The LeBaron Massacre and the LeBaron Connection to Nxivm and Keith Raniere
November 5, 2019
Frank Report was first to break the news Monday: Three women and six children were killed in an attack on members of the Colonia LeBaron Community [clan], as they traveled in Mexico.
In this post we will explore the Lebaron clan’s connection to Nxivm and possible motives for the killings.
The women and children were attacked early Monday afternoon as they traveled in three SUVs through the mountains between the states of Sonora and Chihuahua.
Two of the women were traveling to see relatives in Chihuahua, and one was driving to the U.S. to pick up her husband from the Phoenix airport. The vehicles were found in two separate areas, about 10 miles apart.
They were apparently ambushed by a group of armed men. More than 200 bullet casings were recovered from the crime scenes along the road.
Mexican officials say they’re investigating whether the LeBaron family were targeted or victims of mistaken identity. Several members of the LeBaron community have been outspoken against drug violence and extortion in the region.
The FBI has launched an investigation into the matter because those killed had US citizenship.
Aside from the dead, five children were injured in the attack and were transported to U.S. hospitals.
The cult-like LeBaron clan have lived in northern Mexico, south of Arizona, for decades after splitting from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints over the Church’s crackdown on polygamy. The Utah Mormon church does not consider them members, although the LeBaron clan are usually referred to as Mormons.
The dead are:
Rhonita Maria Miller, 30
Howard Jacob Miller Jr., 12
Krystal Bellaine Miller, 10
Titus Alvin Miller and Tiana Gricel Miller, both 8 months (twins)
These were shot and then burned in their vehicle. Only ashes and bones remained.
The other four victims are:
Dawna Ray Langford,
Christina Marie Langford Johnson, 29
Dawna Ray Langford, 40.
Her children:
Trevor Harvey Langford, 11, and Rogan Jay Langford, 2.
Seven month-old Faith Marie Johnson was uninjured and found in her car seat that her mother placed on the floor of the car.
Were the Women and Children Targeted?
The LeBaron clan is no stranger to violence. The cult has a long history of polygamy, pedophilia and an estimated 40 murders.
The late, Ervil LeBaron, the clan’s former leader, had at least 13 wives and over 50 children. Ervil reportedly utilized his wives and daughters to murder defectors and dissidents. After his conviction, he ordered murders from his Utah jail cell and the murders were carried out after Ervil LeBaron died.
Jacqueline LeBaron gave money to her sister, Cynthia LeBaron, to murder cult defectors in 1988. Cynthia LeBaron [not the Nxivm member, but a relative] confessed to the murders of three adults and an 8 year old girl.
Of the seven killers involved in the LeBaron clan’s “4 O’Clock Murders,” five were found guilty of murder. Cynthia LeBaron testified against her siblings and was granted immunity. The final suspect, Jacqueline LeBaron, was captured by the FBI in May 2010.
The 4 O’Clock Murders resulted in four former LeBaron clan members, including a child, being shot to death at the same time at three separate locations in Texas.
Ervil LeBaron and his followers eliminated rivals following the doctrine of “blood atonement”, which directs that apostates should be killed, which was promulgated by Mormon leader, Brigham Young and is now disavowed by the Utah Mormon Church
As Frank Report commenter Actaeon pointed out, “The Monday killings are horrific. It may be that this was simply a case of mistaken identity or unfortunates getting caught in the crossfire of rival drug gangs. But it deserves to be mentioned that the LeBaron clan has a long and bloody history in Mexico. They had also challenged the drug gangs and were lobbying to be allowed to create their own ‘security force.’ They had clashed with local farmers over water rights.
“Make no mistake, this is a cult. A polygamous Mormon cult with a long history of extreme violence and abuse. This is the kind of cult that puts pasty oversexed Keith Raniere in the shade. It’s a cult whose members have committed some 40 murders. It’s a story that should be far better known.”
Nxivm Connection
Several members of the LeBaron Clan have been Nxivm members.
Samantha LeBaron is reportedly still a member of Nxivm and a DOS slave. It is unclear whether Cynthia LeBaron remains with the Nxivm cult. Both women formerly lived in Clifton Park.
LeBaron Girls Came to Clifton Park to Be Taught by Raniere
In 2016, when Nxvm leader Keith Alan Raniere was actively seeking a virgin to anoint as his future “successor” and assigned several of his slaves to seek them, DOS First Line Slave Master Rosa Laura Junco invited 11 girls from Chihuahua to come to Albany to take part in a special Pilot Project for teen girls created by Raniere.
At least four of the girls’s last names were LeBaron and it is believed all of them came from the LeBaron clan.
Reportedly the LeBaron clan had been persuaded to send the girls to Clifton Park NY, because Nxivm offered them a special Pilot Project for free. The curriculum – in the form of modules – was written especially for teen girls and would lead to female empowerment, they were told. While in New York, the girls were to offered opportunities to do rewarding work to earn money.
If the Pilot worked out well, Raniere said he hoped to introduce it into high schools across America.
Rosa Laura Junco invited girls from Chihuahua to come to her house and learn from Keith Raniere.
When the girls arrived, they were housed in Nxivm members’ homes including Junco’s and Dr. Brandon Porter’s.
The girls ranged in ages from 13 – 17. Junco’s teenage daughter also attended classes held in Junco’s home.
Rosa Laura Junco’s mansion in Clifton Park where 11 teenage girls were taught Keith Raniere’s lessons for teenage girls.
DOS slave Sahajo Haertel taught the LeBaron girls. Haertel was formerly a member of the Osho sex cult before joining Raniere and becoming his sex slave.
The teens were quickly disappointed. They had been told they were going to be taught a high school curriculum equivalent. Instead they were only taught classes in English and NXIVM modules, especially some related to gender.
As for meaningful work, the girls were assigned to work for Delagates, India Oxenberg’s company which was set up to run errands and clean houses for Nxivm members. The girls cleaned houses, preformed childcare, and prepared food including baking deserts for Nxivm Intensives for extremely low wages.
Raniere personally came from time to time to try to mentor the girls and apparently one or more incidents occurred that was inappropriate and possibly sexual in nature.
It is known the girls fled back home to Chihuahua. According to one source, there may have been a threat of a police report and Raniere and others in Nxivm seemed to have been deeply worried for several days just prior to the girls’ sudden departure.
One eyewitness said she saw Raniere sitting with some of the girls and was shocked when she saw him kiss them on the lips in greeting. He was sitting near them, holding hands and touching them on their bodies in a playful manner.
“The girls had been told he was a great teacher, and not to be disrespected. But from the look on their faces, they were shocked at his behavior.” the witness said.
It is not known if Dr. Porter utilized the girls as subjects for his human fright experiments. Porter later lost his medical license for the experiments which featured showing female subjects snuff films and gang rapes to test their reactions while hooked up to a monitoring device.
One side product of the events was that Rosa Laura Junco offered her daughter to Raniere as his virgin successor, but evidently the teen girl rejected the idea and fled from her mother’s home to live with her father. She fled about the same time as the girls from Chihuahua.
These girls were not the first to flee Raniere. As far back as 1990, a 13 year old girl, Rhiannon, fled from Raniere after he raped her some 60 times. Raniere was supposed to teach her algebra and Latin.
Similarly the LeBaron girls were to supposed to get a unique and special education from Raniere.
The family of the girls would only tell Frank Report that Raniere is “sicko” and they should have never left the girls alone with him.
Some of the girls were reportedly encouraged to go on low calorie diets similar to DOS [500-800 calories per day]. When they rebelled, they were made to feel guilty, a source told Frank Report.
“The girls were completely grossed out by Keith”‘ said the source. “They felt Keith was a ‘lech’ and creepy. They felt he had sexual intentions. They told their parents. Whether he did more, I don’t know. Keith knows what the laws are regarding age of consent.”
The age of consent in New York State is 17. The age of consent in Mexico is 12.
Another Nxivm Connection
The LeBaron clan also figured in a movie that former Nxivm member Mark Vicente directed for Nxivm. It was supposed to be about approaches to nonviolence in Mexico. Vicente later repudiated the film as Nxivm propaganda.
The film included an interview with Julian LeBaron, who is cousin of one of the women killed Monday and a current leader of the LeBaron clan. LeBaron’s brother was kidnapped by a local drug cartel in 2009, and the family refused to pay a ransom. He was released.
Yet Another Connection to LeBaron
In an infamous 2009 video, Raniere said he had people killed for his beliefs.
(video embedded in article)
When this video came up during the proceedings in the bankruptcy case of former Nxivm member, Susan Dones, Nxivm lawyer Robert Crockett said Raniere was referring to the death of Benjamin LeBaron, 32, and his brother-in-law Luis Carlos Stubbs, 29, who had been killed by a group of assailants.
According to Crockett, Raniere said he advised the LeBaron family not to pay ransom and stand up to the drug cartels. The result was the two men were killed in retaliation. Crockett said this is what Raniere meant when he said in the April 2009 video that “I’ve had people killed for my beliefs and for theirs.”
The problem with this argument is that LeBaron and Stubbs were alive when Raniere spoke of having people killed. The video was made on April 23, 2009. LeBaron and Stubbs did not die until July 7, 2009.
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