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The 4 O'Clock Murders: The True Story of a Mormon Family's Vengeance
Texas residents are shocked when, at 4 P.M. an a June day in 1988, four people are slain in precisely timed attacks at three different locations in the state. Police know who the killers are, but cannot convict them. They also know who is giving the execution orders: a man buried in a Texas grave twelve years ago.
Dubbed by the media as the "Mormon Manson," Ervil LeBaron believed he was a prophet chosen by God to purify the Mormon faith. Resurrecting the nineteenth-century Mormon tenets of polygamy and blood atonement, he formed a fanatic religious cult - still in existence - which has left bodies scattered throughout the American Southwest. So strong is LeBaron's hold that, even twelve years after his death, many of his thirteen wives and sixty children are still carrying out his orders.
It is those orders that frighten law enforcement officials. Before he died, LeBaron penned a chilling last testament to his family, a death list called The Book of New Covenants. To date, five of those on the list have been murdered, and no one involved in the case believes the bloodshed is over yet. Investigative writer Scott Anderson presents an astonishing portrait of America's most bizarre crime family.
In a meticulously researched book, Anderson follows the bloody trail of the LeBaron cult over twenty years, and reveals how it has been served by the controversial and hidden history of the Mormon church. As compelling as the best fiction, The 4 O'Clock Murders is all the more terrifying because it is true.
Dubbed by the media as the "Mormon Manson," Ervil LeBaron believed he was a prophet chosen by God to purify the Mormon faith. Resurrecting the nineteenth-century Mormon tenets of polygamy and blood atonement, he formed a fanatic religious cult - still in existence - which has left bodies scattered throughout the American Southwest. So strong is LeBaron's hold that, even twelve years after his death, many of his thirteen wives and sixty children are still carrying out his orders.
It is those orders that frighten law enforcement officials. Before he died, LeBaron penned a chilling last testament to his family, a death list called The Book of New Covenants. To date, five of those on the list have been murdered, and no one involved in the case believes the bloodshed is over yet. Investigative writer Scott Anderson presents an astonishing portrait of America's most bizarre crime family.
In a meticulously researched book, Anderson follows the bloody trail of the LeBaron cult over twenty years, and reveals how it has been served by the controversial and hidden history of the Mormon church. As compelling as the best fiction, The 4 O'Clock Murders is all the more terrifying because it is true.
367 pages, Hardcover
First published December 1, 1992
About the author
Scott Anderson
67 books415 followersScott Anderson is a veteran war correspondent who has reported from Lebanon, Israel, Egypt, Northern Ireland, Chechnya, Sudan, Bosnia, El Salvador, and many other strife-torn countries. He is a contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine, and his work has also appeared in Vanity Fair, Esquire, Harper's and Outside.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
July 16, 2011
More about the "Mormon Manson," Ervil LeBaron. I've read a few books written by wives of his brother. What a fascinating group of madmen!
I discovered that Ervil is buried just a few miles from my house! Kind of gives me the creeps! Also buried there is one of his sons, for whom I say I prayer every time I pass that cemetery. He was just a teenager when he testified against the cult--was given zero protection by the authorities, and was murdered by his aunt and uncle. Really sad.
I discovered that Ervil is buried just a few miles from my house! Kind of gives me the creeps! Also buried there is one of his sons, for whom I say I prayer every time I pass that cemetery. He was just a teenager when he testified against the cult--was given zero protection by the authorities, and was murdered by his aunt and uncle. Really sad.
Want to Read
October 15, 2009I did read it in 2005 but only 120 pages. Then i got a bit tired. Maybe because I'd already read 2 true crime books about mormons. Might try again.
Update August 9 2014. Will add it back to TBR shelf. See if I like it the second time better.
Update August 9 2014. Will add it back to TBR shelf. See if I like it the second time better.
April 4, 2017
Having had some personal dealings with religion; mostly Catholicism, and to a lesser extent, Mormonism, I found "The Four O'Clock Murders" to be a fairly good analysis of religious fundamentalism and murder. Of course, one man's one true faith is anothers apostasy. My Catholic ancestors believed in the virgin birth and divinity of Jesus Christ, while others, the Mormons specifically, are awaiting an afterlife of a planet of their own and possibly multiple wives. Joseph Smith and Brigham Young founded the Church of Latter Day Saints in the 1800's with a foundation of polygamy and the tenet of blood atonement which meant that a sinner could only enter into the kingdom of heaven by having their blood spilled onto the ground; sort of a variation on the old testaments sacrificial lamb. This background leads to an almost comic but tragic series of killings by the infamous Lebaron family. Although a good read, the book is exhausting, due to the sheer volume of fanatic killers. It is well written, with some sarcastic and funny lines by the author. I do recommend it to fans of true crime.
November 23, 2014
This book was decent. It kept bouncing around between past, present, and future. I have problems reading. Once i keep reading i cant stop until i fall asleep and by then i an confused about what i just read because it keeps going from past to present with no warning. Other than that its pretty up there as far as violence. There is no climax. It just gets straight to the point. Its a decent read, i just wouldn't put it on a pedestal and share for the world to read it.
August 19, 2011
Fascinating read. I thought Manson was a monster, these guys made him look like a amateur. Pretty scarry to think that they traveled through my hometown multiple times.
December 14, 2012
Best book I'v Ever read! Could not put it down...literally read this in one day! 3 Times!
June 12, 2017
Fascinating subject matter on the LeBaron family, but the writing is dry and I found myself struggling to get through it.
December 7, 2017
Very thoroughly covered the events leading up to the murders, then the 4 o'clock murders come in around 3/4 of the book. I appreciated the history and family story laid out in this book because I read "The Polygamist's Daughter" and was having trouble keeping all the people straight, and the details of the actual events were a bit vague (great book, don't get me wrong. I wanted more backstory after reading it though). This totally filled in the gaps for me and the family tree in the beginning was unbelievably helpful. I referred to it so many times while reading the book. The LeBaron family is enormous, and that's just Ervil's wives and daughters. The Sound of Gravel covers some of Joel's kids, and together, my goodness, so many kids to try to keep track of!
I'm on this FLDS memoir/Mormon Manson reading kick lately for some reason. It started with Ruth Wariner's book then Anna LeBaron's book, then Carolyn Jessop's book (this one is related to Warren Jeffs, not Ervil LeBaron), and now I'm getting geeky with the true crime books as opposed to just the memoirs. All are riveting and I'm not sick of them yet. I just picked up Prophet of Blood, but I doubt I'll learn many new details from it that the 4 o'clock Murders has not covered already.
Good read. Can be boring in parts. It's definitely not one of those books you'll stay up all night reading. In fact, it might actually put you to sleep mid sentence, but it is really thorough and well worth the slog to understand everything that happened, from the start of Ervil LeBaron's life.
I'm on this FLDS memoir/Mormon Manson reading kick lately for some reason. It started with Ruth Wariner's book then Anna LeBaron's book, then Carolyn Jessop's book (this one is related to Warren Jeffs, not Ervil LeBaron), and now I'm getting geeky with the true crime books as opposed to just the memoirs. All are riveting and I'm not sick of them yet. I just picked up Prophet of Blood, but I doubt I'll learn many new details from it that the 4 o'clock Murders has not covered already.
Good read. Can be boring in parts. It's definitely not one of those books you'll stay up all night reading. In fact, it might actually put you to sleep mid sentence, but it is really thorough and well worth the slog to understand everything that happened, from the start of Ervil LeBaron's life.
Read
March 7, 2021I thought this book was excellent written, easy to follow and read. I had known a bit about the 4 O'clock murders, but the history included in this book was outstanding. I don't know that I would call them a "Mormon" family, since their religion is a break off & is individually named. However, the background on how Mormonism ties into their beliefs & is twisted into their way of thinking was presented very well. The fact some of this group are still fugitives, the horrific things they have gotten away with & the fact that they are still around today is actually quite scary. The group of woman & children that made headlines when they were ambushed in their SUV's not that long ago are the modern members of this group, still living in Colonia LeBaron in Mexico. Makes you stop & wonder who was actually responsible for those deaths. Mexican drug dealers? Or is this a new start to the blood & carnage this group/family is well known for perpetrating against each other. I would highly recommend this book to everyone, it is a fantastic example of religion gone horribly wrong, thoss in authority lying to cover their involvement & crime bluffs will love it. Definitely one of my best reads so far this year.
June 23, 2018
Wow. I thought I knew a lot about this story because I’d read memoirs by some people who were peripherally involved, but I had no idea. It was so much worse than I already knew.
This book was an excellently written account of the Ervil LeBaron family. It had a lot of good details about the family before Joel pronounced himself prophet and really showed a family history of instability as well as a good primer on Mormon history in general.
If you find cults or polygamy fascinating like I do I highly recommend this book. And if after that you want to read further, check out my other reviews of polygamist memoirs from this family. (And I still have two more to go!)
This book was an excellently written account of the Ervil LeBaron family. It had a lot of good details about the family before Joel pronounced himself prophet and really showed a family history of instability as well as a good primer on Mormon history in general.
If you find cults or polygamy fascinating like I do I highly recommend this book. And if after that you want to read further, check out my other reviews of polygamist memoirs from this family. (And I still have two more to go!)
March 10, 2017
StephanySpencer.com: Stephany Spencer's book review of Investigative-Journalist Scott Anderson's "The 4 O'clock Murders:"
Scott Anderson's "The 4 O'clock Murders," published in 1993, is a must-read for those interested in a documentary of America's most bizarre but now apparently defunct crime family. The Doc chronicles the history of this extremist cult initiated in the late 1960s by the sociopathic serial killer, Ervil LeBaron. (He was my uncle, no less.)
The cult was largely made up of Uncle Ervil's fourteen wives and about sixty children, plus a few other staunch followers and their wives and children. He called his cult organization the "Church of the Lamb of God." But it was, in reality, anything but lamb-like. Ervil LeBaron's cult was a fundamentalist Mormon-mafioso syndicated crime family cloaked under the guise of religion.
Anderson's text is the most up-to-date book on this cult. Thanks to his dedicated and daring work, we have an amazing wealth of information and insight to further our research, awareness, and understanding of "Evil Ervil," and his avenging angels.
I've been told the "Ervilites" no longer exist. But that's not to say another extreme cult of "avenging angel's" couldn't or hasn't risen from its ashes to take up where the "Ervilites" left off. You are with me in hoping that isn't the case and never happens.
Recently, I read Scott Anderson's "The 4 O'clock Murders," only to have my hair stand on end when I realized how little I had ever really known about this horrifyingly horrific, dangerous, and devious band of outlaws.
I'm not proud to say most of them were my relatives. And that it was all spawned by my charismatic and brilliant, but lunatic Uncle Ervil and his treacherous teachings -- that included hearing God regularly tell him to "Kill those sons of bitches!"
But maniacal "Mormon Manson" Ervil couldn't have succeeded in his reign of terror without the dastardly group of mislead, miscreant, autistic-like, demented people who followed his violent, crazy, megalomaniac, and malevolent religious philosophy.
The majority of Uncle Joel LeBaron's Church of the Firstborn followers couldn't stomach his brother Ervil LeBaron's violent, threatening, and far-fetched Philosophy of life. Nor did they want anything to do with his domineering, devious, and deceptive ways.
Ervil's overbearing, self-centered, presumptuous, pseudo-authoritative sense-of-entitlement was hard for most to take -- not to mention his nonstop talk, wayward religious doctrines -- and his bad breath.
Uncle Ervil's priestcraft and manipulations drove some of my peaceful Uncle Joel's followers into frenzied frustration, rebellion, and disillusionment -- such that they left Joel's cult Uncle Ervil had a large role in helping Joel build.
In other words, most of Uncle Joel LeBaron's followers (myself included) wouldn't leave Joel's sect to join the violent renegade, retrograde cult Ervil LeBaron started. (Ervil initiated it after Joel excommunicated him from the "Church of the First Born," a Mormon-offshoot cult.)
Therefore, you have to wonder about the adults who did choose to follow Uncle Ervil, hook, line, and sinker/stinker (Pun intended) -- and even to murder for him!
In 1967, at age twenty-one, I escaped Uncle Joel LeBaron's cult -- just as Uncle Ervil, his right-hand man and brother, was beginning to preach his own violent, subversive civil-law and blood-atonement doctrine, along with all its mafioso underpinnings.
A few years after I fled "The Church of the Firstborn of the Fullness of Times," Uncle Joel, as I mentioned above, finally disfellowshipped his brother Ervil from his "church," due to, among other things, Ervil's insurrection, insubordination, aggrandizement, and blood-atonement philosophy.
You must read the following books, "The 4 O'Clock Murders," "Prophet of Blood," and my recently-deceased Aunt Irene Koonz LeBaron/Spencer's book, "Cult Insanity," to know what I'm talking about -- if you aren't already familiar with the LeBaron-Madmen story.
I wish there were an update of this bloody LeBaron Documentary, "The Four O'clock Murders." Written over twenty-five years ago, much has taken place among the Ervilites, LeBarons, and Joel's cult since Scott Anderson went out on a limb, putting his life on the line, to chronicle and publish this incredulous history of a vengeful crime family that makes Manson and his "family" seem tame in comparison.
I'm grateful Anderson scribed this well-written Doc. Without his honesty and dedication, I and the world would never have known the extent to which this bloody, Satanic, and ill-begotten cult was willing to go -- although we do have the earlier and equally well-written and researched documentary, "The Prophet of Blood," chronicled and published in 1981 by Ben Bradlee, Jr. and Dale Van Atta.
These Documentaries may not always be right-on-the-button. But they're close enough "Whose got the button." The Authors did well, given the difficulty involved in obtaining information. Even ex-cult members usually don't talk -- especially to outsiders. If bits of Info were circumspect, blame the cult members they interviewed!
That said, "The Prophet of Blood," is a recommended read. It contains historical data not in "The 4 O'clock Murders."
Scott Anderson's Documentary published twelve years later, chronicles updated history of the bloody and loony legacy spawned by the maniacal "prophet," Ervil LeBaron. It's a pathetic legacy of a "Prophet out for Profit" ... out of his mind.
Scott Anderson's "The 4 O'clock Murders," published in 1993, is a must-read for those interested in a documentary of America's most bizarre but now apparently defunct crime family. The Doc chronicles the history of this extremist cult initiated in the late 1960s by the sociopathic serial killer, Ervil LeBaron. (He was my uncle, no less.)
The cult was largely made up of Uncle Ervil's fourteen wives and about sixty children, plus a few other staunch followers and their wives and children. He called his cult organization the "Church of the Lamb of God." But it was, in reality, anything but lamb-like. Ervil LeBaron's cult was a fundamentalist Mormon-mafioso syndicated crime family cloaked under the guise of religion.
Anderson's text is the most up-to-date book on this cult. Thanks to his dedicated and daring work, we have an amazing wealth of information and insight to further our research, awareness, and understanding of "Evil Ervil," and his avenging angels.
I've been told the "Ervilites" no longer exist. But that's not to say another extreme cult of "avenging angel's" couldn't or hasn't risen from its ashes to take up where the "Ervilites" left off. You are with me in hoping that isn't the case and never happens.
Recently, I read Scott Anderson's "The 4 O'clock Murders," only to have my hair stand on end when I realized how little I had ever really known about this horrifyingly horrific, dangerous, and devious band of outlaws.
I'm not proud to say most of them were my relatives. And that it was all spawned by my charismatic and brilliant, but lunatic Uncle Ervil and his treacherous teachings -- that included hearing God regularly tell him to "Kill those sons of bitches!"
But maniacal "Mormon Manson" Ervil couldn't have succeeded in his reign of terror without the dastardly group of mislead, miscreant, autistic-like, demented people who followed his violent, crazy, megalomaniac, and malevolent religious philosophy.
The majority of Uncle Joel LeBaron's Church of the Firstborn followers couldn't stomach his brother Ervil LeBaron's violent, threatening, and far-fetched Philosophy of life. Nor did they want anything to do with his domineering, devious, and deceptive ways.
Ervil's overbearing, self-centered, presumptuous, pseudo-authoritative sense-of-entitlement was hard for most to take -- not to mention his nonstop talk, wayward religious doctrines -- and his bad breath.
Uncle Ervil's priestcraft and manipulations drove some of my peaceful Uncle Joel's followers into frenzied frustration, rebellion, and disillusionment -- such that they left Joel's cult Uncle Ervil had a large role in helping Joel build.
In other words, most of Uncle Joel LeBaron's followers (myself included) wouldn't leave Joel's sect to join the violent renegade, retrograde cult Ervil LeBaron started. (Ervil initiated it after Joel excommunicated him from the "Church of the First Born," a Mormon-offshoot cult.)
Therefore, you have to wonder about the adults who did choose to follow Uncle Ervil, hook, line, and sinker/stinker (Pun intended) -- and even to murder for him!
In 1967, at age twenty-one, I escaped Uncle Joel LeBaron's cult -- just as Uncle Ervil, his right-hand man and brother, was beginning to preach his own violent, subversive civil-law and blood-atonement doctrine, along with all its mafioso underpinnings.
A few years after I fled "The Church of the Firstborn of the Fullness of Times," Uncle Joel, as I mentioned above, finally disfellowshipped his brother Ervil from his "church," due to, among other things, Ervil's insurrection, insubordination, aggrandizement, and blood-atonement philosophy.
You must read the following books, "The 4 O'Clock Murders," "Prophet of Blood," and my recently-deceased Aunt Irene Koonz LeBaron/Spencer's book, "Cult Insanity," to know what I'm talking about -- if you aren't already familiar with the LeBaron-Madmen story.
I wish there were an update of this bloody LeBaron Documentary, "The Four O'clock Murders." Written over twenty-five years ago, much has taken place among the Ervilites, LeBarons, and Joel's cult since Scott Anderson went out on a limb, putting his life on the line, to chronicle and publish this incredulous history of a vengeful crime family that makes Manson and his "family" seem tame in comparison.
I'm grateful Anderson scribed this well-written Doc. Without his honesty and dedication, I and the world would never have known the extent to which this bloody, Satanic, and ill-begotten cult was willing to go -- although we do have the earlier and equally well-written and researched documentary, "The Prophet of Blood," chronicled and published in 1981 by Ben Bradlee, Jr. and Dale Van Atta.
These Documentaries may not always be right-on-the-button. But they're close enough "Whose got the button." The Authors did well, given the difficulty involved in obtaining information. Even ex-cult members usually don't talk -- especially to outsiders. If bits of Info were circumspect, blame the cult members they interviewed!
That said, "The Prophet of Blood," is a recommended read. It contains historical data not in "The 4 O'clock Murders."
Scott Anderson's Documentary published twelve years later, chronicles updated history of the bloody and loony legacy spawned by the maniacal "prophet," Ervil LeBaron. It's a pathetic legacy of a "Prophet out for Profit" ... out of his mind.
August 24, 2020
At times the writing is a bit too dramatic, but this account of the LeBaron murders always keeps your attention. The actual “4 O’clock Murders” are the finale to a story that began years earlier, with the demented and murderous Ervil LeBaron. Scott Anderson ably keeps the threads of this complicated tale together. Since the book was published in 1993, it does not include the denouement for the accused killers.
May 27, 2020
I’ve read quite a few books on polygamy, but this was the most in-depth version I’ve read focusing on Ervil LeBaron
and his legacy of blood atonement. It’s startling how son can kill mother, siblings kill one another...so much death, and just because someone else told them to kill.
Grim, but good.
and his legacy of blood atonement. It’s startling how son can kill mother, siblings kill one another...so much death, and just because someone else told them to kill.
Grim, but good.
July 15, 2017
Another view inside the minds of religious fanatic fundamentalists.
July 28, 2020
i didn't know you could take such an interesting subject and make it unreadably dull, but here we are...
February 19, 2026
Great details. Great overview of the evolution of Ervil Le Baron.
Read
June 13, 2026I couldn’t stay focused after one third of the book since it’s too crazy and I liked Under the banner of heaven a lot more.
October 19, 2013
A very indepth book on this cult but I also got the short version of it from the book before this that I read called "cult insanity - - - ". Amazing how cult leaders can get people to believe thru fear or partial truths carried to far in the wrong direction. This is why we all should know our Bible to know "the truth and be set free".
December 29, 2008
The writing quality is very poor and gossipy, but the subject is so compelling that it is eminently readable.
July 31, 2011
Wouldn't recommend it.
Read
August 10, 2018Wow ! Was anyone in this family and those who were drawn into this cult ever capable of dealing with sanity ?
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews