JEFFREY LUNDGREN TOLD HIS FOLLOWERS TO KILL WITH HIM
W hen Devil In Ohio popped up on Netflix recently, it did so without much fanfare. But the tale of a troubled girl who escapes from a cult that offers up members as blood sacrifices exerts a powerful sense of menace. And the story only became even creepier when the writer revealed it had been inspired by the real-life story of Jeffrey Lundgren, a “prophet” who got his followers to commit murder.
ARROGANT
Born in Mississippi in 1950, Lundgren was raised within the confines of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (RLDS). His upbringing was strict, punctuated by abuse from his father and growing up, he spent much of his time alone. But those who knew him described him as arrogant, saying he would often quote long Bible passages and seemed to think he was superior to the other children. This was a trait he would carry into adulthood with terrifying consequences.
When Lundgren began studying at Central Missouri State University, he met Alice Keeler, a fellow member of the RLDS. They married in 1970, when Alice got pregnant, and Lundgren went on to serve in the Navy, seeing active duty in the Vietnam War. But after being honourably discharged in 1974, he struggled to hold down a job, and was stealing from anyone who did employ him. He was also physically abusive to his wife, who he began convincing he was a prophet. Over the next decade, the couple would have four children together, and Alice would continue to be beaten by her husband, once ending up in hospital with a ruptured spleen.
In1984,Lundgrendecidedtoupsticks and move the family from Missouri to Kirtland, Ohio. There, they began attending the RLDS’s Kirtland Temple, a sacred place that devotees would travel hundreds of miles to visit. A keen and devout worshipper, Lundgren was offered work as a temple guide – an unpaid position, but one that came with a place for the family to live. With an impressive knowledge of the Bible and the Book of Mormon, his sermons – whichweresaidtobefullof “visions and spiritual experiences” – were well received and the temple attracted a lot of donations from those who visited. However, it wasn’t long before the church realised that most of the money wasn’t making its way to their coffers, but instead ending up in Lundgren’s own pockets. By 1987, it was estimated he had stolen up to $40,000 in donations and revenue from the book shop and visitor centre. Rather than alerting the authorities, the church quietly asked Lundgren to leave. Which he did, making the family homeless. But Lundgren had slowly been strengthening his position as a spiritual leader all that time – and there was a group of people who would soon prove they would do anything for him.
