By the time he was 30, he would have more than 10. She didnt want to be in that house anymore; it reminded her of my brother. To test her devotion, Stephens father began calling her in the middle of the night and telling her to move the family to a new location. According to All Famous Birthdays, Paul Vallas has a staggering net worth of $5 million. 180+ Jonathan Jacob Meijer View Site Google Maps Mafi recalls Paul Kingston telling the children who attended that meeting that The Order was going to be trying out something new, the lawsuit says. September 1, 2018. Jessica said, strictly speaking, she and the other teen brides she knows chose to get married, but added: Its not much of a choice when theyre groomed to do that.. Did the Utah Legislature do enough to save the Great Salt Lake? For parents, there can be other practical considerations in letting a teen marry, Hansen said. Three others, including Grant, said they had to flee to escape such a fate. 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. He also shared his brothers fascination with herbs and natural medicine. Come back, his dad will say. She said the lawsuit is well plead and noted there have been previous successful qui tam cases in student aid programs. And they avoid the police, opting to handle any disputes in their own brutal manner. The DCCS is a financial cooperative established by his uncle Elden Kingston in 1935. Within a year, Paul Kingston would take a fourth wife. This story has been shared 116,307 times. [10][11]. During the approval process, the young man had begun texting Jessica something forbidden but that she says is common among Order teens who have an interest in one another. While the Kingston Group, founded in 1935, is not affilated with the FLDS, members practice a fundamentalist version of Mormonism that involves polygamy. Because of the clans distrust of banks, the Order had cash hidden all over the place, a poorly kept secret within the family. Members are primarily born into the. 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. When youre three years old, they start training you what to say if people talk to you, recalls Jeremy Tucker, a 32-year-old former member of the cult, who now works in construction. We will continue to do so. The 100 Greatest TV Shows of All Time She's since left the marriage and wants the legal marriage age raised to 18. Money, sex and power. He inherited the top leadership position in 1987. To cope with the disorientation and loneliness of leaving one world for another, many turn to drugs. Paul Elden Kingston (1959- ): Known as the "Watchman on the Wall" who claims to hear from God regularly, Paul is the son of John Ortell. (Photo courtesy Shanell DeRieux) John Daniel Kingston, front center, kneels in front of three of his daughters as they hold their wedding certificates July 3, 2008, in Grand Junction, Colo. Shanell DeRieux, second row left, was 18; the other two girls were 16. He kept his office on a side street in central Salt Lake. Paul Elden Kingston is an accountant and attorney who has served as the Trustee-in-Trust of the Davis County Cooperative Society (DCCS), a Mormon fundamentalist denomination,[2] since 1987. Her husband knew she didnt want him to have a plural spouse, she said, but his father told him he needed to have one. 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. Contact. If the case succeeds, the whistleblowers can collect perhaps millions of dollars from the damages or fines paid by the defendants. Those families have intermarried to the extent that half brothers and sisters are now marrying one another, as well as uncles. Paul Kingston is one of eight men named as defendants in the lawsuit. I love the Order. The complaint against the Kingston Group also known as the Order was filed in Salt Lake City last week by 10 people, including Amanda Rae Grant, who starred in the A&E docu-series Escaping Polygamy.. He went days at a time without eating, convinced it helped provoke visions, and believed that by the laying on of hands he could heal his followers from sickness and disease. Alex's wife and son, Maggie and Paul, were shot to death at their home in 2021, and Alex is currently on trial for their murders.. But it is likely that Kingston could recognize some of himself in Stephen. Snow contends her mother was one of the people who told her she needed to think about whom she was going to wed. Photo by Nate Carlisle, The Salt Lake Tribune | Shirley Hansen, seen here July 21, 2018, stands along 2100 South near State Street in Salt Lake City. (Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Jessica Kingston claims she was groomed into choosing marriage at age 16 by her parents and the polygamous sect. Jessicas father relented during the meeting and gave his approval for his daughter to marry her No. 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. Hopefully, the politician is leading a comfortable . Mafis mother is Paul Kingstons fifth wife, yet when filling out the aid forms, the woman advising her told Mafi not to submit anything about her father, according to the lawsuit. According to Montana court documents, the couple had an argument at their apartment and DeRieuxs then-husband threw her down a flight of stairs. A lawsuit alleges leaders of a Utah polygamous sect bilked federal student aid programs by instructing teenagers to omit their fathers and other sources of income when applying for benefits. 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. The 100 Best Albums of 2022. Kingston succeeded his father John Ortell Kingston as the Trustee-in-Trust of the DCCS upon his father's death in 1987. The Order was founded by Elden Kingston, Stephens grand-uncle, at the height of the Great Depression. Frances was born on November 4 1892, in Indiana. Shanell DeRieux was married at 18 to a husband in the Kingston Group. Jessica Kingston didnt want to be a polygamist. Dating or romance among young people before marriage is forbidden in the Kingston Group, but the sect does hold dances. This is your fault, he thundered, glaring at them. Snow and her mother, Shirley Hansen, have differing stories on what the moms role was in her daughters marriage. Mrs. [9], Records show he signed as a witness on 4 lawful teenage marriages over a 20 year period. Paul Kingston, the top man within the Davis County Cooperative Society, also known as the Kingston Group or The Order, is accused of overseeing what the lawsuit calls a scheme. COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) Jurors in Alex Murdaugh's murder trial will get to see for themselves the rural hunting estate where his wife and son were killed, following in the footsteps of . Paul Vallas and wife Sharon have been together 38 years. They had 4 children: John Hozlette Kingston and 3 other children. Its all political, Jessica said. Mafi followed Paul Kingstons instructions, the lawsuit states, and never again saw those funds.. He even had charts showing who were the higher families in the sect so his daughters knew where to look for a mate. The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time We were off on our own out there and really close, Stephen says. Incest is endemic in the clan, with uncles marrying much younger female relatives; in 2003, police showed up at an Order barbecue and arrested a clan member for marrying his underage cousin. He then pinned her on a bed, the documents say, and wouldnt let her call for help. Consumed with guilt over his brothers death, Stephen lashed out. Hanging up the phone, she rushed to her closet. Then, moving quickly, the boy at the door let himself in and got to work. Paul passed away on month day 1973, at age 92 at death place, Oregon. He also had dozens of children a brood that would eventually grow to around 300 and he had a hard time telling them apart. When he had finished, he walked toward Stephen, who was sitting on the tractor. 'I am the daughter of his fifth. She also felt a religious call to wed and saw herself as mature enough to undertake such a commitment. Most of the time, said Shanell DeRieux, a former Kingston Group member now seen on Escaping Polygamy, the girls only choice is to have babies because thats how we build The Order by population.. She wasnt allowed to leave the house until she decided whom to marry. He thinks about his mom, and wonders if she misses him. It wasnt like we thought about it a lot. 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. It wasnt forced, said the woman, who asked not to be identified because of stigmas that often come with being associated with a polygamous sect. The Knight brothers werent afraid to fight, or to stand up to authority. 210 King Sobhuza II: King of Swaziland (now Eswatini), lived 1899-1982, is thought to have had 70 wives. Stephen didnt know what the law said he only knew that the people he loved were being abused and exploited by his own father. By 18, she was pregnant with her first child and ended up having four children in four years. We've received your submission. Log In Once logged in, you can add biography in the database. It begins with the potential groom. No one has been criminally charged. Snow said the classes also taught the girls to be submissive to their husbands and to keep a good house for them. Yet its teen marriages in the Kingston Group that spurred the Utah Legislature to act this year. DeRieux did marry the next year at age 18 to a cousin who was 19. The ones they dont think they have to worry about, they dont push them as hard.. 03/01/2023 9:00 a.m. Police divers cut a path through the ice to reach the victims. He is not ready to forgive his father. Girls are told they will need to pray to God so he might show them who their No. One woman who was married in 2014 at age 16 said she did so for the same reason most people do: She fell in love. Depending on ones view, members of the Kingston Group either take care to follow marriage laws, or work to circumvent them. It would be several more years before Stephen learned that Paul Kingston was his father, and that his mother was just one of his dads many wives. Former Order members remain convinced the Knights stole the gold. His life was in danger, the voice on the other end warned. sltrib.com 1996-2023 The Salt Lake Tribune. Paul E. Kingston, considered the top man, signed as a witness for four of the marriages that The Tribune found outside Utah. 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. He was angry and confused, says a former member of the cult. Johnson said neither he nor any other representatives of the cooperative society were aware of the lawsuit until contacted by The Salt Lake Tribune recently for comment. He would talk to them about marriage and thinking of whom to marry, Hansen said. If that child comes to her at age 16 wanting to marry, she said, she will have questions. His followers erected a crude stone cross nearby in his honor, covered with inscriptions of the letter K (for Kingdom or Kingston). She then met with two women who helped her complete financial aid forms. Sometimes he parked his immaculately buffed burgundy Ford Thunderbird on the curb, but it was rare to see the man himself. As lore has it, Elden was the one mighty and strong predicted by Scripture, who holding the scepter of power in his hand would set in order the House of God. With thick white hair, a lantern jaw and a commanding presence, he had no problem attracting followers. Besides, the mother said, the girl needed her husbands health insurance to treat her condition. I felt for his pulse, but he was already gone., That night, Paul Kingston arrived at the ranch. sltrib.com 1996-2023 The Salt Lake Tribune. We strongly encourage all members to strictly adhere to every legal guideline when operating their businesses including day cares and when applying for all need-based assistance, including financial aid for students. His father stood on the stage and called out the names of the men who were to receive one of the clans highest honors. A week later, the two were profiled on the CBS program Whistleblower for their work in exposing fraud at Washakie Renewable Energy, the biofuel company operated by two of Mary Nelsons first cousins. 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 told the children they would all be applying for financial aid, enrolling at SLCC and majoring in business administration, the lawsuit cites Mafi as saying. Family photo: Kollene's father, John Daniel Kingston has 14 wives, and she is the fifth of her mother Shirley Hansen's 12 children +9 View gallery Controlling: They got married in March 2009,. A review of wedding certificates shows how the teen marriages are sanctioned at the highest levels of the Kingston Group. On this much, though, mother and daughter agree: Snows father was the primary driver. They belonged to the Order and had toiled in the cult for years. Lawful marriage and the way it binds people together legally and financially, Hansen said, is seen as a way to keep the more rebellious girls in the Kingston Group. Thanks for your understanding. 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. 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. Mysterious cars followed his girlfriend, and he once came home to find that someone had rifled through his drawers. Another brother, Ben, showed him how to mend fences. . Situated at the base of a rugged mountain range, the Orders spread sat in a pristine valley of glistening hayfields and open pasture. We dont expect any of the claims to prevail in a court of law.. 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