Jaqueline LeBaron-Fugitive Tied to Religious Sect Murders Caught

[MuffyBee]

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7004537.html
Fugitive suspected in slayings nabbed in Honduras
Member of polygamous sect had been on the run since 1992
May 14, 2010

A longtime fugitive accused of involvement in Texas murders tied to a religious sect appeared in federal court in Houston this morning and asked that she be appointed an attorney.

Jacqueline Tarsa LeBaron, 44, stood before U.S. Magistrate Judge Mary Milloy in a blue blouse and floor-length skirt and told the judge she thinks the judge and prosecutor are nice and she hopes her appointed attorney is nice as well.

LeBaron, a fugitive since 1992, said she is a Mexican citizen and was living in Honduras when she was arrested. She faces charges including conspiracy to commit murder for hire, conspiracy to tamper with a witness, murder for hire and obstruction of religious beliefs. The maximum possible penalty would be life in prison plus five years.

LeBaron is the daughter of Ervil LeBaron, who led an infamous polygamous sect called the Church of the Lamb of God. Ervil LeBaron died in 1981. He was imprisoned in the 1970s for ordering the murder of his brother. He also authored a book which said sect members who broke its rules would be sentenced to death, according to the FBI.

In 1988, three church members and a member’s 8-year-old daughter were slain simultaneously in Houston and Irving for breaking church commandments and trying to leave the church, according to the FBI, which arrested Jacqueline Tarsa LeBaron.

Five LeBaron family members were convicted of participating in the murder plot, but Jacqueline Tarsa LeBaron evaded custody until Thursday.

She is due back in court Wednesday for a hearing on whether she will remain in custody pending trial. Prosecutor Terry Clark said this morning that the government believes she is a flight risk and will ask she be detained.

In court this morning she said she needs her new psychiatric medicine. She also told the judge that she has a GED and 18 months of beauty college and that she likes Hondurans and Anglos. She started to complain about her due process but the judge said she should speak to a lawyer before making statements.

Because the Houston federal public defenders office handled the case of one of her co-defendants, if it is determined that she has no resources, Jacqueline Tarsa LeBaron will likely be appointed counsel from outside the public defenders office.

The FBI said they believe many of Ervil LeBaron’s more than 50 children still follow their father’s teachings.

An FBI statement said that acting on a tip, the FBI located her in Moroceli, El Paraisio, Honduras. The FBI said her arrest was ultimately accomplished with the help of the FBI Legat Office in El Salvador, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, Interpol and the U. S. Consulate in Honduras.

[MuffyBee]

You can see Jaqueline's wanted poster at the link below:

http://www.fbi.gov/wanted/fugitives/cei/lebaron_jt.htm
CONSPIRACY TO COMMIT MURDER FOR CONSIDERATION; MURDER FOR CONSIDERATION; CONSPIRACY TO TAMPER WITH A WITNESS; TAMPERING WITH A WITNESS; USE OF A FIREARM DURING A CRIME OF VIOLENCE; CONSPIRACY TO OBSTRUCT RELIGIOUS BELIEFS; OBSTRUCTION OF RELIGIOUS BELIEFS; RICO CONSPIRACY; RICO
JACQUELINE TARSA LeBARON
 

Photograph taken in 2007
        

Aliases:    Melanie Martin, Tarsa LeBaron, Melanie Anne Martin, Jacqueline LeBaron, Jacquelyn Tarsa LeBaron, Jacquelyn LeBaron, Amanda Susan Emerson, Karen Howell, Tarsa McDonald, Malanie Anna Martin, Melonie Martin, Mitzi Diane Mathison, Elizabeth Shelton, Jacqueline Hawkins-Varela, Hawkins-Varela (first name unknown)
DESCRIPTION
Dates of Birth Used:     November 15, 1965;
November 10, 1965    Hair:    Brown
Place of Birth:    Mexico    Eyes:    Green
Height:    5'11"    Sex:    Female
Weight:    135 pounds    Race:    White (Hispanic)
NCIC:    W708339773    Nationality:    Mexican
Occupation:    English teacher
Scars and Marks:    None known
Remarks:    Jacqueline LeBaron has resided in Aguas Calientes, Mexico, and was teaching English while living there. She also has the ability to speak Spanish. Additionally, LeBaron may wear disguises and is known to possess a firearm. LeBaron was last observed in Honduras in 2007. She is also believed to have an 11- or 12-year-old son.
CAUTION

Jacqueline Tarsa LeBaron is wanted for her alleged involvement in a series of crimes which occurred in the Texas area. On June 27, 1988, four people were murdered simultaneously in Houston and Irving, Texas, allegedly by members of the LeBaron crime family. Reportedly, this crime family started when Ervil LeBaron broke off from the Mormon Church to start his own polygamous sect, which he called the Church of the Lamb of God (CLG).

In 1972, Ervil LeBaron was convicted and imprisoned for ordering his followers to murder his brother for breaking CLG commandments. While in prison, Ervil LeBaron wrote a book that would become the bible for CLG members. Additionally, in the book it stated that any individual caught breaking the commandments would be sentenced to death. On June 27, 1988, three CLG followers were murdered allegedly by LeBaron family members for breaking CLG commandments and for choosing to leave the church. Also murdered was a victim's eight-year-old daughter because she was a witness to her father's murder.

By 1995, three of the six LeBaron family defendants were found guilty of the June 1988 murders and incarcerated. A fourth defendant plead guilty and was sentenced to prison. The fifth defendant was convicted of ordering the assassinations and imprisoned. Jacqueline Tarsa LeBaron, the sixth defendant, remains a fugitive. Additionally, during Ervil LeBaron's incarceration and following his death in prison, many of his 54 children reportedly continued to carry out their father's teachings.

On October 14, 1992, a federal arrest warrant was issued in the United States District Court, Southern District of Houston, Texas. Jacqueline Tarsa LeBaron was charged with the following crimes: conspiracy to commit murder for consideration; murder for consideration; conspiracy to tamper with a witness; tampering with a witness; use of a firearm during a crime of violence; conspiracy to obstruct religious beliefs; obstruction of religious beliefs; RICO conspiracy, and RICO.
REWARD

The FBI is offering a $20,000 reward for information leading directly to the arrest of Jacqueline Tarsa LeBaron.

SHOULD BE CONSIDERED ARMED AND DANGEROUS AND AN ESCAPE RISK

IF YOU HAVE ANY INFORMATION CONCERNING THIS PERSON, PLEASE CONTACT YOUR LOCAL FBI OFFICE OR THE NEAREST AMERICAN EMBASSY OR CONSULATE.
Signature of Robert S. Mueller, III
ROBERT S. MUELLER, III
DIRECTOR
FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20535
TELEPHONE: (202) 324-3000

[MuffyBee]

http://**/national/ci_15085663?nclick_check=1
Woman faces charges in Texas polygamist deaths
May 14, 2010

HOUSTON—FBI agents in Honduras arrested the fugitive daughter of a polygamist sect leader wanted in a 1988 quadruple slaying and extradited her to Houston to face murder and conspiracy charges, the agency said Friday.

FBI Special Agent Shauna Dunlap said a tip led to the capture of Jacqueline Tarsa LeBaron on Thursday. The Naval Criminal Investigative Service, Interpol and the U.S. consulate in Honduras helped to track LeBaron down in the city of Moroceli, the FBI said in a statement.

LeBaron, wanted since 1992, appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Mary Malloy Friday. The judge ruled that LeBaron would remain in federal custody and ordered a hearing for next Wednesday to determine whether her detention will continue pending trial, said Angela Dodge, a spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney's office in Houston.

LeBaron told the court she is a Mexican citizen and complained that she was denied due process when she was removed from Honduras, Dodge said.

Dodge said LeBaron did not have an attorney and that she would receive one through a court appointment.

LeBaron has been charged with conspiracy to commit murder; murder; conspiracy to tamper with a witness; tampering with a witness; use of a firearm during a crime of violence; conspiracy to obstruct religious beliefs; obstruction of religious beliefs; and racketeering conspiracy, according to the FBI website.

LeBaron, 44, is accused in the shooting deaths of three former sect members and the 8-year-old daughter of one of the adults in Houston and Irving in 1988.

LeBaron's father, Ervil LeBaron, was the leader of the Church of the Lamb of God. Investigators say the elder LeBaron ordered the executions of rival polygamists in the 1970s. In 1972 he was convicted in Utah of ordering family members to kill his brother, who was said to have disobeyed church laws.

Ervil LeBaron, who reportedly ordered the killing of disobedient church members, died in the Utah state prison in 1981.

Jacqueline LeBaron was among six family members charged in the June 1988 murders.

Three were convicted in 1995 and sentenced to life in prison. Another was convicted of ordering the deaths and was sentenced to 45 years in prison. The youngest, who was 16 at the time of the killings, pleaded guilty to the child's death and served five years in prison.

The victims were brothers Mark and Duane Chynoweth, killed in Houston, and Ed Marston, slain in Irving. Duane Chynoweth's daughter, Jenny, was also killed in what investigators believe was an effort to eliminate her as a witness.

[MuffyBee]

http://**/faith/ci_15085547
LeBaron murders: Last of Texas polygamy slaying suspects nabbed in Honduras
Jacqueline LeBaron had been on the run since 1992
May 14, 2010

 Jacqueline Tarsa LeBaron, daughter of the late polygamous sect leader and convicted murderer Ervil LeBaron, has been captured in Honduras and extradited to the United States after more than 17 years on the run.

Patricia Villafranca, a spokeswoman for the FBI's Houston office, said LeBaron, 44, was taken into custody by agents late Thursday in Moroceli, El Paraisio, Honduras, after she had been expelled for being in the Latin American country illegally. LeBaron made an initial appearance before a U.S. magistrate judge late Friday morning, where she was ordered held in federal custody without bond pending a May 19 hearing to determine if she will remain in custody pending trial.

LeBaron reportedly told the court she is a Mexican citizen and complained that she was denied due process when she was removed from Honduras. She appeared without an attorney, but one is expected to be appointed for her by the court.

Villafranca would say only that Houston FBI agents traveled to Honduras "acting on a tip," and that LeBaron's apprehension "was ultimately effected with the assistance of the FBI [Legal Attache] Office in El Salvador, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, Interpol and the U.S. Consulate in Honduras."

LeBaron had been on the run since October 1992, when a federal warrant was issued for her arrest. LeBaron was wanted on numerous charges connected to the 1988 slayings of three adults and an 8-year-old girl in Texas who had broken with he Church of the Lamb of God sect.

"Jacqueline Tarsa LeBaron was the sole remaining fugitive in this tragic case, and therefore this is a significant capture that should send a message to all fugitives . . . that the FBI and its partners in law enforcement remain committed to seeking justice no matter how long it may take," Villafranca stated.

The Church of the Lamb of God had been led by Ervil LeBaron, who died in Utah State Prison in 1981 after being convicted of ordering the 1977 assassination of a rival polygamous leader in Salt Lake County.

While in prison,Ervil LeBaron wrote the 400-page Book of the New Covenants in which he imposed the death penalty for any sect member who broke sect commandments. The FBI alleges that those writings influenced LeBaron family members to carry out the simultaneous slayings in Houston and Irving, Texas, on June 27, 1988.

Eventually, five LeBaron family members were either convicted or entered guilty pleas and were sentenced to prison. The sixth defendant, Jacqueline LeBaron, remained at large until Thursday.

Honduran authorities "determined [LeBaron] hadn't been born there and had no citizenship with them, so they expelled her. FBI agents from Houston went to Honduras and picked her up. She is now here, in custody, in Houston," Villafranca said.

LeBaron faces charges ranging from murder and conspiracy to commit murder to witness tampering, obstruction of religious beliefs and racketeering, the FBI says.

The FBI adds that many of Ervil LeBaron's more than 50 children -- fathered with as many as 13 wives -- are believed to still be following their father's teachings.

Joel LeBaron had become leader of the polygamous sect, then based in Salt Lake City and known as the Church of the Firstborn in the Fullness of Times, when his father Alma LeBaron died in 1951. Ervil LeBaron was No. 2 in leadership.

In the early 70s, the two brothers became estranged and Ervil LeBaron launched CLG in the San Diego, Calif., area. Ervil LeBaron then reportedly ordered the killing of Joel LeBaron while his older brother was in Mexico.

Ervil LeBaron also viewed leaders of other polygamous groups as rivals, and allegedly ordered attempts on their lives as well. However, it was the 1977 assassination of the Utah-based Apostolic United Brethren's Rulon C. Allred, leader of another group of polygamous Mormon fundamentalists, that eventually led to LeBaron's imprisonment.

Mexican police caught up with LeBaron in 1979, and he was returned to the U.S. and convicted of having ordered Allred's death. He was serving a life term when he died in August 1981, apparently of natural causes.

[MuffyBee]

http://www.familybadge.org/%28X%281%29S%28unm0sr45k0aea42rccshehax%29%29/default.aspx?act=Newsletter.aspx&category=News+1-2&newsletterid=19971&menugroup=Home
 The Police News   
One of FBI Houston's Most Wanted Captured
HOUSTON) --  FBI agents have captured Jacqueline Lebaron, one of FBI Houston's most wanted fugitives, Special Agent in Charge Richard C. Powers announced today.

More than seventeen years after being indicted along with several family members with numerous federal offenses including Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization (RICO) violations and conspiracy to obstruct religious beliefs arising from the June 1988 murders in Houston and Irving, Texas, of four former members of the "Lamb of God" religious sect including an 8 year-old girl, Jacqueline Lebaron, also known as Melanie Martin and Tarsa Lebaron, is in federal custody.??
Acting on a tip, the FBI located Lebaron in Moroceli, El Paraisio, Honduras.  Expelled from Honduras on Thursday, May 13, 2010, Lebaron arrived in Houston at approximately 4:30 p.m. yesterday.

This long fugitive apprehension effort could not have been accomplished without the help of the media and the public over the course of the years. Lebaron's arrest was ultimately effected with the assistance of the FBI Legat Office in El Salvador, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, Interpol and the U. S. Consulate in Honduras.

 "Jacqueline Tarsa LeBaron was the sole remaining fugitive in this tragic case, and therefore this is a significant capture that should send a message to all fugitives from justice that the FBI and its partners in law enforcement remain committed to seeking justice no matter how long it may take."

The original charges filed in August 1992 and superseded in October 1992 are the result of an investigation conducted by the Houston Police Department and the Houston office of the FBI.

Lebaron made her initial appearance before a United States Magistrate Judge in Houston at 10:00 a.m. on Friday, May 14, 2010. The government is seeking to detain Lebaron in federal custody without bond pending further criminal proceedings.  The court is expected to set a date for a hearing on the government's motion for next week.

[Nut44x4]

Daughter of the cult leader Ervil LeBaron — the ‘Mormon Manson’ — pleads guilty
 


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ReligionNewsBlog.com • Friday June 17, 2011

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A daughter of a cult leader who drafted a hit list before his death pleaded guilty Thursday to charges related to the slaying of an 8-year-old girl and three former members of the Lamb of God religious sect 22 years ago in Houston and Irving.

The Houston Chronicle reports:


Jacqueline Tarsa LeBaron, 46, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Sim Lake to a charge of conspiracy to obstruct religious beliefs. Her plea resolves the final prosecution stemming from the saga of the LeBaron family and the Church of the First Born of the Lamb of God religious sect.

She could be sentenced to up to five years in prison and fined up to $10,000. Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 8.
 ::snipping2::  http://www.religionnewsblog.com/26036/jacqueline-tarsa-lebaron-pleads-guilty

[Nut44x4]

http://www.voiceofmexico.com/articles/a-mormon-murder-story

When Jacqueline Tarsa LeBaron was sentenced to three years in prison by a federal court in Houston Texas last week, it was not simply a matter of bringing a fugitive to imperfect justice.  Unraveling a story of religious fanaticism in the Chihuahua desert requires going back to the mid-nineteenth century, and, with the peripheral involvement of Benito Juarez, Pancho Villa, Javier Sicilia and a possible candidate for President of the United States, raises questions of identity, tolerance and our response to violence.
 
 
 
Captured in Honduras, 13 May 2010, LeBaron had been sought by U.S. authorities since 1992, which offered a 20,000 Dollar reward for information leading to her apprehension.  The Mexican citizen faced charges in the United States including conspiracy to commit murder for hire, conspiracy to tamper with a witness, murder for hire and obstruction of religious beliefs.  In return for certain unstated considerations, and avoiding trial, she pled guilty to the relatively minor offence of “obstruction of religious beliefs,” and was sentenced to three years in the Federal Penitentiary.
HUGE  ::snipping2::       ::justice2NJ::

[Sister]

In return for certain unstated considerations . . . what, she will hang herself?  What the heck is going on here?
 

[KittyMom]

She helped kill 4 people and she only got 3 yrs??????