On
this date, October 24, 2006, Jeffrey Don Lundgren A.K.A The Prophet of Death
was executed by lethal injection in the Southern Ohio
Correctional Facility in Lucasville, Ohio. He and his cult members were
convicted of murdering the Avery family on April 17, 1989.
I will post information
about him from several internet sources before giving my thoughts.
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| Jeffrey Don Lundgren |
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| Jeffrey Don Lundgren |
Born
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Jeffrey Don Lundgren
May 3, 1950 Independence, Missouri, United States |
Died
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October 24, 2006 (aged 56)
Lucasville, Ohio |
Conviction(s)
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Mass murder
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Penalty
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Capital punishment
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Conviction status
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Executed
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Occupation
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self-proclaimed prophet
former cult leader |
Spouse
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Alice Keeler
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INTERNET SOURCE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeffrey_Don_Lundgren
Jeffrey Don Lundgren (May 3, 1950 – October 24, 2006) was a self-proclaimed
prophet, former leader of a cult group, and convicted mass murderer of five
people. He was married to Alice Keeler who was also convicted of conspiracy to
commit mass murder.
Childhood
Lundgren
was born in Missouri and grew up as a member of the Reorganized Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS Church). According to his allegations (supported
by some of his former neighbors) he was severely abused as a child,
particularly by his father. His mother reportedly did not defend him. Lundgren
was, by most accounts, a loner when he was in middle and high school. He became
an expert hunter when he began to spend time with his father as a teenager. The
pair would go on hunting trips, and Lundgren became a gun expert, learning
shooting and maintenance techniques.
Lundgren
enrolled at Central Missouri State University, and he spent time at a house
that was specially built for RLDS youth. While at the house, he became friends
with Keith Johnson and Alice Keeler.
Keeler,
who had been abused by her father as well, quickly bonded with Lundgren, and
the two became lovers. The couple married in 1970, and Lundgren enlisted in the
U.S. Navy.
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The farmhouse the Lundgrens rented (David
Lohr/Don Pender) (PHOTO SOURCE: http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/mass/lundgren/fury_5.html)
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Adulthood
On
December 2, 1970, the couple's first child, a boy, was born. By 1974, Keeler
was pregnant for the second time. Prior to receiving an honorable discharge
from the U.S. Navy at the end of his first term Lundgren sought an early
release from his term of duty with an argument that his presence was necessary
for the sustenance of his family. He was denied for reasons non-necessary
according to military recommendations. He received an honorable discharge from
the Navy days before his four-year enlistment was completed. His second son was
born soon after.
Lundgren
and his new family settled in San Diego after he was discharged from the Navy.
Once economic problems began to set in, the Lundgrens moved back to Missouri.
In 1979, Keeler gave birth to a third child, a daughter. People close to the
couple claim that Lundgren seemed distraught by the family's money problems and
was tired of his wife.
Lundgren
allegedly became abusive after the birth of his daughter. According to hospital
records, his wife was hospitalized for a ruptured spleen, which may have been
caused by Lundgren pushing her into a closet door handle. In 1980, the couple
had their fourth child, another boy.
In
1987, Lundgren was dismissed as a lay minister by the RLDS.
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The Avery Family (Taro Yamasaki/TIMEPIX)
(PHOTO SOURCE: http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/mass/lundgren/prophet_4.html)
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Prophet
ile
Lundgren was living in a church-owned home, located next to the Kirtland
Temple, on Chillicothe Road, in Kirtland, Ohio, he volunteered as a tour
guide of the historic Kirtland Temple, for the Reorganized Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter Day Saints (since 2001, the Community of Christ). He began to
teach the concept of "dividing the word," known as "chiastic
interpretation" or "chiasmus," to interpret scriptures. Lundgren
falsely claimed to have created chiastic interpretation. The foundation was
that in everything created by God, the right side is a mirror image and,
therefore, scripture had to be interpreted using that same method. He cited the
Kirtland Temple as an example because the right side was a mirror image of the
left side. To apply this concept to scripture, one takes a sentence from
scripture; if the sentences before and after are consistent, the center
sentence is the "truth"; when the sentences before and after
conflict, the center sentence is a lie. His teaching of scriptural
interpretations attracted his followers. Lundgren claimed that he moved to Ohio
from Missouri because the word, "OHIO" is "chiastic". About
1987, Lundgren was asked to leave the church-owned house and his job as tour
guide was terminated due to suspicions of theft.
In
1987, Lundgren and his family moved to a rented farm house, located at 8671
Chardon Road on U.S. Route 6 (aka: Euclid-Chardon Road), east of Ohio State
Route #306. Some of the followers knew Lundgren in Missouri while others were
attracted to Lundgren when they were exposed to his teachings when he was
working as a Temple tour guide. At that time, some followers started to move
into his home. Those who moved into the house were Kevin Currie, Richard Brand,
Greg Winship, Sharon Bluntschly, Daniel Kraft, and Debbie Olivarez. Ronald and
Susan Luff; Dennis and Tonya Patrick; and, Dennis and Cheryl Avery maintained
their own residences. There were others whose names were not made public
because they were not significant to the criminal investigation (conspiracy to
deprive civil rights, the Kirtland Temple Takeover, and multiple homicide of
the Avery family.). While Lundgren was living at the farm house, Lundgren's
teachings continued and he began to practice methods of "mind
control," which were consistent with Robert Lifton's Criteria for Mind
Control. For example, cult members were forbidden to talk amongst themselves;
doing so was a sin, called "murmuring." He would eavesdrop on cult
members to cause them to believe that he could read their minds.
On
April 23, 1988 a neighbor told Kirtland police officer Ron Andolsek that she
suspected that a cult was living at the farm house and that Lundgren's son
warned the neighbor's children that on May 15 the earth would open up and
demons would emerge. On April 28, 1988, a former cult member, referred by the
FBI, called Kirtland Police and reported the cult's conspiracy to take over the
Kirtland Temple to Chief Dennis T. Yarborough. Yarborough did not believe the
informant's information and on May 2, 1988, Chief Yarborough confronted
Lundgren at the Kirtland Police Station. When Lundgren left, Yarborough said
that he "Neutralized the situation" by warning Lundgren that there
were complaints about gun fire on Lundgren's property. Lundgren went back to
his followers and told them that the May 3rd Kirtland Temple Takeover was off
because he had spoken to a higher power. The Kirtland Police iniitated
surveillance of Lundgren's residence and of church-owned properties. In
September 1988, a second informant came forward. Officer Andolsek cultivated
the informant and made contact with the ATF and the FBI. The FBI initiated a
domestic terrorism investigation.
On
October 10, 1988, the day that Lundgren was dismissed from the RLDS church,
there was a thunderstorm at the South end of Kirtland. When the sun emerged, a
large rainbow appeared to the East. Lundgren told his followers that the
rainbow signified the opening of the "Seven Seals." Lundgren and his
family soon abandoned the religious group, and Lundgren began to feel a call to
teach the Bible in the way he understood it. He formed his own sect soon after.
Membership never exceeded more than twenty. These were some of the most
conservative members of the RLDS who believed that God communicated through
regular revelations although some members admitted that they claimed to have
revelations even when they did not. The conservatives were also opposed to more
liberal rights for women. This was during a rift with the more liberal members
of the church. Alice Lundgren often acted as a cheerleader to Jeffrey Lundgren.
She had claimed she had once had a revelation that she would meet an important
leader of the RLDS. She later concluded that this alleged revelation referred
to Jeffrey.
Lundgren
began to offer Bible study services at his home. Lundgren would dominate the
services himself and he would intimidate anyone who didn't agree with him. He
would later encourage others to intimidate those who disagreed as well. He
sought to convince his congregation that he was God's last prophet. He asked
for money from his supporters, and some would give him their life's savings,
which often were calculated to be thousands of dollars.
Lundgren
then proclaimed he had received a call from God to move to Kirtland, Ohio, a
Lake County city, located twenty (20) miles east of Cleveland, Ohio. According
to Lundgren, he was told by God that he and his supporters would soon witness
the second coming of Christ if they moved to Kirtland. Lundgren was attracted
to Kirtland because it was the home of the Kirtland Temple, built by Joseph
Smith and Smith's followers. Lundgren would tell his followers that on May 3
(no year specified - May 3 was also Lundgren's birthday), that the "second
coming" would happen at the Kirtland Temple and that he and his followers
would have to seize the Kirtland Temple by force and hold it for the second
coming. The conspiracy involved burglarizing adjacent church-homes and
committing murder as part of the "Kirtland Temple Takeover." Lundgren
called the land around the temple, "The Vineyards," which had to be
"redeemed" or "cleansed" for he and his followers to take
the temple.
By
this time, seven of Lundgren's 12 followers had moved into the family home. The
remaining five were members of Dennis Avery's family. Lundgren felt that the
Averys were committing a sin by not living in his house. The Avery family
father, Dennis, sold his Missouri house in order for his family to move to
Ohio. Dennis Avery believed in Jeffrey completely and trusted him. Jeffrey,
however, considered Dennis Avery to be weak and, when Dennis was no longer
useful to Jeffrey, he began talking about Dennis behind his back. Jeffrey often
used Dennis as a scapegoat for their troubles even though Dennis was one of the
leading contributors. Dennis Avery decided to set apart a relatively small
amount of money for his family's use, with a bank account. Once again, Lundgren
considered this a sin, because Lundgren wanted all of his followers' money to
be given exclusively to him.
In
time, Lundgren convinced his followers that they had to seize the temple, from
which he had stolen about $40,000, and to kill anyone who stood in their way.
He changed his mind, however, and started telling his followers that they had
to kill a family of five instead if they wanted to see God. As punishment for
their "disloyalty," he chose the Averys. At some point, he referred
to the slaughter of the Avery family as "pruning the vineyard," most
likely a reference to the allegory of the olive tree found in chapter 5 of the
Book of Jacob, part of The Book of Mormon.
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The home the Averys rented (David Lohr/Don
Pender) (PHOTO SOURCE: http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/mass/lundgren/prophet_4.html)
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The farm house becomes a crime scene (Taro
Yamasaki/TIMEPIX) (PHOTO SOURCE: http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/mass/lundgren/revealed_11.html)
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Diagrams of the floor plan of the barn and
the location of the bodies. (Officer Ron Andolsek)
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The pit where the bodies were discovered
(David Lohr/Don Pender)
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Murders
On
April 10, 1989 in Kirtland, Ohio, Lundgren ordered two of his followers to dig
a pit in the barn, in anticipation of burying the Averys' bodies there. The
anticipation was that there could be five bodies buried in the pit. Lundgren
told the rest of his followers, including the Averys, that they would go on a
wilderness trip. A week later, on April 17, 1989, he rented a motel room and
had dinner with all of his followers. He then called his group's men into his
room. He questioned each as to their purpose in the action. All of the men
assured Lundgren that they were with him in the sacrifice. Dennis Avery was not
invited to the meeting in Lundgren's bedroom.
According
to followers' admissions, Lundgren later went inside the barn, with a church
member named Ron Luff luring Dennis Avery into a place where the other men
awaited by asking him for help with equipment for the camping trip. Luff
attempted to render Avery unconscious with a stun gun, but due to a malfunction
a stun bullet struck Avery but did not knock him out.
Avery
then was gagged and dragged to the place where Lundgren awaited. He was shot
twice in the chest, dying almost instantly. To mask the sound of the gun, a
chainsaw was left running. Luff then told Avery's wife, Cheryl, that her
husband needed help. She was gagged, like her husband, but also had duct tape
put over her eyes, and dragged to Lundgren. She was shot three times, twice in
the breasts and once in the abdomen. Her body lay next to her husband's. The
Averys' 15-year-old daughter, Trina, was shot twice in the head. The first shot
missed, but the second killed her instantly. Thirteen year old Becky Avery was
shot twice and left to die, while six-year-old Karen Avery was shot in the
chest and head. Both died.
The
barn where the incident took place was demolished November 13, 2007.
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Jeffrey Lundgren in the custody of police
(Lake County News Herald/Duncan Scott)
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Case
Officers
coincidentally came to Lundgren's farm to talk to Lundgren on April 18, 1989,
the day after the murders. After this he left town. Lundgren and the rest of
his group went south to West Virginia. But as months went by and nothing
happened, Lundgren became disillusioned, and he and his family returned to
California, leaving the rest of the surviving cult members behind.
Nine
months after the killings, in 1990, police, following a tip from an informant,
returned to the long-abandoned farm and uncovered the five bodies of the Avery
family.
The
Lundgrens became fugitives. Media attention increased, and police began to
track the cult members. The FBI joined in the hunt. Eventually, all of
Lundgren's followers were found, and they helped catch him and his family.
Thirteen
of Lundgren's sect were arrested, including Lundgren and his wife. Alice
Lundgren received five life sentences for conspiracy, complicity and
kidnapping. Jeffrey Lundgren was given the death penalty.
Execution
The
Ohio Supreme Court set October 24, 2006 as his execution date. According to the
state attorney general's office, as of August, 2006, he had exhausted his
appeals.
On
October 17, 2006, Judge Gregory L. Frost issued an order temporarily delaying
Lundgren's execution. Lundgren attempted to join a lawsuit with five other Ohio
death row inmates challenging the state's death penalty law, claiming that
because of his obesity the lethal injection would be particularly painful and
amount to cruel and unusual punishment. State Attorney General Jim Petro
appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in
Cincinnati. The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals issued an order allowing the
execution to go forward. The U.S. Supreme Court refused a last-minute request
to stop his execution, and Governor Bob Taft also denied clemency.
On
October 24, 2006, Jeffrey Lundgren was executed at the Southern Ohio
Correctional Facility.
INTERNET SOURCE: http://www.clarkprosecutor.org/html/death/US/lundgren1050.htm
Summary: Lundgren and about two dozen followers
had broken away from the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day
Saints, now called the Community of Christ, a small church that splintered from
the mainstream Mormon church. His group believed doomsday was near. Lundgren
killed the Avery family both because of a message he felt he got from God and
because he saw the family as disloyal for not pooling their finances into a
common church fund. After inviting Dennis and Cheryl Avery and their three daughters
over for dinner, each was led individually out to the barn, where each was
bound and gagged by a group of men. After they had placed each Avery family
member into the pit, Lundgren shot each person two or three times with a .45
caliber semiautomatic weapon. The men then filled the pit with dirt and stones.
Afterwards, Lundgren and the others went back to the farmhouse and held a
prayer meeting.
ACCOMPLICES:
Alice Lundgren - Aggravated Murder (5 counts), Kidnapping (5 counts) - 150 years to Life.
Damon Lundgren - Aggravated Murder (4 counts), Kidnapping (4 counts) - 120 years to Life.
Ronald Luff - Aggravated Murder (5 counts), Kidnapping (5 counts) - 170 years to Life.
Daniel Kraft - Aggravated Murder (5 counts), Kidnapping (3 counts) - 50 years to Life.
Gregory Winship - Murder (5 counts), 15 years to Life.
Richard Brand - Murder (5 counts) - 15 years to Life.
Sharon Bluntschly - Conspiracy to Aggravated Murder - 7-25 years.
Deborah Olivarez - Conspiracy to Aggravated Murder - 7-25 years.
Susan Luff - Conspiracy to Aggravated Murder and was sentenced to 7-25 years.
Kathryn R. Johnson - Obstructing Justice - 1 year.
Dennis Patrick - Obstructing Justice - 18 months, sentence suspended and placed on 1 year probation.
Alice Lundgren - Aggravated Murder (5 counts), Kidnapping (5 counts) - 150 years to Life.
Damon Lundgren - Aggravated Murder (4 counts), Kidnapping (4 counts) - 120 years to Life.
Ronald Luff - Aggravated Murder (5 counts), Kidnapping (5 counts) - 170 years to Life.
Daniel Kraft - Aggravated Murder (5 counts), Kidnapping (3 counts) - 50 years to Life.
Gregory Winship - Murder (5 counts), 15 years to Life.
Richard Brand - Murder (5 counts) - 15 years to Life.
Sharon Bluntschly - Conspiracy to Aggravated Murder - 7-25 years.
Deborah Olivarez - Conspiracy to Aggravated Murder - 7-25 years.
Susan Luff - Conspiracy to Aggravated Murder and was sentenced to 7-25 years.
Kathryn R. Johnson - Obstructing Justice - 1 year.
Dennis Patrick - Obstructing Justice - 18 months, sentence suspended and placed on 1 year probation.
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Deborah
Olivarez and Richard Brand (Duncan Scott, The News Herald)
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Alice,
Damon & Jeffrey Lundgren (Union-Tribune Publishing Co.)
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Alice Lundgren in Police custody (Duncan
Scott, The News Herald)
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Damon
Lundgren (John Kuntz)
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Dennis Patrick (Duncan Scott, The News
Herald)
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Danny
Kraft in court (The News Herald)
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Ron Luff after testifying (Duncan Scott, The
News Herald)
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Kathy
Johnson, led to court (Duncan Scott, The News Herald)
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"Lundgren got what he
deserved; After cult killer's execution, no one claims body," by Maggi
Martin. (Wednesday, October 25, 2006)
Lucasville,
Ohio -- Jeffrey Lundgren, the self-professed prophet who killed five people in
what he said was a sacrifice demanded by a higher power, died by lethal
injection Tuesday in a death demanded by the state. Lundgren walked the 17
steps to the death chamber without the well- worn Bible that he used to control
his cult, which formed after he broke from the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter Day Saints.
As
a dozen people watched from the other side of a glass wall, Lundgren issued a
15-second statement that mentioned fellow cult member Kathryn Johnson, his
second wife. "I want to profess my love for God, my family, my children and
my beloved Kathryn," he said while staring at the ceiling. "I am
because you are." Moments after the lethal combination of three drugs was
injected into his beefy arms, Lundgren heaved a big sigh, his eyes fluttered,
and then he was still. Minutes later, at 10:26 a.m., he was pronounced dead.
He
died more gently than his victims. Dennis and Cheryl Avery and their daughters,
Trina, 15, Becky, 13, and Karen, 7, were led one by one past a buzzing chain
saw to a muddy pit, where they were bound with duct tape, shot and dumped into
a common grave. Lundgren claimed that the 1989 slayings were commanded by God.
Among
those witnessing the execution was U.S. Rep. Steven LaTourette, who served as
Lake County's prosecutor at the time of the slayings. LaTourette said the
killings were a cowardly act committed to silence those who began to doubt
Lundgren's status as a deity. "Even after 16 years, I still can't get the
vision out of my head of 7-year-old Karen Avery," LaTourette said.
"As we removed the parents from the pit, we all said we didn't want there
to be children." Other witnesses included Cheryl Avery's younger brother,
Donald Bailey of Missouri. In an act of defiance, he walked up close to the
death chamber's glass window to ensure that Lundgren knew he was there.
"He
got what he deserved," said Bailey, who said the family has suffered
depression and nightmares from the horror. In a written statement, Bailey said
he was convinced that Lundgren would kill again if he were released from
prison. "There is only one sure way to make sure this never happens again:
To be sure his life is forfeited for the terrible deeds he has done. The
memories of his victims and the welfare of society and demands of justice all
dictate this final act of cleansing," Bailey wrote. "My only regret
is that he has but one life to give."
After
the execution, prison officials said Lundgren had been so certain that he would
win a delay that he napped much of the morning. His lawyers were not present
when the U.S. Supreme Court declined to accept his last appeal a little more
than an hour before the scheduled 10 a.m. execution. Gov. Bob Taft denied
Lundgren's request for clemency. Lundgren had hoped to stay his execution while
courts considered a lawsuit arguing that the state's method of execution,
lethal injection, is cruel. A U.S. District Court judge stayed the execution
last week so that Lundgren could join the lawsuit, but a three-judge panel from
the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed that decision Monday night.
The
once haughty prophet who surrounded himself with loyal followers died with no
family members or friends among the witnesses. With no one claiming his body,
Lundgren will be buried in a simple ceremony in a prison grave in Chillicothe.
Other convicts will serve as pallbearers.
The
Avery family was buried years ago in the rolling hills of Missouri. A Missouri
church community raised thousands of dollars to pay for the burial and to
launch a children's charity so that the memory of Trina, Rebecca and Karen
Avery would not end in a muddy pit in Kirtland.
OTHER LINKS:
MY THOUGHTS:
“The once haughty prophet who surrounded himself with loyal followers died with no family members or friends among the witnesses. With no one claiming his body, Lundgren will be buried in a simple ceremony in a prison grave in Chillicothe. Other convicts will serve as pallbearers.”
For
a false prophet like Jeffrey Lundgren, whose crimes were so heinous and too
disturbing, there were no candlelight vigils or even protests from the A.C.L.U.
I suspect that even the Abolitionist Nun, Helen Prejean will remain silent
about his execution, since this killer who led a cult group was ‘playing’ God
all along.
I
suggest showing this to those Anti-Death Penalty ‘Christians’ and see how they
react.
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