Podcast
Deliver Us From Ervil
Hosted by iHeartPodcasts and Novel · EN
In the 1940s, a group of Mormon dreamers started a town in the Mexican desert. But what began as a utopian vision quickly turned sour when the founding family’s son, Ervil LeBaron, struggled for control of the community and unleashed a multi-generational crimewave – the ripples of which are still being felt today.
From bank robbery to drug smuggling, auto theft rings to multiple murders, a deadly cult evolved into a sophisticated organized crime family. In Deliver Us From Ervil, journalist Jesse Hyde tells the story of Ervil LeBaron and the unlikely ensemble of reporters, cops, survivors and family insiders trying to halt his bloody legacy.
Deliver Us From Ervil is produced by Novel for iHeartRadio.
11episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Introducing: Kingdom of Fraud
3w ago00:02:29Tap to summarizeIt’s the unlikeliest of criminal partnerships: a devout polygamist from an insular Utah sect joining forces with a shadowy Armenian tycoon from LA. The result - a billion dollar fraud conspiracy. In Kingdom of Fraud, investigative reporter Michele McPhee traces the origins of the extraordinary alliance between Jacob Kingston and Levon Termendzhyan. Together, the two men trigger the largest tax investigation in American history and weave around themselves a web of dirty cops, influential political relationships and transnational money laundering. All this is set against the backdrop of Jacob Kingston’s clan – The Order. A powerful and secretive polygamist organization in Salt Lake City. To whom Jacob is desperate to prove his worth. Kingdom of Fraud is produced by Novel for iHeart Podcasts. Listen here and subscribe to Kingdom of Fraud on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Introducing The Fighty Pucks
May 30, 202300:02:11Tap to summarizeThe Fighty Pucks is the story of the most violent hockey team on the planet. A team of lovable bad boys, misfits and bruisers, led by a teenage boy - AJ Galante. Together with his father, a powerful business man with a dark past, AJ ran the team as they went rampaging on a path to glory. But all the while, the team was being secretly watched by their toughest opponent of all - the FBI. The Fighty Pucks is produced by Novel for iHeartRadio. For more from Novel visit novel.audioSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcribe →13: Chasing Ghosts
Jul 20, 202200:56:32Tap to summarizeOver a decade after she first escaped the clutches of law enforcement, the final suspect in the 4 O’Clock Murders is finally caught. She was living in hiding, for years, in Honduras. She’s charged, convicted and sentenced, but has her imprisonment finally brought the bloody legacy of Ervil LeBaron to an end? Jesse Hyde explores whether the threat of Ervil LeBaron is really over and whether those that spent so long pursuing the cult believe this multigenerational cycle of crime and abuse is finally at an end. Jesse travels back to Colonia LeBaron, where this whole story began, to find some surprising connections being made. Deliver Us From Ervil is produced by Novel for iHeartRadio. For more from Novel visit novel.audioSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcribe →12: The Tide Turns
Jul 13, 202200:54:02Tap to summarizeIn the aftermath of the 4 O’Clock Murders, the Kingdom of God is facing a crisis. For Gabriela and her siblings, the early 90s marked a turning point for the cult. Meanwhile, investigators from across the country have formed a team named after the youngest victim: the Jenny Task Force. Their progress is slow, until a chance auto theft arrest in Phoenix, Arizona seems to snare several of the cops’ main suspects: some of Ervil LeBaron’s eldest children, using fake aliases. But there’s one influential cult leader who is still on the run. Deliver Us From Ervil is produced by Novel for iHeartRadio. For more from Novel visit novel.audioSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcribe →11: At Four O’Clock
Jul 6, 202200:41:47Tap to summarizeIt’s 1988. One summer’s day, in a sleepy suburb of Houston, a team of experienced police officers are called to the scene of the first in a series of horrific crimes. Several murders have been carried out in different parts of Texas at exactly the same time: 4 o’clock. There’s another link too, all the victims were former associates of Ervil LeBaron. The brutally executed assassinations send shockwaves through the public, and bring together investigators and prosecutors from across the country, all united in their goal of bringing the multi-generational crimewave sparked by Ervil LeBaron’s legacy to a grinding halt. But first, they’ll need to work out who, exactly, was responsible. Deliver Us From Ervil is produced by Novel for iHeartRadio.For more from Novel visit novel.audioSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcribe →10: The Book of Daniel
Jun 29, 202200:42:01Tap to summarizeFor years, Dan Jordan was Ervil LeBaron’s right-hand man. But by the time Ervil was imprisoned, the relationship between the two men had soured and Dan Jordan was marked for death in the Book of the New Covenant. In the autumn of 1987, Utah law enforcement are called to investigate a mysterious hunting incident involving Dan Jordan, and a campground full of Ervil LeBaron’s children. But will they be able to put the pieces together? Deliver Us From Ervil is produced by Novel for iHeartRadio.For more from Novel visit novel.audioSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcribe →9: Who Wears The Crown?
Jun 22, 202200:36:20Tap to summarizeIn the aftermath of Arthur’s death, Ervil’s son Heber LeBaron takes over the mantle of the “One Mighty and Strong”. 19-years-old, and raised in an extremist and violent faith, Heber’s leadership evolves the Kingdom of God into a kind of organised crime family: drug smuggling, auto-theft and of course, violent retribution against their father’s enemies. Deliver Us From Ervil is produced by Novel for iHeartRadio. For more from Novel visit novel.audioSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcribe →8: The Reign of Arthur
Jun 15, 202200:51:42Tap to summarizeErvil LeBaron spent two years in a Utah State Prison before his death in 1981. It left him with plenty of time to write a 500-page-long manifesto on his enemies. The Book of the New Covenant would go on to become a sacred text to Ervil’s many children, who had been raised in poverty, neglect and violence. Jesse Hyde sits down with one of Ervil’s daughters, Gabriela, to get an unprecedented look inside the lives of Ervil’s indoctrinated children who, after his death, would be led by Ervil’s eldest son Arthur. To them, the Book of the New Covenant was more than just scripture: it was a hit list. Deliver Us From Ervil is produced by Novel for iHeartRadio. For more from Novel visit novel.audio See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcribe →7: Ervil Comes Home
Jun 8, 202200:49:51Tap to summarizeCops and prosecutors try for another conviction against the cult of Ervil LeBaron. Difficulties arise when their key witness suddenly dies but events finally swing round in their favor when Ervil is arrested and, finally, locked behind bars. Jesse Hyde hears how in 1979 the spell seemed finally to have been broken. But if the law thought Ervil’s reign was over they were about to be disappointed. Deliver Us From Ervil is produced by Novel for iHeartRadio. For more from Novel visit novel.audio See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcribe →6: The Betrayal
Jun 1, 202200:48:01Tap to summarizePolice try to gain information from new insiders in Ervil’s cult. As more members of the cult break away to talk to the police the cops swoop in to make arrests. By 1978 Ervil remains on the run but prosectors now have enough evidence for a murder trial on his most high profile killings. As the trial leads to an unexpected conclusion, Ervil’s reputation causes further woes for the cops. Deliver Us From Ervil is produced by Novel for iHeartRadio. For more from Novel visit novel.audioSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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