Your Voice Matters

A letter from a reader:

 

"Dear Susan, I don’t normally write to the author of books I read but in this case I felt I needed to send this note.  I read House of Lies and it brought me to tears because I know exactly what the book is talking about.  I’ve been in that prayer room, I’ve listened to the bigotry and the hate in the name of our Lord, I’ve seen the hollow stare in member’s eyes and shamefully, I’ve participated in wrangling scripture in my own mind and in front of others.  I felt convicted in my soul when I read how Skylar was fighting to save her sister, because my family fought to try and save me. I realized how much they went thru and the pain they went thru and how poorly I had treated them all that time.  I know you said House of Lies isn’t about IHOP, but for me it is.  I was with IHOP for almost two years and during that time I saw things that I wish I could forget.  Your descriptions of the demonic activity and the hypnotic chanting and the twisted scripture is very real, and how you describe the journals being used to administer fake prophetic words is very real.  Even the leaders like Lou and Mike and Misty are shown accurately and I felt like I was back in that place when I read the story. Lou rocks back and forth on stage and screams into the microphone and Mike lies and uses false doctrine to scare people into believing his way is the only way. The whole thing is a lie from the ground up but from the minute you walk in the door you are taught to not question Mike and he answers every question before you even ask it, so when it comes up you dismiss it because it’s already been answered.  He teaches us to expect to offend others with our love for Jesus, and that is deceptive because it was never my love for Jesus that offended anyone.  It was my elite attitude and arrogance that told my loved ones that something was wrong.  Even the conversations between Skylar and Tess in the book made me think of things I said to my own family. I argued almost verbatim as the book and defended the false prophecies just like Tess does to Skylar.  I was arrogant and believed I was chosen but I couldn’t see it at the time.  Now the elite-ness makes me sick and I see that I was just like a drug addict, just like the book says, it felt good at first but the deeper I went into it the more I began to see that something wasn’t right.  I have prayed for forgiveness and asked my family for forgiveness and I know God is so good and gracious and He has forgiven me.  When I left IHOP I was like cast out and they acted as if I never even existed or was a part of them.  They said I was deceived because they truly believe and I did too that everyone else is deceived and not a part of God’s plans.  A part of me wishes Skylar were real and she and Braznovich and Ernie and all the townspeople of Grandview would really blow the place up without anyone getting hurt of course.  But that’s not probably going to happen because people in Kansas City are too afraid to go against them.  They’re very powerful and not only do they have weapons there but they have eyes and ears everywhere.  I wanted you to know that your book is real to me and will be real to anyone who has been inside IHOP.  Just like in the book, IHOP looks good from the outside and feels good for a while and then the darkness of its foundation begins to seep upward and wrap around ankles like thick clay, holding them down and even pulling them down like quicksand.  I am praying your book, even though it’s just a fictional story, will reach people and show the world what IHOP really is before its too late.

Praying God’s blessing on you,

Tina"

 

I read this email and my heart ached because this is just one of many, many letters I have received sharing the same things.  It makes me happy that people are able to relate to the story of House of Lies; but it also makes me sad…. sad that organizations like IHOP and Westboro (to name a couple) spread a message of hate in the name of God. 

[IHOP is not nearly on the same level of hate mongering as Westboro Baptist Church; but in listening to Lou Engle preach and push his anti-gay and anti-abortion agendas, there are nauseating similarities.  For example, Lou Engle announced to the media that the “Joplin, Missouri tornado was God’s punishment for abortion,” and that "Hurricane Katrina was God's punishment for homosexuality."  This statement is not far from the statement made by Westboro that the “Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting was God’s punishment for homosexual marriage.”  Having family involved in IHOP, I hate that there are any similarities between IHOP and Westboro; but, sadly, there are.]

Each letter I receive confirms that there is a problem and that the problem is growing bigger. 

To everyone who has been involved in IHOP or any other cult group, you are not alone and there are people and resources out there to help you.  Here are a couple:

http://www.christianrecovery.com/

http://www.recoveryfromabuse.com/

It takes courage to write me a letter and to speak up, and I admire that courage.  I want to encourage everyone who has written me to take your story and share it to a broader audience.  Every time you tell the truth about your experience with IHOP or another cult group, you could be stopping someone else from enduring the same fate. 

Blog about your experience.  Share it with friends, family and other churches.  If you witnessed or went through any form of abuse, report it to the police.  You can file a police report without taking action against the cult group.  A report is simply a written record of what occurred. 

Lastly, consider taking your story to the media.  Your experience can empower the media to investigate further and could stop abusive action from happening in the future.  Your voice matters.

I know it is scary, but you are not alone.  In speaking out, you are protecting others.  If more people had spoken out, maybe Jeremiah Candler would still be alive and maybe Bethany Leidlein Deaton would still be alive.  How many others will die before we have the courage to stand up together and say this is wrong.

If you are in the Kansas City area and if you have witnessed or experienced any type of abuse from IHOP or any other cult group, consider sharing your story with these people.  They will listen and will not use your name unless you give them express permission.  If you know anything about the Bethany Deaton murder, contact these reporters.

Kansas City Star

Joe Robertson
Donald Bradley

Fox 4 News Kansas City

Gia Vang
Sarah Clark

New York Times

Erica Goode

To everyone who has written to me…. Thank you.  Your letters mean a lot and I hope you will consider sharing your experiences with a broader audience.  Your voice can make a difference in someone's life.  ~

Top Ten Reader Questions

As promised, I am going to answer some questions from emails I have received over the course of the past few weeks.  I have been unable to answer them because I was busy on the Mystery We Write Blog Tour. 

I believe most of these questions are driven from the release of my latest novel, House of Lies, and its connection to the murder of the International House of Prayer (IHOP) intern, Bethany Deaton. 

If you are unfamiliar with this Deaton story, you can read it here.

With no further ado, here are your top ten most frequently asked questions:

#1:  “Is House of Lies written about IHOP-KC because I see a lot of similarities between the characters in your book and the leaders of IHOP?”

No.  The characters and events in House of Lies are all fictional and any likeness to real persons, past or present, is a coincidence.  That being said, I studied five cult groups in order to educate myself so that I could create believable characters and scenes for my story.  IHOP was one of the five I researched, as was Jim Jones/Jonestown and David Koresh/Waco.  I will not name the other two groups because I don’t want to receive a bunch of hate mail from them. 

I will say this:  all of the groups I have studied have similar structures and belief systems and are all built upon foundational lies, heresies and extreme hypocrisies. 

If you study the leaders of past and present cult groups, you will see that they all possess a similar agenda.  They may carry it out differently, but they all possess certain cult qualities, initially masked by charisma and deception. 

 

#2:  “Have you ever been involved in a cult group?”

Yes.  Years ago, I met a man who, for lack of a better term, was a cult leader.  He had radical ideas about spirituality and God and I was drawn to the group by his charisma and what I, in my ignorance, deemed as his wisdom.  I spent almost three years completely obsessed with his teachings.  I was more concerned with meditation and achieving deeper levels of spirituality than I was with my job, my family, my friends or my husband.  I prayed, fasted and meditated more than I did anything else.  See, I believed I was chosen and others in my life were not.  I had become elitist in my spirituality.  (Which, by the way, is a big red flag.  God does not give people a spirit of elitism.  If elitism exists, beware of the group to which you have tied yourself.) 

I even went as far as to tell my husband that we should divorce because I was chosen to do something great for God and since he was not, we would eventually be ripped apart anyway.  Thankfully, and by what I deem as God’s grace and love flowing through my husband, he refused to leave me.

I’ll never forget what he said.  He said, “Susan, when the woman I married can look at me and tell me she doesn’t love me anymore, I’ll leave…. But you’re not the woman I married.”

He nailed it on the head.  I wasn’t the same woman he married.  I had become an empty shell.  All the meditation and fasting and the seeking revelation had left me completely hollow.   All of the so-called wisdom was a mere deception.   

See…there is a fine line between truth and a lie.  There is a big difference between meditating on God’s Word and engaging in meditation tactics for the sole purpose of receiving deeper revelation from spiritual depths.  One is beneficial.  The other is dangerous.

Breaking away from that group was the hardest thing I have ever done.  It stripped me of my identity, of my sense of belonging, essentially of my reality and it left me raw to the core.  I felt unsure, unstable and more scared than I have ever been.

But… God is good.  He brought me out of the darkness using my parents and my husband as pillars of strength.  Today, I stand on my faith because I now know it is a solid foundation.  Sometimes we have to walk through the darkness to be able to truly recognize the light.

This experience made me realize how easily anyone can be deceived and how easily the mind can succumb to manipulation.  The mind is a powerful tool and it can be warped, twisted and made to believe almost anything…. especially the stuff that feels good.

 

#3:  “Did you study IHOP because you have a sister involved in it and is that why you wrote a book about a girl trying to save her sister?”

Ever since the Bethany Deaton case has been likened to House of Lies, it is no longer a secret that my sister is in leadership with IHOP.  She is the Director of the Gateway House of Prayer in St. Louis, Missouri.  She has been involved with IHOP for over ten years.

I began studying IHOP because I had heard things about the movement and I had concerns for my sister.  I visited IHOP-KC numerous times and these concerns were substantiated.

My relationship with my sister, and her involvement in IHOP may have inspired the idea for the novel, but the story is not written about her, about IHOP or about me.  It is a fictional story.

 

#4:  “You call yourself a ‘Christian’ but you don’t take a stand against homosexuality which is clearly, biblically wrong.”

This really isn’t a question, but I felt like I needed to comment on it.  Yes, I call myself a “Christian” because, by definition, I am one.  I believe in Jesus Christ as my personal savior; thus, I’m a “Christian.” 

BUT…that title does not give me license to judge or condemn others.

Yes, the bible does say that God hates homosexuality.  I won’t try to argue that point nor engage in a theological debate about it.  God hates a lot of things in our world (adultery, murder, rape, stealing, lying, taking advantage of other people, etc.) that have deviated from His original plan; but more than that, He loves people.

He loves homosexuals, heterosexuals, bisexuals and metrosexuals.  He loves all of us the same. 

Whether or not someone is a homosexual is between that person and God.  It doesn’t involve me.   My opinion of someone is not based on their sexual preference any more than it is based on their race, religion or political viewpoint.

God said don’t judge others.  That is my stance.

 

 

#5:  “Does it bother you to say you are a Christian and then write books that involve so much violence and murder?”

No.  It doesn’t bother me at all.  Read the Old Testament and you’ll see plenty of violence and murder.

I write murder mystery stories and that’s really hard to do without involving a murder.  I also write Mafia stories, and unfortunately the Mob world is a violent place; thus there is some violence in my books. 

I try to lighten it by adding some humorous characters.  J

 

#6:  “Do you believe IHOP is a cult?”

Yes.  I believe it is extremely dangerous and detrimentally deceptive.  It is no different than the groups led by Jim Jones and David Koresh. 



I pray it doesn’t end in the same fashion.

 

 

 

#7:  “Do you think cult groups start out knowing they are cult groups?”

No.  I think a lot of leaders start out with a genuine heart that is seeking God and somewhere along the line they lose sight of God and allow their ego to push them toward something mystical and alluring.  They want to believe they are the next big thing, the chosen of God, and from there, it spirals out of control.  I don’t believe Jim Jones began his ministry with a plan to have everyone drink poison Koolade.  It evolved into that monster.  David Koresh didn’t begin his ministry seeking a shoot-out with police.  It evolved into that monster. 

These men had a common trait from the beginning… ego.  Foundationally, when they started, there was a flaw…ego.  They wanted to be known, to be famous, to be chosen…ego.  They wanted followers…ego.  They wanted to be prophets of the Lord…ego.

If you look Biblically at the people God used, they were not the men with charisma and elevated egos.  One example is Moses… a humble man…telling God he couldn’t do it, telling the Almighty to find someone stronger and better. 

Study these things yourself and it will become clear that God isn’t interested in human egotism.  It gets in the way.  Satan, however, is all about ego.  He always has been…in fact, his desire for greatness is what got him booted out of Heaven to begin with. 

This is why it is so important to look at the foundational principals upon which any group is built.  If it starts out as a sham it isn’t going to end up truth.  Look at the foundation of IHOP, which is built upon lie after lie after lie.  It’s an ego-based ministry, same as Jim Jones, same as David Koresh, same as many others.

 

#8:  “I’ve read some of your writing on sex and am wondering if you think that is a good message, as some people just don’t have a sex drive?”

Admittedly, my view of sex is probably not the “norm.”  However, I think it is healthy.  In a nutshell, I believe sex should be part of a healthy lifestyle.

I’m speaking in terms of married individuals or those in long-term relationships.

Sex is one form of bonding or connecting.  It is not the only important form; but it is important nonetheless.  Human beings need emotional, mental and physical stimulation.  We need to be touched on all levels.

Some people have less of a sex drive than others, but that’s irrelevant in the context of what I’m talking about when I say sex is important.  Most women feel like having sex less often than most men.  That’s normal.  Let’s be honest, if a woman waited until she “felt like” having sex, she’d never have it.  It doesn’t fit in our schedules and there are a handful of other things we’d rather be doing.  I get it.  I feel that way too. 

BUT… I know that when my husband and I have an active sex life, our overall relationship blossoms.  When we are physically touching more frequently, we are more in tune with one another emotionally and mentally as well.  It is all connected.

Thus, I encourage people to make-love and to have sex as often as possible.  Kiss, hug, stroke, rub, snuggle, touch as often as you can.  It will change your marriage for the better.  Do it for each other…. Do it for your relationship… Do it for yourself… because let’s face it, once you start the process, it gets more and more enjoyable.  J

 

#9:  “Do you believe Bethany Deaton was murdered or do you think she committed suicide?  If murdered, why do you think she was killed?”

I believe, wholeheartedly, she was murdered and I think it was to keep her from telling the truth about what she had experienced while involved at IHOP.

I cannot tell you how many people have shared their IHOP experiences with me and asked to remain anonymous because they are afraid of what will happen to them or to their families and friends if they speak up.  People are terrified.

What could be so bad as to cause this much fear?

What could be so bad it would make you kill someone who threatened to expose it? 

If you want to know the truth, then send your questions to media outlets.  Empower the media to investigate further.  And if you have experience with IHOP, now is the time to speak up and share your story.  Your voice will empower others to speak.

 

#10:  “In your book , House of Lies, the P3 cult is paying off the police.  Do you think this is happening in Grandview?”

I don’t know, but I can tell you that previous grievances, cases and accusations against IHOP have magically disappeared in the past.  Are they paid off like in the book?  It wouldn’t surprise me.

 

Again, take this question to the Kansas City media and to the Grandview police or the Prosecutors office, and to the local government there.  Empower them to dig deeper into IHOP and the truth will spill out.

 

Remember, through all of this, a family lost their loved one.  Please pray for Bethany’s family as they will be spending Christmas without her this year.  ~

 

Covering Their Asses

I just read the headlines that Micah Moore, confessed killer of Bethany Deaton, has retracted his admission of guilt and is now saying Bethany really did kill herself.  You can read the full story here.

I find this puzzling, but not surprising.  It isn’t the first time a death that had any relation to IHOP was suddenly dismissed or covered up.  Sadly, unless this movement is shut down, it won’t be the last.

 

In his first statement to police, Micah Moore described exactly how Bethany died, telling them that he held a plastic bag over her head until her body shook.  That’s a pretty graphic description for someone who was never at the scene.

Moore’s attorney is saying he made the confession under duress over the suicide of his dear friend.  I’m throwing a big, fat, red IHOP flag on this one. 

 

He may have confessed while under duress, but it wasn’t from grief.  My guess:  if he was under duress it was from fear. 

See, Moore might not have killed her… he might have taken the fall for someone who did…someone like Tyler Deaton perhaps?  Or someone else in the upper echelon of the IHOP organization?  Someone who stood to lose a lot if Bethany ever told the truth about what was really happening behind IHOP’s veil of secrecy.

The saddest part of this whole thing is that while IHOP tries to cover its tracts and save its ass, Bethany’s family is suffering with no closure in sight.

I pray the truth comes out and this prayer alone should make many leaders at IHOP very nervous.  ~

 

 

 

Bickle Lies in Letter to Other Leaders

Below is a letter the International House of Prayer founder, Mike Bickle, sent to other IHOP locations and leaders.  It was then forwarded to associated groups by Gary Wiens, IHOPNW.


Dear Friends of the International House of Prayer,

Mike Bickle, Director of IHOP-Kansas City, sent out this note today, and it's important for all to see. Thanks and blessings,

Gary Wiens, IHOPNW

Mike Bickle's letter begins here:
Friends,

This is a tragic and bizarre situation that is all over the media in KC. We have received sad and sobering news today from the Jackson County Sheriff's Office regarding the death of Bethany Deaton, who was originally believed to have committed suicide on Oct 30. A tight knit religious group of about 15 young people moved to IHOPU from Texas with the specific goal of infiltrating us and even taking over IHOPU. They were a close knit group for several years before moving to KC together (under a cloak of secrecy to try to get involved in IHOP and get into positions of influence etc.) Authorities notified us yesterday that an IHOPU student, who knew Bethany since their college days and is a member of a Texas-based religious group who has recently come to IHOPU, has been charged with her murder. We are passionate that this group's secrecy and religious practices are exposed.

There is an ongoing investigation and we ask you to join us in praying for Bethany's family and all those involved in this tragic situation. We all want to join the IHOPU faculty and student body as they grieve together with the family of Bethany Deaton and all who are involved.

Note also: The guy who confessed to murder told this to the police. He said they cursed the IHOPU leadership and sought to take it over. They were together for several years before all moving together to KC. They have very perverse sexual practices and believe their leader is a chief apostle, etc.

Please pray for us.

Mike Bickle

End of letter.

It never ceases to amaze me how cult groups, such as the International House of Prayer, play the victim.  Bickle states that this group from Texas came to IHOPU with the express purpose of infiltrating them and even taking over.  This is ludicrous.  And, let it be noted that Tyler Deaton was a Division leader in IHOP, not in IHOPU. 

It is time to call a spade, a spade.  It is time to look at the tree that is bearing the bad fruit and cut it down.

There are inside sources at IHOP-KC and they will continue to leak truth to the media and to those who stand against this cult group.  Bickle and others in leadership will undoubtedly continue to scramble, change their stories and lie; but eventually those lies will run dry.

Bethany's family, and the families of every person involved in IHOP and its many branches, deserve to know the truth. 

 

KC Star Speaks TRUTH

A dark side to International House of Prayer’s allure

By MARY SANCHEZ

The Kansas City Star

By MARY SANCHEZ

Updated: 2012-11-15T13:53:03Z

 

Certainly there are more dangerous places for a young person to get lost.


IHOP, south Kansas City’s evangelical missionary movement, was created 13 years ago by a man who grew up in the Center School District. It’s one man’s version of religion made big. 


The suspicious have long leveled the charge of “cult” against IHOP (International House of Prayer). That will likely increase in light of recent news coverage.


A young woman with ties to IHOP was found murdered at Longview Lake. A young man with ties to IHOP is charged with suffocating her.


IHOP, it should be emphasized, isn’t accused of anything criminal in the murder. Only those eventually charged will bear that burden. 


But the praying elephant in the room is that this religious movement is the perfect cover for the sort of wickedness outlined in court records describing Bethany Ann Deaton’s murder. 


Deaton, 27, came to Kansas City from Texas, drawn to do an internship with IHOP. She lived in a house full of people, including her husband, also drawn by IHOP.


IHOP has bought scores of area homes to provide quarters for similar young devotees. This ministry is a siren call to young adults with a taste for wanderlust, a need to feel a part of something, determined to differentiate themselves from their parents, their high schools, their hometowns. 


Founder Mike Bickle has a constant supply of converts. The business plan: Attract enthusiastic young people and evangelize them to believe the end times are near, that they are needed to go forth and make ready. 


It’s why the former Terrace Lake Shopping Center is filled 24/7 with out-of-state license plates. They come for round-the-clock prayer. 


There’s a muted energy in the expansive prayer room. And a lot of pacing as young people roam around the lines of chairs. It’s for the visual. The prayer is webcast. It’s led from a stage full of musicians and readers chanting repetitive phrasings of faith.


 The young people aren’t out boozing it up or drugging, which can lead to bad outcomes.  But many also aren’t in college, living near family, preparing for a career. IHOP runs a “university” that isn’t. Not by accreditation. 


Bickle’s been candid in interviews about hearing God speak to him, and believing he’s been to heaven twice. 


For the curious, IHOP will hold its annual “onething” gathering Dec. 28-31 at the Kansas City Convention Center. More than 25,000 people are expected. 


IHOP does not deserve the barbs likely to come its way as details of the murder unravel. But the organization can’t completely divorce itself from the fact that it lured characters involved with a horrific murder to Kansas City. 


Drawing young people with grand ambitions, after all, is the mission.
 

To reach Mary Sanchez, call 816-234-4752 or send email to msanchez@kcstar.com.

Copyright 2012 . All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Posted on Wed, Nov. 14, 2012 11:38 PM

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/11/14/3917848/mary-sanchez-a-dark-side-to-missions.html#storylink=cpy

INJUSTICE

Everyone has hot buttons.  They are those things in life that you just cannot tolerate.  They are the things that send you instantly over the edge.  My biggest hot button:  Injustice

This weekend a news story broke about a young woman in Grandview, Missouri named Bethany Deaton.  She was 27 years old and she was murdered.  I posted the story on this blog yesterday, so if you haven’t read it you can either Google her name or scroll down and read the story.

New evidence has revealed that Bethany's husband, Tyler Deaton, was the man who ordered Micah Moore to kill her, stating “he knew he had it in him to do it.”

Why did they kill her?  Because she had information they didn't want shared.  Because she knew too much.  Because they had to keep her from talking, from revealing the truth about what was happening behind closed doors.

Bethany, her husband Tyler, Micah Moore and the other men involved were all members of IHOP (International House of Prayer) in Kansas City.  Sure, they may have held separate prayer meetings at their home, but the practices they were using were taught and learned at IHOP.  They are not the only ones practicing these methods.  Their story made the news because it ended in death, but countless others are still suffering.

 

Allen Hood of IHOP claims they were not “active” members and tries to paint the picture that they were members several years ago and were currently operating separately from IHOP. This is false information.  Tyler Deaton's group was a "friendship group" from IHOP.  He was listed as a Friendship Group Leader on the IHOP hand-out.  And, noteable to mention is the fact that IHOP removed this information from their website today, undoubtedly realizing it did not support the false statement made by Allen Hood.

Here is the IHOP hand-out from only nine days ago. Tyler Deaton’s name was listed on the Administrative Team at IHOP.  I didn't black out any names and contact information because this was publically available on their site.

Handout from IHOP Church (Forerunner Christain Fellowship) 9 days ago. FCF Handout 11042012 by IHOPKC Friendship Groups Friendship Groups Administrative Team November 4, 2012 Jon Boegl Department Director (928) 255-3576 jonboegl@ihopkc.org   Michelle Chamberlain Admin. Coordinator (260) 610-4937 michellechamberlain@ihopkc.org Caleb Chamberlain Creative Media/Social Networking (260) 610-2533 calebchamberlain@ihopkc.org Division Coordinators: Ivy Anderson (816) 668-2728 ivyanderson2@yahoo.com   Chris Castanza (504) 982-7782 cpcastanza@gmail.com *Tyler Deaton (361) 877-2727 deaton.tyler@gmail.com Jeremy Jacobs (803) 372-1532 jeremyjacobs@ihopkc.org Bill Spearman (630) 272-4642 spearman.bill@gmail.com Juliet Canha (816) 509-4803 jujuviae@gmail.com Get Connected Find out more: IHOPKC Friendship Groups “Above all, LOVE each other deeply...” 1 Peter 4:8     Funny how a person “not actively involved” would be listed as being on the Administrative Team.  Ironic, how a designated leader of a friendship group arranged by IHOP is all of a sudden said to be completely separate from them.  Something smells rotten and that's because it is... rotten to the core. In addition to this, Tyler Deaton has a personal website.  As of last night, it has been sealed and opened to “members only.”  However, I was fortunate enough to receive a downloaded copy of it before it was shut down and on the first page in the ABOUT ME section, Tyler writes:   “I am student in Kansas City, MO at the International House of Prayer, in the second year of a 6-year preparation to overseas missions.”   Why would a non-active member of an organization claim to be in his second year of a six-year program?  I’d say only an ACTIVE member would use this description.   IHOP is trying to distance themselves from Bethany’s death, just like they've done with every IHOP-related death, through more lies.  This isn’t the first time and sadly, it won’t be the last.  Remember the death of Jeremiah Candler four years ago?   How many people will have to die before the lies stop? My prayers go out to Bethany's family in this most painful hour of loss and betrayal.    Let this blog be a call for justice.  IHOP has been built upon a foundation of threats and lies, and it is no different today.   Don’t let Bethany’s death be in vain.  Let it at least expose the truth...the truth about a dangerous organization...a truth that can protect others from the same fate.      Don’t let IHOP get away with murder….literally.  It is a terrible injustice to her and to her family.

 

So sick. So sad. So cult.

Many Questions Remain in Murder of Grandview Woman
Posted on: 6:18 pm, November 12, 2012, by Katie Ferrell and Jason M. Vaughn, updated on: 08:19pm, November 12, 2012

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Police say that they have a confession, but still a lot of unanswered questions in the murder of Bethany Deaton of Grandview.

According to authorities, Deaton was found dead inside a van on October 30th at Longview Lake. Court documents say that a note was found with Deaton’s body that read, “My name is Bethany Deaton. I chose this evil thing. I did it because I wouldn’t be a real person and what is the point of living if it is too late for that? I wish I had chosen differently a long time ago. I knew it all and refused to listen. Maybe Jesus will still save me.”

Investigators say that pills were also found near Deaton’s body, but Deaton’s admitted killer, 23-year-old Micah Moore, it was all a cover-up to keep the 27-year-old woman quiet. In a statement to Jackson County Sheriff’s deputies, Moore said that he and Deaton were part of a “religious community” – led by Deaton’s husband, Tyler Deaton – in which the members had sex with each other.

According to court documents, witnesses told authorities that Tyler Deaton was viewed as a “Spiritual Leader” who had control over the members of the household. A witness also said that three days after Bethany Deaton’s body was found, Tyler Deaton told him that he had a dream in which he killed his wife by suffocating her.

Tyler Deaton has not been charged with any crimes in connection to his wife’s death.

In the statement, Moore told detectives Bethany Deaton was being drugged and sexually assaulted by him and several other men at a home in Grandview. Moore said they became afraid that Bethany Deaton would tell her therapist about the abuse, so Moore was told by someone whose name was blacked out in the probable cause statement to kill her.

Court documents indicate that Bethany Deaton was given the drug Seroquel – a prescription anti-psychotic drug – during the sexual assaults, and it was given to her in a water bottle on the day of her her murder.

On Friday, authorities searched Moore’s south Kansas City apartment for evidence.

“When I saw his picture in the paper, I was like, ‘Yeah, I’ve seen that guy somewhere before.’ And like I said, he just lives across the street,” said Darren Martin, neighbor.

Tyler and Bethany Deaton, along with Micah Moore, were members of the International House of Prayer, or IHOP.