Brenda Lafferty was just 24 years old when she was murdered. Her 15-month-old daughter, Erica, died with her. It’s a case that haunts the history of Utah and the LDS church, not just because of the brutality, but because of the "why." When Jon Krakauer published his book Under the Banner of Heaven in 2003, he cracked open a door most people wanted shut. Then, the FX limited series starring Andrew Garfield arrived, and suddenly everyone was googling "Mormon fundamentalism" and "blood atonement" at three in the morning.
But here is the thing.
There is a massive gap between the TV dramatization and what actually happened in American Fork in 1984. People tend to treat the show or the book as a monolith of truth, but the reality of the Lafferty brothers—Ron and Dan—is way more disturbing and complex than a streaming script can fully capture. It isn't just a story about a "crazy cult." It is a story about how fast someone can go from being a normal, middle-class neighbor to claiming they have a direct line to God that mandates murder.
The Lafferty Brothers and the Spiral into Extremism
You’ve probably seen the show’s portrayal of the Lafferty family as this rigid, Kennedy-esque dynasty of Mormonism. That part is pretty accurate. They were influential. They were respected. But the shift didn't happen overnight. It started with tax evasion and ended with a straight-up "removal revelation."
Ron and Dan Lafferty didn't start out wanting to kill anyone. They started by getting obsessed with the "old ways" of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We’re talking about the stuff the modern church moved away from in the late 1800s—specifically polygamy and the concept of "blood atonement." They joined a small, radical splinter group called the School of the Prophets. Honestly, the group's leader, Robert Crossfield (also known as Prophet Onias), eventually kicked them out because even he thought they were becoming too radical. That says a lot.
The catalyst was Brenda. Brenda Wright Lafferty was an outsider. She was a journalism major from Idaho, she was confident, and she didn't just nod and smile when her brothers-in-law started acting like self-appointed prophets. She encouraged her husband, Allen, to stay away from his brothers' increasingly weird beliefs.
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In the eyes of Ron Lafferty, Brenda wasn't just a nuisance. She was the reason his wife left him. She was the reason he lost his family and his standing. He didn't just get mad; he claimed God told him she had to go.
Fact-Checking the Andrew Garfield Series
If you’re a fan of the show, you know Andrew Garfield’s character, Detective Jeb Pyre. Here is the big reveal: Jeb Pyre doesn't exist. He’s a fictional creation used to represent the internal struggle of a faithful Mormon detective facing the dark side of his own history. The actual lead investigators on the case, like Terry Fox, weren't necessarily going through a massive crisis of faith while looking at the crime scene. They were just trying to catch a killer. While the show uses Pyre to explain complex LDS theology to the audience, it creates a slightly false narrative that the investigation itself was this grand spiritual journey. In reality, it was a gritty, horrifying manhunt.
Another thing the series leans heavily into is the "mountain meadows massacre" and early church history. While Krakauer’s book Under the Banner of Heaven spends half its time on 19th-century history, the actual case in 1984 was much more about Ron Lafferty’s personal ego and his descent into narcissistic delusion.
What was the Removal Revelation?
In March 1984, Ron wrote down what he claimed was a message from the Heavens. It specifically named Brenda and Erica, along with two other people who had "helped" Ron's wife leave him. The note said they were to be "removed" so that God’s work could continue.
Most people don't realize that Dan Lafferty, the younger brother, actually carried out the physical act of the murders. He has stated in interviews—even decades later—that he felt no guilt. He viewed it as a religious ordinance. It’s that chilling lack of remorse that makes the real-life story of Under the Banner of Heaven so much scarier than a fictional horror movie.
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The Struggle with the LDS Church
It’s no secret that the LDS Church was not a fan of the book or the series. They’ve historically pushed back against the idea that the Lafferty brothers are a natural byproduct of Mormon theology. And they have a point—the brothers were excommunicated long before the murders. They weren't "mainstream" Mormons.
However, Krakauer’s argument—and the theme of the show—is that the underpinnings of the faith, the idea of personal revelation, can be dangerous when someone decides they are more important than the law.
There is a fine line between "feeling prompted by the spirit to help a neighbor" and "feeling prompted by the spirit to commit a crime." For the Laffertys, that line was non-existent. They used the history of the faith as a blueprint for their own violence. This is why the case remains a sore spot. It forces a conversation about where religious freedom ends and extremist danger begins.
The Reality of the Trial and the Aftermath
Ron Lafferty spent decades on death row. He actually died of natural causes in 2019, just before he was scheduled to be executed by a firing squad. Dan Lafferty is still serving a life sentence at the Utah State Prison.
If you ever watch interviews with Dan, it's unsettling. He’s often smiling. He’s articulate. He doesn't look like a "monster." He looks like a guy you’d see at a hardware store. That’s the real takeaway from Under the Banner of Heaven. True radicalization doesn't always look like a movie villain. It looks like a neighbor who starts getting a little too obsessed with "purity" and "the old ways" until they eventually stop seeing their victims as human beings.
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Key differences between the show and reality:
- The timeline: The show condenses the investigation into a few intense days. In real life, it took a bit more legwork to track the brothers down to a buffet in Reno, Nevada.
- The character of Brenda: While the show captures her spirit, the real Brenda was reportedly even more vibrant and intellectually sharp than the "victim" narrative usually allows.
- The ending: The show offers a sense of closure for the detective, but for the real Lafferty family (the ones who weren't involved), there was no neat ending. The family was shattered. Allen Lafferty, Brenda's husband, had to live with the fact that his own brothers murdered his wife and child.
Why We Are Still Obsessed With This Story
True crime is everywhere, but Under the Banner of Heaven hits differently. It’s not a "whodunnit." We know who did it. It’s a "whydunnit."
It explores the American West, the history of religion in the US, and the vulnerability of the human mind. It’s about the "Banner of Heaven"—the idea that you can justify almost anything if you believe you’re doing it for a higher power.
If you’re looking to understand the case better, don’t just watch the show. Read the transcripts of the trials. Read Brenda’s actual history. The series is a great piece of art, but the real story is a cautionary tale about the dangers of absolute certainty.
How to approach the story with more depth
If you want to dive deeper into the themes of the case or the history of the region, here are a few things you should actually do:
- Read the 20th Anniversary Edition of the book: Krakauer added updates in later editions that address some of the criticisms from the LDS church and provide more context on the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS).
- Research the "School of the Prophets": Understanding the specific splinter groups helps separate mainstream Mormonism from the extremist views the Laffertys held.
- Listen to the "A Year of Polygamy" podcast: If the history sections of the show confused you, Lindsay Hansen Park explains the complex history of Mormon fundamentalism better than almost anyone. It provides the nuance that a 60-minute TV episode usually has to skip.
- Look into the Brenda Wright Lafferty Scholarship: Instead of just focusing on the killers, look into the ways Brenda’s family has tried to honor her legacy through education and journalism.
The story is a tragedy, first and foremost. By focusing on the victims and the actual facts of the radicalization process, we can move past the sensationalism and understand the real mechanics of how these things happen in the first place.