Instead, she volunteered for extra shifts at the Kingston Group-run coal mine near Huntington, where she worked as a dispatcher. Kingston clan into a multimillion-dollar business empire while allowing many of his purported 13 wives and dozens of children to survive on government assistance. Later that afternoon, in another house across town belonging to the Order, a woman named Patty Kingston opened her closet to discover that a chest of gold coins worth as much as $5 million had vanished. Paul lived in 1935, at address, Washington. They were the type of kids you didnt mess with, says Robert Owen, a former member of the clan. By the time he was 30, he would have more than 10. Managed by: Paul already had two wives, but he and Richaun were married in a secret ceremony at her parents house. 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. Jessica saw the list. Luke and Scott often visited the home of one of their aunts, Rachel Young. Prior to 2017, Kingston was Professor of Sociology, and by courtesy, Professor in the Curry School of Education. Former Order members remain convinced the Knights stole the gold. Its his father, the prophet, calling to coax his wayward son back into the fold. [9], He is believed to have practiced polygamy in the past, potentially accruing as many as 40 wives and fathering up to 300 Children. She was definitely the pick of the litter, and thats why Paul got her, Ron recalls. On the surface, the operation is legit: From Salt Lake, the Order controls some 100 businesses spread out over the Western states, from a casino in California to a cattle ranch in Nevada to a factory that makes lifelike dolls in Utah. But within the Order, where drinking soda pop was against the rules, it was a pretty big deal.. 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. 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. Her husband knew she didnt want him to have a plural spouse, she said, but his father told him he needed to have one. He directed some of his own children the plaintiffs estimate he has 27 wives and more than 300 offspring to seek more financial aid than they would have otherwise been entitled to, the suit cites one of his daughters as saying, and when the assistance exceeded what the student needed to attend college, the sect kept the proceeds. 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. Do you think if I took $5 million in gold, Id be working out here?. I strongly believe they are an organized-crime family, Shurtleff says. Thanks for your understanding. While some despised Ben for his apostasy and refused to speak with him, Stephen had remained in touch with his brother. Children born into the clan make up much of the labor force. Regardless, all those applying should do so legally. 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. 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. On weekends, he was sent out to work at the Orders coal mine with other teenagers. I love the Order. . At clan gatherings, girls who were still in their teens danced with men old enough to be their uncles, whom they were sometimes forced to marry. One of the Orders leaders did jail time for severely beating his own daughter after she fled an arranged marriage to his brother. (Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Jessica Kingston was wed at age 16 in what she says was a marriage she felt pressured into by her parents and others in a polygamous sect. The family believed that discipline would rein in the boys and that hard labor would make the girls more supplicant to their husbands back in the city. The parents of the 16-year-olds also completed a form granting their permission. The Kingston Group is not affiliated withthe Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS) based on the Utah-Arizona line that is run by imprisoned leader Warren Jeffs, who is serving a life sentence in Texas for sexually assaulting girls he considered brides. Kingston had told gaming regulators in California. Its who I am., To keep the police from prying into the matter any further, the clan also hired a private investigator to track down the missing gold. While much of the focus of any polygamous group is on plural marriages that happen outside the law, records and interviews with current and former first wives in the Kington Group lend insight into how legal marriages are facilitated. She then met with two women who helped her complete financial aid forms. In its place, someone had left a note. Andrea Johnson was buried on June 13, 1992, at the Bountiful Memorial Park. A Tale of Two Chads: More Drama From Nineties Band Live. After the chest of gold was stolen, suspicion among the clans leadership immediately fell on a group of rebellious teenagers who had left the cult a few years before. Her father, John Daniel Kingston, has 14 wives. We were taught to be polite, but to never make friends with outsiders. The clan avoids hospitals, believing government-backed doctors might inject them with a mysterious disease or demand birth records exposing the Orders lifestyle. He also shared his brothers fascination with herbs and natural medicine. His most bizarre beliefs, though, concerned the occult. If you ever do that again, he said, Ill blow your head off., It was an astonishing moment in the history of the clan. Girls, many of them teen brides, answer phones at the Orders law office, bag groceries at its supermarket or tend to the clans many children. Shortly after that meeting, the complaint continues, Mrs. That Stephens father sat atop a mafialike organization was a secret kept from him for most of his childhood. Were fucked, they told their cousin. DeRieux did marry the next year at age 18 to a cousin who was 19. (Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) 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. If I had done it, the Order probably would have killed me. 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. In the meantime, the police were closing in on the missing silver. She said marrying at 16 mitigated the pressures U.S. society places on her to have statuesque looks and be immodest. It alleges sex trafficking, sexual battery and child abuse, and seeks a jury trial and unspecified damages. This is your fault, he thundered, glaring at them. Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune Attorneys for the Nelsons and Michaels also did not return messages seeking comments. (Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) The Salt Lake Community College Redwood Road campus is pictured Thursday, Dec. 12, 2019. He served one day in jail. Murdaugh is accused of fatally shooting his son, Paul, 22, with a shotgun and his wife, Maggie, 52, with a rifle near the dog kennels at the family's hunting estate known as Moselle. Still stunned at the sudden loss of their brother, Stephen and his siblings were numb with grief. In an analysis written in 2015, a University of Maryland sociologist found that nationwide 37 percent of people who marry before age 20 divorce in the first 10 years. The grift was exposed decades later, in the 1980s, when the clan paid a $350,000 settlement for swindling the government through welfare fraud. The now-20-year-old said she and her husband have started a family of their own. Its a quiet, haunting place, with massive hayfields that stretch to the horizon. Over the years, the Order has armed itself to ward off rivals, and once stalked and intimidated a judge who was meddling in the clans affairs. He charged across the field and started brutally beating Stephens cousin. I honestly didnt even know there was any gold until they accused me of taking it, he says. Matt Gaetz Called Out for Citing Chinese Propaganda in Hearing Whether she gives her blessing, she said, will depend on the answers to those questions. His life was in danger, the voice on the other end warned. They did so July 3, 2008, in Grand Junction, Colo, where records show two other couples from the Kingston Group married that day. It was Mothers Day in 2000, and Stephen and two of his brothers were speeding up a dirt road for dinner at an aunts house. He trained the women how to rip off the government, a scheme the Order called Bleeding the Beast. Sometimes he parked his immaculately buffed burgundy Ford Thunderbird on the curb, but it was rare to see the man himself. A nationwide debate is underway about teens, especially girls, marrying. As he talked to the woman who lived there, Luke Brown came out of the house, and his brother Scott soon joined him. In the kitchen, he opened a closet and popped a hatch in the floor that led down to a dark, musty basement. DeRieuxs marriage effectively ended in June 2010. Girls are told they will need to pray to God so he might show them who their No. He and Carl are members of the Utah State Bar, despite signing state oaths agreeing to uphold the Utah Constitution, which specifically outlaws polygamy. Boys work its coal mine and stack boxes at Standard Restaurant Supply, a massive discount store. Jessica Kingston said within a year of getting married, her husband started looking for a plural wife. Men rise in prominence by being obedient and pure of blood and by having large families that can produce a lot of money and workers for the group, the suit continues. That daughter was born with a form of heart disease and had long acted responsibly in caring for it, Hansen said. Kiki Kannibal: The Girl Who Played With Fire. Members who have left in recent years say that changed after some of Paul Kingstons brothers were convicted of crimes related to child abuse, sex with a minor or incest. The roof sagged, the carpet was worn, and the place reeked of cheap cologne. Carl Kingston is believed to have fathered 20 children from two wives and another child from a third wife who has left him. 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! They threw away their possessions, donned matching blue overalls, and pitched canvas tents on a patch of land north of Salt Lake that would come to be known as the Home Place.. 1 choice was not her fathers. He was born Jan. 7, 1928, in San Diego, Calif., a son of the late Paul and Evelyn . So it means being a first [wife]. He asked him if he was being obedient, then excused himself to talk to Stephens mother. If someone is mature enough, they should be able to do whatever they want.. Girls who agree to become plural wives tend to be more devout and usually live in homes without their husband, thus receiving less scrutiny. They sat there for a moment, warming their hands against the sputtering heater. Three of Kingston's 14 wives also are in the photo. Intermarriage of close. To deaden his feelings of isolation, he started smoking a lot of pot and sitting around the house all day listening to country music. She wasnt allowed to leave the house until she decided whom to marry. 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. 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. The son of the clans prophet, Knight, then 18, had once seemed destined for a leadership role within the Order. Romero has said her concern is for all girls, not just those in polygamous sects. 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. She is the fifth of her mothers 12 children. Paul was upset any of this had been reported at all, says a former member close to the boys. Earlier in its history, the Kingston Group had plural wives under age 18. Earlier in its history, the Kingston Group had plural wives under age 18. His face was crushed, Stephen says now, matter-of-factly, his eyes going blank for a moment. Paul J. Kingston Sr., 93, of North Huntingdon, died Saturday, Oct. 2, 2021. Paul E. Kingston, considered the top man, signed as a witness for four of the marriages that The Tribune found outside Utah. If you were more obedient, this wouldnt have happened., After that, everything changed, Stephen says. She, in turn, wrote a letter to the judge on their behalf, and the case was settled without a trial. Brothers John Daniel Kingston, the father of the girl now in state custody, is said to have 20 wives; the mother of the "M.N." is half sister. Businesses and individuals have the autonomy to choose and operate as they see fit as evidenced by a huge diversity of industry and management styles among members. was just as frugal as his brother he lived in a dilapidated shack with planks missing from the porch but he had a better head for business. (Jessicas dad and the young man had taken courses together at the University of Utah.) The group sought to maintain Pure Kingston Blood by arranging marriages between cousins and other close relatives, and shunning relationships that werent between white people, the lawsuit alleges. The . As time passed, his dogma became even stranger. Father of Avisa Kingston; Susannah Mary Allison; Samuel Kingston and Paul Kingston. But the constant fear has subsided. My 4-year-old comes to me and says she has to find out her No. For the marriages performed in Utah, Bill W. Stoddard signed as the officiant until his death in March. Money, sex and power. Jessica was given the list of suitors. His father stood on the stage and called out the names of the men who were to receive one of the clans highest honors. 1 choice [of whom to marry] in The Order, Jessica Kingston said. Michaels and Mary Nelson describe similar experiences with their financial aid applications and awards. He later pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor. Directories Newly added. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. It was also around then that Stephen, at the age of 14, began to see the clan for what it really was. Hansen, 50, in a recent interview, said she told her daughter that wanting to leave home was the wrong reason to get married. She says marriages can be used in The Order to gain or maintain favor among the parents of the brides and grooms. The families of 19-year-old Stephen Smith who was rumored to be . Their father rarely came by, and because the nearest town was 18 miles away, the kids forged a fierce bond among themselves. 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. A passerby might catch a glimpse of children in the windows, but for the most part, the Young family kept to themselves. But lots of people in the sect are already descended from that family, Hansen said; thats why there are so many cousin marriages in 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. He had arranged for a banner to be placed over a bridge there. Paul Kingston told her congratulations. Like other teenagers who leave fundamentalist Mormon communities, Stephen was not prepared to enter the world at large. 1 choice for marriage is. No one has been criminally charged. 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. 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He would talk to them about marriage and thinking of whom to marry, Hansen said. He then pinned her on a bed, the documents say, and wouldnt let her call for help. That usually means marrying a Kingston descendant. Within a year, Paul Kingston would take a fourth wife. Regardless, all those applying should do so legally.. The Salt Lake Tribune, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) public charity and contributions are tax In his opening statement and in his cross examination of Kingston, the attorney also spent much time dwelling on the practice of polygamy in the Kingston family sect, saying that sect leader Paul . Instead, he had walked away from the family three years earlier to make a life of his own. Eventually, Stephen was sent back to Washakie and was placed under the supervision of his uncle, one of the familys most feared enforcers. Each daughter married one of their cousins, who also are pictured with their parents. Cousin Carl E. Kingston, an attorney, is said to have a mere two wives. She favors raising the legal marriage age to 18. J.O. Over 75 years, the Kingstons have amassed a fortune worth an estimated $300 million, but the operation skirts the edges of the law. Viewers Can Watch Prince Harry Talk to a Trauma Expert for $33.09 You could be such an asset to the Order., Trending 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.. The "9" represents his status as a "numbered man" in the Davis County Cooperative Society, also known as the Kingston Group. Others say they buried it out in the desert and are slowly cashing it out. The deputy heard the Brown boys knew who stole the gold but suddenly, without explanation, they and everyone in the clan clammed up. (Photo courtesy of Kollene Snow) Kollene Snow, 16, poses in her dress before her 2009 marriage in West Valley City. While the sect is headquartered in Utah, members will travel to Colorado to wed because cousin marriages are legal there. We figured it was ours anyway, says Stephen, explaining that the clan hadnt paid the boys for bagging coal. A copy of the lawsuit also is available there, though no other filings in the case are. Thats when Nicole Mafi, one of Paul Kingstons daughters, says in the lawsuit she was called into a meeting of recent high school graduates to discuss going to college. My e-mail address; george@eaglefreeenterprises ,com . Paul Eldon Kingston, the leader of Utah's polygamous Kingston Group, also known is the order, is named as a defendant in a bombshell lawsuit alleging sex trafficking. One day, for laughs, he and his half brother Ron Tucker stole some napalm from an Order army-supply store, drew lines of it in the street and lit it on fire as cars drove by. While all that is happening, the potential bride is supposed to have been praying about whom to marry. She said the lawsuit is well plead and noted there have been previous successful qui tam cases in student aid programs. She does not favor a change in the marriage age. 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 . Jessica is hardly the only girl to make such a choice. Chuck Lepper, vice president for student affairs and enrollment management, said that no review is planned at this time. Paul Vallas and wife Sharon have been together 38 years. 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 . To cope with the disorientation and loneliness of leaving one world for another, many turn to drugs. To her horror, all that remained was a ring of dust, marking the place where a chest of gold coins had once stood. Eventually, there was a meeting between Jessica Kingston, her parents and Paul Kingston. The marriages, former followers say, can be used as a tool to keep girls in the Kingston Group, known among younger members as The Order. For their part, the brides sometimes see legal marriages as a way to avoid becoming polygamists later (and consequently being matched with a husband perhaps twice their age) or a means to escape their parents crowded households. It includes a provision they obtain financial aid. But we paid it all back.. As the first of Paul Kingstons many wives, Patty enjoyed a privileged role in the Order including access to vast wealth. The other seven are brothers or sons of Paul Kingston. Survivors include his wife, Debra Meeks Kingston, his father, Paul James Kingston, III of McKeesport, PA, children, Brandon E. Kingston & wife Janna of Vidalia, CA, Kevin Ely of Tyler, Jessica Ely of Paris, Phillip Briley of Oklahoma City, OK and Justin Briley & wife Cynthia of Paris, thirteen grandchildren along with two sisters and one brother. The clan believed he had their treasure, and they were sending someone to kill him. Another group of kids called the Lost Boys, who were kicked out of the polygamist cult the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, ended up on the streets of Las Vegas and Phoenix, some turning tricks for drugs like meth and heroin. He was angry and confused, says a former member of the cult. The couples wedding certificate says Stoddard officiated the ceremony April 26, 2008, in West Valley City. Fishing it out of his jeans, hell recognize the number. Consumed with guilt over his brothers death, Stephen lashed out. The Brown boys, charged with felony counts of burglary, wrote a letter to their aunt apologizing for stealing the silver in her house. The plaintiffs estimate 40 to 50 children from the sect were college age in each of the past six years. Donate to the newsroom now. 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 Order's top man, Paul Kingston, counts a half-dozen such relatives among his 20-plus wives, according to ex-members and Attorney General's investigator Ron Barton. In qui tam cases, the federal government can either join the plaintiffs in recouping losses and pursuing damages and fines, or let the plaintiffs prosecute the lawsuit on their own. For, nearly 75 years after they were born, Peter and Paul Kingston are as inseparable now as they were inside their mother's womb. A sheriffs deputy traced the license plate of the Honda to a run-down house in a working-class suburb south of the city. His arms are sunburned and his hands calloused from long days moving the irrigation pipes that water the fields.
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