of her mothers 12 children. At 15, Snow ran away from home, wound up in a foster home and later was returned to her mother. ", "United by fundamentalist Mormon beliefs, one polygamous group helps another by bringing truckloads of food", "Young Brides Stir New Outcry on Utah Polygamy", "Shurtleff: Child bride polygamous marriages appear to have stopped", "Polygamists are urged to make public statement", "No longer performing child-bride marriages? Jessica as well as Snow, DeRieux and Hansen all favor raising the legal marriage age in Utah and other states to 18. Hansen, 50, in a recent interview, said she told her daughter that wanting to leave home was the wrong reason to get married. She said the marriage disintegrated when her husband married spiritually one of her half-sisters, who was 22 at the time. We were off on our own out there and really close, Stephen says. She says marriages can be used in The Order to gain or maintain favor among the parents of the brides and grooms. To cope with the disorientation and loneliness of leaving one world for another, many turn to drugs. Death: January 25, 1867 (75-76) Immediate Family: Husband of Lydia Kingston. He seemed like the most amazing guy, Stephen recalls. It was also around then that Stephen, at the age of 14, began to see the clan for what it really was. It felt like it was us against the world. His older brother Richard, a burly diesel mechanic, taught him how to fix cars. He told her he believed one did not need to practice polygamy to reach heaven. Its his father, the prophet, calling to coax his wayward son back into the fold. Members of The Order are taught they need to be in a plural marriage to reach the highest heaven. deductible, Report a missed paper by emailingsubscribe@sltrib.comor calling801-237-2900, For e-edition questions or comments, contact customer support801-237-2900or emailsubscribe@sltrib.com. His most bizarre beliefs, though, concerned the occult. Instead, he had walked away from the family three years earlier to make a life of his own. DeRieux said she and her husband were not allowed to live together or consummate their marriage until they had a religious ceremony the following month. He inherited the top leadership position in 1987. A review of wedding certificates shows how the teen marriages are sanctioned at the highest levels of the Kingston Group. Boys work its coal mine and stack boxes at Standard Restaurant Supply, a massive discount store. Thanks, it read. By the time he was 30, he would have more than 10. To her horror, all that remained was a ring of dust, marking the place where a chest of gold coins had once stood. They teach the girls its their choice, Hansen said, but [say], Heres the selection.. Polygamy is a legacy of the early teachings of the mainstream church, which abandoned the practice in 1890 and now strictly prohibits it. "A review of wedding certificates shows how the teen marriages are sanctioned at the highest levels of the Kingston Group. Situated at the base of a rugged mountain range, the Orders spread sat in a pristine valley of glistening hayfields and open pasture. I felt for his pulse, but he was already gone., That night, Paul Kingston arrived at the ranch. There are thousands of members in the group. It was just the best choice, some say, among their bad options. Short and chubby, the Brown boys looked up to the Knight brothers. Then one night, a clan member called and told him that the Order planned to kill him. The clan is lead today by Charles E. Kingston's son, Paul E. Kingston, who is said to have more than 30 wives. The deputy heard the Brown boys knew who stole the gold but suddenly, without explanation, they and everyone in the clan clammed up. 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