Deceived An Investigative Memoir of the Zion Society Cult

by King, Michael R.

• ISBN13: 9781736237410
• ISBN10: 1736237411
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2021-06-01
• Publisher: Profiling Evil

Summary

"DECEIVED" IS A MEMOIR OF DETECTIVE MIKE KING'S 1991 INVESTIGATION AND THE ULTIMATE TAKE-DOWN OF A DEVIANT POLYGAMOUS CULT CALLED THE ZION SOCIETY. FOR OVER A DECADE, GOSSIP SWIRLED AROUND NORTHERN UTAH THAT A SECRETIVE GROUP OF RELIGIOUS ZEALOTS WERE BUYING UP HOMES TO TAKE OVER A DEVELOPING NEIGHBORHOOD IN AN OGDEN COMMUNITY. THE HOMES WERE KNOWN FAR AND WIDE FOR THEIR IMMACULATELY LANDSCAPED YARDS. RUMORS SPREAD THAT A WELL-KNOWN LANDSCAPER IN THE CITY HAD PROCLAIMED HIMSELF TO BE A PROPHET OF GOD AND WAS BEING COMMANDED TO START HIS OWN SECRET RELIGION THAT PROMOTED POLYGAMY. IT WAS ALSO BELIEVED THESE EXTREMISTS WERE STOCKPILING WEAPONS AS PART OF THEIR DOOMSDAY BELIEFS. IN REALITY, THE LEADER WAS DIRECTING SOME OF THE MOST REPUGNANT CRIMES AGAINST WOMEN AND CHILDREN EVER SEEN IN THE STATE. THE HIDDEN ATROCITIES OF THE CULT MAY NEVER HAVE BEEN DISCOVERED IF NOT FOR THE COURAGE OF ONE OF ITS MEMBERS. THIRTY YEARS LATER, VICTIMS RECONNECTED WITH EACH OTHER AND WITH THE LEAD INVESTIGATOR TO ADDRESS THE SHORTCOMINGS OF THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM REGARDING CHILD VICTIMS.

Author Biography

Mike King has worked in the law enforcement field for over 40 years. He received a BA and an MA in Criminal Justice and began his career as a police officer in northern Utah. He became an investigator in the Weber County Attorney's Office and subsequently in the Utah Attorney General's Office where he also served as Chief of Staff. He trained in criminal profiling under FBI Special Agent Gregory Cooper (ret.). He and Cooper were the investigators for the Discovery Channel's Emmy Award winning investigative documentary: Who Killed King Tut? He entered the private sector in 2004 and began working for Environmental Systems Research Institute (Esri) as the global director of emergency communications and fraud. Other books he has authored are: Who Killed King Tut, Predators: Who They Are and How to Stop Them, Profilers, and Jane: A Woman's Determination and the Wild West Frontier. He and his wife, Bonnie, are the parents of three children and they have four grandchildren.