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Friday, February 28, 1997

LeBaron told half-sister deaths were imminent for defectors

By JOAN THOMPSON Associated Press Writer

HOUSTON (AP) - Days before three deserting polygamist cult members were slain in Texas, Aaron LeBaron told his teen-age half-sister that those who betrayed the Church of the Lamb of God would die, she testified Thursday.

LeBaron's attorneys presented no witnesses and lawyers began closing arguments Thursday afternoon before U.S. District Judge Sim Lake.

The 28-year-old defendant, who is a Mexican citizen and was extradited from that country a year ago, is being tried on federal charges of racketeering and conspiring to commit murder for hire. He faces up to 50 years in prison if convicted.

In tearful testimony Thursday that ended prosecutors' case, Andrea Monique LeBaron said she was told by her half-brother in June 1988 that the deaths of the "sons of perdition" would occur shortly.

On June 27, 1988, Ed Marston, brothers Mark and Duane Chynoweth, and Duane Chynoweth's young daughter, Jenny, were shot to death minutes apart in Houston and suburban Dallas.

Prosecutors say the young girl was killed because she was a witness to her father's death.

Ms. LeBaron, who was then 16, said a "son or daughter of perdition" was "a person who betrayed their covenant to God and betrayed the church - left it."

Prosecutors say Aaron LeBaron and another half-sister, Jacqueline, directed the Texas slayings after receiving what they described as a "sign from God." Jacqueline LeBaron remains at large.

Ms. LeBaron, now 25, said she was not present when the killings were plotted. She testified that some of the sect members who participated in the killings returned to Mexico afterward.

However, Ms. LeBaron admitted that discussions about killing the sons of perdition had gone on for years as part of Ervil LeBaron's teachings.

Ervil LeBaron, the sect's founder, had more than 50 children, including the defendant and Andrea LeBaron. Aaron LeBaron took it over when he was 19. It draws on fundamentalist Mormon teachings disavowed by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Andrea LeBaron also testified that half-brother William Heber LeBaron, 37, had whipped the rising heir apparent and other sect members.

Defense attorneys contend that William Heber LeBaron was more powerful in the cult and that he planned the killings. He, along with two other cult members, are serving life sentences for their roles.

Ms. LeBaron wiped her eyes with a tissue and did not look at LeBaron during her testimony. She initially cried when she took the stand, was excused and then returned.

She tearfully said that in 1988 she believed that LeBaron spoke the word of God and that she would have killed upon his request.Send a Letter to the Editor about This Story | Start or Join A Discussion about This Story
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