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Keith Myers / AP
In this Nov. 13 file photo, Micah Moore, 23, is escorted into the Jackson County Courthouse Annex in Independence, Mo., for his murder charge in the death of 27-year-old Bethany Ann Deaton.
Updated at 4:06 p.m. ET: An attorney for a Kansas City man charged with killing the wife of his prayer group leader said Wednesday that he made up his confession after other group members dropped him off at a police station.
Attorney Melanie Morgan said 23-year-old Micah Moore was distraught over the death of 27-year-old Bethany Deaton when he confessed to killing her and made a series of stunning allegations detailed by police in a criminal complaint.
Moore, who lived with Deaton and her husband, Tyler, in a communal home shared by male members of their prayer group, told police that several members had sexually assaulted Bethany Deaton and were worried she would tell someone. Moore said that's when Tyler Deaton ordered him to kill Bethany Deaton, according to the complaint.
Moore, who has been charged with murder, was scheduled for a preliminary hearing Wednesday, but that was delayed when the prosecutor's office asked for more time to take the case before a grand jury.
Afterward, Morgan read a statement recanting Moore's confession, which she described as "bizarre and nonsensical."
She did not address his allegations that Bethany Deaton had been sexually assaulted or that Tyler Deaton had ordered his wife's death. Morgan also declined to take any questions.
Tyler Deaton has not been charged in his wife's death. Jackson County prosecutor Jean Peters Baker has said Deaton is under investigation but declined to elaborate. Deaton does not have a listed phone number and did not respond to requests for comment The Associated Press made through Facebook and phone and email messages to his father.
Police have said Bethany Deaton's death initially appeared to be a suicide. Officers found a note and empty bottle of over-the-counter pain medication along with her body in a minivan parked by a lake on Oct. 30.
It wasn't until Moore confessed on Nov. 9 that they announced a homicide investigation.
Tyler and Bethany Deaton moved to Kansas City in 2009 from Texas to attend a six-month internship at the non-accredited International House of Prayer University. The two had met as freshmen at Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, in 2005, and two years later Tyler started a prayer group, a former longtime member of the group told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he was afraid of retaliation from Tyler Deaton.
Tyler Deaton was listed at one point as a division coordinator for IHOPU's "friendship groups," but the school said that was a mistake. It issued a statement distancing itself from Tyler Deaton after Moore, a student at IHOPU, was arrested.
"Since Bethany's death it has come to light that over five years ago, both she and Mr. Moore joined an independent, close-knit, religious group in Georgetown, Texas," the school said in a statement. "This religious group of fewer than 20 people was led by Tyler Deaton. They relocated to Kansas City over the last few years and operated under a veil of secrecy."
IHOPU is the educational arm of International House of Prayer of Kansas City, an evangelical Christian group focused on missions and preparation for the end of time.
The Deatons' prayer group had at least two houses, with women living in one and men in another. Bethany Deaton, 27, moved into the men's house with Tyler Deaton after they married in August.
According to the criminal complaint, Moore told police that men in the house began drugging Bethany Deaton and sexually assaulting her soon after she moved in. He said she was seeing a therapist and group members became concerned she would tell the therapist about the assaults.
Moore and other men who lived in the house told police that several group members also were having sexual relations with Tyler Deaton, unbeknownst to his wife. One man, whose name was blacked out of the criminal complaint, told police that Tyler Deaton said after Bethany Deaton died that he had had a dream he killed his wife by suffocating her.
Moore told detectives Tyler Deaton instructed him to kill Bethany Deaton because he knew Moore had it in him to do it, and that Moore reported back to Tyler Deaton after she was dead. Moore told police that he had placed a bag over Bethany Deaton's head and held it there until her body shook.
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Leave a Comment:
So we're going to blanketly believe a man that would murder another human being?! And how unfair to judge "organized" religion on the media that thrives on a bloodthirsty public? Only the religious wackos get headline news. That is NOT an accurate portrayal of the Christian community in the U.S.
Moore is probably telling the truth that he did murder the young woman at the order of her husband and the other sexual predators. But, paranoia seems to be rampant on these posts and posters with personal agendas relish blaming everything on organized religion instead of seeing this crime for what it is: rape, bestiality and the murder of a young woman to cover up the crime.
There's no resistin' a Christian, so send 'em your bread
reserve a place in Heaven for when your're dead
Turn the other cheek and give them some head
Keep that Bible next to your bed.
Brian Ritchie, Violent Femmes
Please read the article carefully, this was a group that was formed in Texas and moved to Kansas to attend IHOPU for 6 months. There is no possible way that the IHOPU could possibly know everything that goes on in other peoples home. Unless there had been a reason to doubt the integrity of this group most Christians would choose to believe the best of another person. This was horrific and this group did not live according to Gods principles or I'm sure of those of IHOPU. Perhaps those who are setting in judgment need to keep an open mind and check out Ihopu websight with an open mind and find out what their about before you carelessly set in judgment over them.
This multiple rape and murder are all part of God's plan for us! He allows such things to happen so that we may learn of his infinity power, mercy, and glory.
Same with the catholic priests and their molestey ways, and the muslims and their acid flinging. God loves us all, and wants us to see how horribly he can make us suffer if he feels like it.
The christian apologists are all over this one. "You can't condemn an entire religion based on the actions of a few".... well then, you'd better open your arms and allow that mosque to be built in your town, right? Look, I'm an equal opportunity anti-religionist: they're all just big steaming piles of poo. Any organization that requires you to ignore the facts will not, when all is said and done, result in a net plus for humanity. And not for nothing, but there's nothing more dangerous than a group of men whose sexual impulses have been repressed for years. I don't care if it's a seminary, a "prayer" group, a prison, or a boy's school. The result is always going to be the same: someone's gonna get raped. No pope, preacher, or prison guard has ever succeeded at controlling the expressions of sexuality in those he believes are under his rule.
I was going to say that I've never known any prayer that worked - throughout recorded history. These d-bags pray for new cars, to win the lottery, a new job, a new relationship. Pretty much self-center. Rare to pray for peace, but even that doesn't work. Amazing that you hear about the power of prayer, but there are no tangible results. Unless you credit someone winning there personal greedy request to the Lord (finally got that new toaster I've been praying for, but the end to the war is going to take more time) . I guess all that changed today. Prayer killed the supreme prayer leader's wife. Would that qualify for the Lord working in wonderous ways?
My wife told me to kill my pray group leader. When I asked why, she said I was praying for World Peace and that was dumb. When I asked what she wanted me to pray for, her response was "A new truck". God moves in mysterious ways. I went to Walmart and bought her a remote controlled truck. Now she wants to kill me.
Funny!
Why don't people call it like it really is - why doesn't the general public want to face the fact that there are tons of perverts walking the streets out there, and they form these 'religious' groups in order to just practice the kind of life style they want to live and then they call it 'religion'! That is a bunch of bull and every one knows it. It is simply a cover to hide a sicko kind of existance you want to entice others to join and live with you in order to satisfy your own warped ideas on how to entertain yourselves, whether its assaulting women OR whether it is assaulting children! They are mentally sick and disturbed individuals with severe issues and should be behind bars! They entice the ignorant and lonely people that don't have a life of their own that search for just ANYONE to pay attention to them - its like being a member of a criminal gang! These are nothing but gangs hiding under a different umbrella, an umbrella disguised as and called 'religion' - it is truly disgusting and pathetic but there are lots of warped individuals that joyfully join this garbage so they, too, can get by with being a deviate!
The Devil made him do it
You stole Flip Wilson's trademark line.... now he's gonna kill you......
When you're hot, you're hot; when you're not, you're not. ~FW
Why do people always lump these wackos in with the whole group of {insert group of choice here}. IF you are a lumper, you are as stupid as these people.
This is what Christianity is to me.
GD... I loved their pancakes. I guess I'll have to go to Denny's after this.
As the once famous Dr Freud said----"Religion is a universal Psycosis and Psychiatry is designed to rid people of it!!"
AMEN TO THAT!!!!!! ;D
I would actually be looking into the sanity of all the members of this "church". Who the heck would join/move with/relocate their family for/with a "church group" named IHOPU? I'll abstain from the multiple jokes here, but really?!
IHOPU? Better to have joined the International House of Pancakes. Yokels. Go listen to some more voices in your heads. There's a nice chapel called Bellevue for all of you.
here's what i think goes on. in order to form a committed connection with a belief system that contains many ideas that cannot be proven and must be accepted on faith, you attract a healthy (perhaps unhealthy) percentage of individuals who are very susceptible to being led by strong authority figure.
as well, these smaller "store front" religious groups tend to attract leaders with less than religious motives because their ulterior motives would be more easily recognized in a more formal, organized, larger membership group.
because inclusion in these store front groups is more often accomplished by a personal "pitch" from the leader a great deal of manipulation can be employed unlike with larger more conventional spiritual groups which draw members from successive generations or because they are more visible in the community and attract adherents that way.
the collaboration between the manipulative leader and the yearning vulnerable follower amounts to a potential "perfect storm" of evil. christianity is just the format used, not the cause of the evil. however, there is something about christianity that is awful handy for bad people to use. perhaps it's the veil of holiness that seems to automatically fall around these groups. it can provide great cover. that in itself should make anyone give close scrutiny to ANY christian group they belong to. elements of manipulation can be found in virtually all sects and denominations. for example: how does your favorite group handle the issue of making a financial contribution? or the issue of exploring spiritual doubts?
keep your antennae out there.
Nice explanation! As someone who got to experience the whole gambit... I thought you brought a refreshing look at the dangers of spiritual belief and a good warning for anyone that would be attending a church of any denomination, popularity or numbers.
Umm....I just want to know who that amazing specimen of an officer is in the pic. Forget the homicidal whack jobs.
a potential cult enforcer!
The officer should be available at the Jackson County Courthouse #. Just call.
The precedence here is to kill the pastor and his children with drone strikes.
That group is wacko...or is it Waco?
What did you expect to hear, "Jesus loves you?"
OMG ! Yet another person BLAMING it on someone else !! Can't we all agree to take responsibility for our own actions? "my prayer group" made me do it! lol...ha ha ha ha ha ha
at least he turned himself in to the police...but he says..."yeah officer I killed her b/c it was suggested in my prayer group" -
...when religion goes bad.....lol....
There are members of organized religion...and then there are fanatics who do the crazy $hit that give religion and it's law abiding members a bad rap. All in all, generalizations suck no matter what the topic.
Poor lady. She was sexually assaulted then because they were afraid she would talk she was killed. I hope the killer and her hubby rot in jail.. On a different note. The cop in the photo is cute.. lmfao
"Jane, will you marry me"??
"Are you a religious man"?
"Yes"
"No"
This story reminds me of Santorum. Santorum is a religious nut that would like to have a cult of his own. Santorum wants to keep his flock barefoot, Pregnant,and stupid. Remember, Santorum is the fool that said that Obama was a snob, and that Obama was wrong to want all people to go to college. Just like the Republicans, they do not want educated people, the Republicans want stupid sheeple so that the sheeple will follow them.
True enough...people w/o education are less likely to question whether certain practices are ethical, safe, etc. Just good little worker drones who do as they are told without question. They should also believe that Faux News is the only true source of information. Republican nirvana.