Unholy Sacrifice

by Robert Scott

BORN AGAIN....
San Francisco Bay area stockbroker Taylor Helzer was young, handsome, and - to all outward appearances - normal. But that was before a three-day self-awareness seminar left him convinced he was a new Messiah. In the interest of funding his own church and "saving" America from Satan, Helzer began making and selling Ecstasy and convinced girlfriend Keri Furman to pose for "Playboy". She eventually left him, only to be replaced by naive, gullible Dawn Godman.

BLOOD BATH...
Helzer, his younger brother Justin, and Dawn formed an unholy alliance called the Children of Thunder. They wanted to score big. The brothers abducted Taylor's former clients Ivan and Annette Stineman, inducing them to sign over checks totalling $100,000. The elderly couple was beaten and stabbed to death, then dismembered in a bathtub.

BODY COUNT
Selina Bishop, 22, daughter of blues great Elvin Bishop, was ensnared in the money scam - before Justin Helzer killed her with a hammer. Bishop's mother was next, shot dead along with her boyfriend by Taylor. But despite the trio's careful disposal of the evidence in the Mokelumne River, the truth came to light when a bag of body parts floated to the surface. The trials that followed would reveal every grisly detail of one of the most bizarre murder sprees in California history - and bring a modern-day Manson to justice...

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction, Crime

384 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Robert Scott was an investigative journalist and crime expert.

Reviews

[DAISY READS HORROR · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting story & case that I had never heard about before. The book says this case was told on CNN on one of those investigation specials.

Pretty much the summary is as follows: 2 brothers along with a woman who were in a "cult" that they created, murdered some people in Northern California. The killings were very brutal and senseless. After reading this book I can say that Taylor and Justin and Dawn for that matter were nut jobs. Especially Taylor. I just don't understand how so many women fell for him he was pretty pathetic if you ask me! I really felt bad for Selina, she seemed like such a sweet girl who had fallen for Taylor and sadly it cost her her life as well as her mother's and her mom's friend. The things that these 3 cult members did to the older couple was also very disgusting. UGH utterly horrible in every way.

On a side note- I did read on the internet that Justin comitted suicide after the book was written. He hung himself while on deathrow.

[Eva-Marie Nevarez · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't remember specifics about this because I read it years ago but I do remember being even more shocked by the actualy story than I was from the pictures of these "people" on the cover.

[Stefanie Robinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Glen Taylor Helzer founded a cult, called the Children of Thunder. He declared himself the prophet, and had ambitions to take over the leadership of the LDS cult, which, in his mind, would hurry along the return of their god. Helzer and his followers murdered five people, one of whom was his girlfriend, Selina Bishop. Bishop was the daughter of blues guitar player Elvin Bishop. This book outlines Helzer's history of poor behavior and mental illness, as well as the formation of the cult and the murders he orchestrated.

For anyone who still listens to The Last Podcast on the Left, this is one of the books on their reading list. I have been trying to get through that list for months to be done with it. This was a decently written book that outlined plenty of facts and details about the case.

[Edwina Book Anaconda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well written true crime book.

[Jo Besser · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was ridiculously hard for me to believe that this was actually happening. It seemed so fanatical at some points.

Definitely one of those books that you have to read in order to believe.

[A.r. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great true crime story and probably my favourite Robert Scott books so far. The murderers' lives were facinating, as was their twisted religious ideology. The murders they commited were so senseless and pointless that it was a great relief when they were caught and sentenced to jail. Still, one can only despair that five innocent people could have been killed by such a perverted disorganised group of misfits. The best that can be said is they didn't make it hard for the police to find them and give the justice they deserved.

[Danielle · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think I might just be sick of reading true crime books! I like reading the stories, but when it comes to the trials, they usually lose me. To be honest, these 3 idiots didn't make the book any easier to read, nor did their crimes. They killed 5 people, for no other reason than to get money and to cover up their crimes. Two of these innocent people were an elderly couple that were befriended by the leader of this idiotic "cult" of 3 losers. I hope they rot in jail, then slowly roast in hell.

[Natalie Phister · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well... I read this book out of selfishness. The sad truth is that I knew these people (killers) and my husband grew up with them. I read it to learn more about what really happened and why. I did learn a lot and the author wrote factually about what was said in court, interviews, and media. It was difficult to read due to the horrific crimes and the details of what they did. I'm glad I read it though - gave me some closure.

[Koren · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting true crime story. What was different about this was the criminal grew up Mormon but denounced the church because he thought he knew more than anyone in the church. Quite a character. The investigation and trial was repetitive.