Broken Faith
Description
A haunting, rigorously reported true-crime account of how devotion curdled into delusion-and ended in the murders of Brenda Lafferty and her 15-month-old daughter, Erica.
In 1984, Utah's Wasatch front was shattered by a crime born from "revelation." Brothers Ron and Dan Lafferty claimed God had commanded a "removal." What followed forced a community-and a nation-to confront the thin line between fervent belief and fanatic harm.
Linda Davidson reconstructs the case with care and clarity: the family's patriarchal roots; the brothers' slide into separatist fundamentalism; the July 24th killings; the interstate manhunt and arrests; and the trials that tested sanity, faith, and the meaning of justice. Alongside the investigative narrative, Davidson probes the psychology of shared delusion, the mechanics of coercive control, and the resilience of those left behind.
Centering the lives of Brenda and baby Erica-not the mythology of their killers-Broken Faith refuses sensationalism. It is a study in how authority without accountability becomes danger, and how families and communities rebuild after the unthinkable.
Inside you'll find:
A scene-by-scene reconstruction grounded in court records and contemporaneous reporting
Clear explanations of the legal and psychological issues the case raised
A compassionate portrait of Brenda Lafferty as a voice of reason and courage
Lessons for recognizing and resisting extremist control cloaked as faith
Content note: Contains non-graphic descriptions of homicide and religiously framed abuse.