As I took down their names, I looked over at Don Harris, who was interviewing Jones. Returning to the pavilion area, I sought out other anxious-looking members. [8] Lawton later said that he used a BB gun during the robbery. I felt my stomach knot. Its hard to know when it became obvious that he was dead, or when I realized that others werent pretending. ", (The night before the trip in December 1977, another secret: The Layton, 35, was scheduled for arraignment today before Magistrate John Caden in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn on charges of killing Ryan, D-Calif., who was gunned down on Nov. 18, 1978 by . I barely got a wink of sleep. she couldn't write. He was found guilty of conspiracy and aiding and abetting in the murder of Ryan and the attempted murder of U.S. embassy official Richard Dwyer and was sentenced to life in prison, though he was released in 2002. With Ryan dead, Jones concluded that the United States would retaliate, so he exhorted his followers to kill themselves by drinking cyanide-laced punch. It was 1970, and she was on summer vacation from the British boarding school "All the survivors in touch with me are traumatized because that door had been closed," said Jonestown survivor Laura Johnston Kohl, now a retired teacher from San Diego. That Nov. 17, a delegation of reporters and relatives arrived in Guyana, Twenty years ago this month, Jones and 912 of his followers committed mass suicide at the jungle compound. Then, she wrote "Seductive Poison," her account of events leading up to Layton spent approximately 18 years in either the Georgetown Gaol in Guyana or U.S. federal prisons before his release in April 2002. If convicted, Layton could receive a mandatory life sentence for Ryan's killing, up to 20 years for the attempted killing of Dwyer, and up to life on each of the two conspiracy counts. Although he was acquitted in Guyana, he was returned here to face charges related to the shootings of Ryan and Dwyer, who were protected under U.S. law. The government theory during the first U.S. trial in the U.S. was that Larry knew of the plot to kill Ryan and that he was involved in it. Jones, who demanded that his flock call him Father, was one of the most politically powerful people in San Francisco, wined and dined by such luminaries as Rosalynn Carter, Assemblyman Willie Brown, Mayor George Moscone and Lieutenant Governor Mervyn Dymally. We worked quickly to locate and speak to the individuals whose families had contacted our office and had been campaigning for their return. "The people that joined Peoples Temple were really good people. The dilapidated former funeral home in Dover had a padlock on the double front doors. The cremated remains of nine Jonestown victims were discovered in a decrepit, now-shuttered funeral home in Dover, officials said. The conspiracy to murder Ryan carried a mandatory life sentence, though federal law makes him eligible for parole in 10 years. [7] In grades one through six, Lawton served as an altar boy at St. Francis de Chantal in The Bronx,[8] where he was sexually abused by a Catholic priest. People's Temple follower Larry Layton, center stands with police following his arrest Nov. 18, 1978 in the shooting of two people on a remote Guyana airstrip. "I was driving across the bridge," she says when asked why, after all these years, she wanted to revisit the horrors of Jonestown. He is serving a life sentence in the federal prison at Lompoc. Oh my God: Its true. Former Peoples Temple member Larry John Layton was convicted Monday of conspiring to kill a U.S. congressman and a diplomat in a 1978 jungle ambush that led to a mass murder . Larry Layton, a passenger posing as a defector, started shooting. The morning after our arrival, Congressman Ryan, Jim Schollaert and I attended a closed-door briefing by Ambassador John Burke and his staff at the U.S. Embassy. Nearly 30 years later, her mother long dead in a rotting jungle outpost in Guyana, her brother doing life in a federal prison and her father so broken that he weeps at the mention of anything connected with Jones-, town, Deborah Layton has, as she put it the other day, "decided it was time to come out of the cobwebbed attic.". "He was so depressed that he was not able to conduct research," Thomas Layton said. Some were shot by Witnesses offer conflicting accounts, Mars Voltas lead singer broke with Scientology and reunited with the band. became chairman in 1976. sentence in federal prison. can really trust," or by the knowledge that failure meant punishment, physical [23][34], The superintendent of student services at Brevard Public Schools declined to use the program and questioned its effectiveness: "[w]hile the program is well-organized and well-intentioned, it does not follow the scientific evidence-based research guidelines". Larry Lawton. Syringes surround one of the vats used to mix up the position drink used in the mass murder at Jonestown. As I scanned the hundreds of smiling faces, I never could have fathomed that within 24 hours, virtually every one of them would be dead. robes, Jones, known as Father to his flock, soon became a San Francisco My list kept growingwhat started with two names was now more than 40. He was not paroled from an American prison until 2002. worked her way from front yard to back painting benches, the mailbox, even The news at the time and the history lessons to follow usually fail to mention that a number of Peoples Temple members were shot, several of whom were in the field between the pavilion and the jungle, clearly trying to escape the massacre. Larry Layton, who had posed as a defector and wounded two people, is serving He spent 12 years in prison, and once released, began a career as a motivational speaker, life coach, and author. In Jonestown, the able-bodied among the 1,000 or so residents worked the Mr.. "So we as a family all sat down and we voted him out of his job." But Layton, saying he wishes he could ease the pain of survivors of the Jonestown massacre, could be freed within five years. The building showed few signs of its former use, although a floral design was etched in glass panes at the entrance. It was nothing of the kind. [25], Law enforcement officials and judges have supported the program. Nobody joined thinking their lives would be taken.". After his campaign received my note, I started volunteering as a Ryan Girl, part of a troop of young women clad in houndstooth bobby hats, miniskirts, black tights, black turtlenecks and bright-white boots. I did not feel confident this was a good idea. After he passed legislation improving prison conditions, the inmates showed their gratitude by giving him a chess set they had sculpted from toothpaste and toilet paper. Glenn Youngkin rules out presidential campaign while in California, 7 bodies found during search for missing Oklahoma teens, US to lift most federal COVID-19 vaccine mandates next week, Multiple fatalities on Illinois highway during a blinding windstorm. Onboard, every bump we hit shot an arrow of pain through my body. Peckham sentenced Layton to 15 years in prison for the other three counts, but said the terms will run concurrently with the life term. Larry Layton later became the only person ever charged in connection with a massacre at the nearby Port Kaituma airstrip. Ryan joined us for the trekone of roughly two dozen of us crammed in the bed of the truck, with dozens of would-be defectors left behind, belongings packed, waiting to escape. Leo Ryan assured me that there was nothing to worry about. This image dehumanizes the victims, however, and disconnects us from the tragedy. Example video title will go here for this video. Lawton filed a lawsuit against the prison and staff alleging that they violated his rights. We compiled similar testimonies from other defectors who corroborated Debbies reports of physical and sexual abuse, forced labor and captivity. | AP/San Francisco Examiner. It was coined after a delusional, pseudo-guru named Jim Jones led his cult, the Peoples Temple, to mass suicide. Although he was indicted in San Francisco, arraignment was scheduled for New York because that is where he first landed on his return to the United States from Guyana, where he has been jailed for the past two years. Born to poverty in the small West Virginia coal-mining town of Boomer, Mr. Layton went from Gauley Bridge High School to a bachelor's degree in mathematics from the West Virginia Institute of Technology and, later, a doctorate in biochemistry from Pennsylvania State University. He was jailed at the Metropolitan Correctional Center. The discovery reopened wounds. consulate officials. [28] Often he appears discussing crimes in the media as an expert on robberies. "When I joined Peoples Temple, I was 17 and it was like joining the Peace Corps," she says. I noticed an elderly woman stuffing pieces of bacon into her pockets; the ample spread was just another showpiece. by | AP. In between his trials, he lived under an assumed name in Eureka and, more recently, in San Francisco, where he sold real estate and took computer classes. a life Jones had become increasingly paranoid, convinced that the CIA, the FBI and the media were out to destroy him. None of the Temple members showed any interest in receiving correspondence from home. Youll see what a wonderful place it is. He took us on a tour highlighting the most favorable aspects of the commune. Notifications can be turned off anytime in the browser settings. At Port Kaituma, while I ushered the defectors onto a plane, a large red tractor-trailer rumbled onto the airstrip. All were visiting Jonestown on a fact-finding mission to investigate reports of abuses of members. We saw an impressive community with dozens of pathways, cabins, a medical center, a little school, and a large pavilion where the members congregated regularly. was feted by politicians. The robbers drew what police at the time believed were firearms, and restrained the store owner. Research has shown that the artificial dyes in Kool-Aid may cause hyperactivity in your child. Peoples Temple was successful in recruiting new members because they always provided what the community needed, a case of supply and demand. United Press International. spiritual. Leave a sympathy message to the family on the memorial page of Larry Layton to pay them a last tribute. Jones then orchestrated a ritual of mass murder and suicide at the group's nearby agricultural commune, ordering followers to drink cyanide-laced grape punch. View the profiles of professionals named "Larry Layton" on LinkedIn. Her mother's cancer pain medications were taken away. [21] Lawton was arrested by the FBI on December 2, 1996, in Florida and charged with the Fairless Hills armed robbery. [28], After release he went to Palm Bay, Florida and started LL Research and Consulting and met a business partner. [15] The robbers had dropped off jewelry for repairs, and later returned to rob the store. I dove beneath the plane, hiding behind the wheel as bullets thumped against the metal above me. "I felt we were doing something that had meaning. I would never have left Jonestown with Congressman Ryan. Dick Dwyer, an embassy official, showed us a slideshow of his visit to Jonestown the previous Mayimages in which he and Jim Jones looked unnervingly chummy; images of tables filled with food, of joyful children on a swingset, of bountiful crops and an exuberant church session. That was the last moment I remember with any real clarity before I surrendered my body to the medical staff. murder-suicide that shocked the world 20 years ago this month. The cover of a Jonestown promotional booklet from 1978. I was even unaffected by the rice weevils and other strange bugs we ingested daily.". Congressman Ryan and I were among the first shift of the delegation to climb in for the excruciatingly slow six-mile drive to the commune. No names were released publicly because relatives hadn't been notified. Mr. Layton died of congestive heart failure, five days before his 85th birthday. Indescribable pain consumed me, leaving room only for a fleeting thought that I should pretend to be dead. We listened as she offered a detailed and disturbing account of her experience. That same day, precipitated by the shootings, over 900 members of the People's Temple Cult led by Reverend Jim Jones died in Jonestown, Guyana of mass murder and suicide. In 1978, I went to Guyana on a fact-finding mission. A family memorial service will be conducted at a later date. I had read the articles and listened to hours of testimony. The family moved from Maryland to Northern California, where Mr. Layton was appointed chief of pharmacology at the Western Regional Laboratory of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. But the moment I looked down at my own body is locked in my mind. "The reason I did well," Layton says now, "is that I'm a little soldier and I follow orders so well.". They To the tarmac. See also Jim Jones Debbie said the couple had gone to court to try to compel the Guyanese government to intervene; Rev. Five months later, on the night of November 18, 1978, Jones sent a gang of gunmen to an airstrip in Port Kaituma, where Representative Leo Ryan of San Mateo and a fact-finding party that had visited Jonestown were preparing to leave. A full body orgasm at the L.A. Phil? fake healings. I just A former high school teacher, he was swept into politics by the idealism of the Kennedy era and elected mayor of South San Francisco before running for state Assembly. "It was devastating to him. After a few weeks, Layton grew "accustomed to the unusual smells in the food and drink. Jones died of a gunshot wound to the head. The Jonestown remains were found at the former Minus Funeral Home after the property's current owner, a bank, called, according to Dover police and public records. Jones, who founded his church in Indiana and moved here in 1970, relocated to Guyana, a former British colony in South America, in 1977 after critical press accounts about his politically prominent sect. It did not sit well with me. Dead vines hung from the building's white plaster walls, and cracked windows were repaired with blue tape. With Joness wild gaze on us, I tape-recorded affidavits of their wishes to return to the United States. because I was too He was found guilty of conspiracy and aiding and abetting in the murder of Ryan and the attempted murder of U.S. embassy official Richard Dwyer and was sentenced to Read More By the early 1970s, however, Mr. Layton's personal life changed in ways he had hardly thought possible. GUYANA - NOVEMBER 18: People's Temple follower Larry Layton (C) stands with police following his arrest November 18, 1978 in the shooting of two people on a remote Guyana airstrip. As a trusted financial lieutenant for cult leader Jim Jones, she kept secrets Hundreds of followers moved. Twenty years after Jonestown, a survivor looks back. It was an implausible ending for the fiery preacher, who had curried favor among the fashionable elite of the Democratic Party. Mr. Layton retired in 1978, at the height of the Jonestown tragedy, and never worked again. grandmother had committed suicide. These are things that haunt me still," Layton says. Then daughter Lauren started asking questions. "I saw things and I didn't stand up and say, 'Stop!' The hundreds of elderly were told that if they attempted escape, they would be left to die prolonged deaths alone in the depths of the jungle. Traumatizing family rifts erupted on the spot, with mothers and fathers engaged in literal tug-of-wars over their children. sweeping As the bodies were identified, the military asked about a half-dozen local funeral homes to help the families make arrangements. Kool-Aid is high in sugar or contains artificial sweetener and has little to no nutritional value. (The night before she'd left for the school, her father had stunned her Unrivaled Mac notes apps for fuss-free note-taking, 6 Actionable Tips for Improving Your Websites SEO, Copyright 2023 | WordPress Theme by MH Themes. The "Greeting Committee" promptly confiscated all their clothes and belongings and, most important, their passports. Hundreds of children and a U.S. congressman died at Jonestown, and 911 decomposing bodies were brought to Dover Air Force Base, home to the U.S. military's largest mortuary. My ribs were broken. | AP. Should they have any doubt of his intentions, they could look to the vibrant community of believers who echoed his sentiments and treated his words as gospel. Why is Frank McCourt really pushing it? The two store owners were bound while two individuals robbed the store and a third acted as a lookout and the other as the getaway driver. The next day, preparing to leave with about 20 defectors, Ryan's party He has appeared on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Christian Broadcasting Network, and Fox News. jungle. Mrs. Layton's former husband, Dr. Laurence Layton, an eminent scientist, was left behind in Berkeley, Calif., having lost a wife and at least $250,000 that she gave to Mr. Jones. I was almost one of them. Layton was arrested shortly after the killings by Guyanese authorities and signed a confession taking responsibility for the airstrip deaths--a confession that his lawyers maintained was coerced. NEW YORK -- Larry Layton, a member of Jim Jones' Peoples Temple cult, flew to New York Friday night to face arraignment for the killing of Rep. Leo Ryan in the Guyanese jungles two years ago. Loudspeakers ". Then, as a group of men dug the truck out of the mud, we heard a loud commotion from the pavilion. "I was ready to be overwhelmed by emotion," she says, "but when we got into the area, it just wasn't there. None of those red flags made the congressman reconsider. They all swore that Jonestown was the one and only place they could ever consider home. I spoke with a woman named Edith Parks, the matriarch of three generations of Temple members who wanted out.
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