Congressman Ryan assured me that there was nothing to worry about. seemed to have them for us.". His following grew, and Jones became the leader of one of the first mixed-race churches in Indiana. were innocent. 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. Lawton was critical of the move, saying that "[c]hain gangs send a bad message about [the US]." Oh my God: Its true. As I took down their names, I looked over at Don Harris, who was interviewing Jones. At one point, Congressman Ryan interrupted our tour to make sure that the press and Concerned Relatives had been given the transportation to join us. The base has handled mass casualties of both military personnel and civilians from wars, the Sept. 11 terrorist attack on the Pentagon and the NASA Challenger and Columbia space shuttle missions. ", "Every week we're promised death, a relief from this miserable life. He later became a world expert in the field of human allergies. [26] Lawton does not hold a degree in child psychology or criminology. Her mother and brother stayed behind. [10] He also founded the Reality Check program which aims to show teens the consequences of a criminal life. Looking back at the Jonestown tragedy Photos - ABC News That was the last moment I remember with any real clarity before I surrendered my body to the medical staff. Chief among my concerns was how cozy Jones appeared to be with members of the embassy: How could any Jonestown resident feel safe reporting an injustice to a U.S. official who is arm in arm with Jim Jones in every image? "[2] He was critical of Brevard County stopping letters to inmates in 2013. Rep. Leo Ryan, who was working with San Francisco area residents worried Larry Layton was the only person prosecuted for any of the events in and around Jonestown. He spoke often of apocalypseJones chose Redwood Valley because he believed it was one of a few places in the country that could survive a nuclear holocaustyet insisted the Peoples Temple would exist as a sort of heaven on Earth, with himself in the role of God. I couldnt immediately identify the deafening sound that filled the air. | AP. (1.8-by-1.2-meter) underground enclosure. Along the way, she exorcised the family ghosts. Although some of Joness most zealous followers may have consumed the poison voluntarily, the vast majority were murdered outright and against their will. We listened as she offered a detailed and disturbing account of her experience. [15] The robbers took $480,000 ($910,600.81 in 2022)[17] worth of gold and diamonds making it the biggest robbery in the city's history. Misbehaving children were fixture. died drinking juice?". I had no idea. Only one man, Temple member Larry Layton, was tried in the United States for his involvement in the November 18 events. ', "O.J. In a cabin with about six women from the Temple, I took a top bunk, sweating as a downpour opened up outside. In 1977, after a magazine expose, Jones and his followers fled to Jonestown, a compound carved out of the remote jungles of Guyana. same time, it's because of those secrets that I think my mother and my However, Layton was acquitted of the lesser charges and the prosecution announced it would not try him on the murder counts, carrying a mandatory sentence of death by hanging. (AP) -- Thirty-five years ago, funeral directors in Delaware struggled to quickly bury and cremate the remains of more than 900 people who died in a suicide-murder in Jonestown, Guyana, many of them Peoples Temple followers who drank cyanide-laced punch. Leo Ryan assured me that there was nothing to worry about. He was jailed at the Metropolitan Correctional Center. When cameras were rolling, he spoke of how he loved them and how there would always be a place for thembut those declarations would be followed by thinly veiled mutters about treason and liars. [10] In 2012, Lawton self-published Gangster Redemption, an autobiography co-written with Peter Golenbock. The store owner managed to break free and grabbed a .38 caliber pistol and fired five shots at the robbers as they fled. Twenty years ago this month, Jones and 912 of his followers committed mass suicide at the jungle compound. I just Murder Trial Ordered for Suspect in Ryan Slaying 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. 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 There were piles of used syringes at the scene. They reported the car's license plate, which linked the car to Lawton. After Jonestown, Layton retreated to secrets again -- "I was so ashamed. "It's just so sad, for me as a survivor," said Yulanda Williams, 58, now a sergeant with the San Francisco Police Department. "They would be taken to the Jonestown well in the dark of night, hung upside down by a rope around their ankles, and dunked into the water again and again while someone hidden inside the well grabbed at them to scare them. While trying to keep the peace, he had been attacked with a knife. [35][36] It also hosts an annual bowling tournament. In 1965, after riots shook Watts, an African-American neighborhood in Los Angeles, Ryan briefly took a job there as a substitute teacher while serving in the state Assembly, and used the experience to shape education policy. Peoples Temple follower Larry Layton, center, stands with police following his arrest in the shooting of two people, including California Congressman Leo Ryan, on a remote Guyana airstrip, Nov. 18 . The icon which characterizes Jonestown in the public mind is a picture of a galvanized metal vat, surrounded by bloated bodies. View the profiles of professionals named "Larry Layton" on LinkedIn. Hurrying out of bed, Layton would race toward Jones "in my mud-caked boots, past the tin-roofed cabins, past the wooden outdoor showers where we're allowed our two-minute wash at the end of our 11-hour days in the field." [1][2], In 2007, he started the Reality Check Program to help educate at-risk youths on the consequences of breaking the law. Excerpt from UNDAUNTED: Surviving Jonestown, Summoning Courage, and Fighting Back by Jackie Speier, reprinted under a license arrangement originating with Amazon Publishing. 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. A $300-million (minimum) gondola to Dodger Stadium? | AP/San Francisco Examiner. We landed in Georgetown, Guyanas capital, on November 14, 1978. That Nov. 17, a delegation of reporters and relatives arrived in Guyana, Few heeded. Ever on the alert for malcontents, Jones would order recalcitrant Temple members -- those who questioned his authority -- into "The Box," a stifling underground cubicle the size of a coffin. well, it wasn't there. 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 records below outline many of the details of his arrest, his incarceration, the investigations into his role in the attacks, and his trials. afraid. Larry now lives in Northern California. [44] Lawton has a YouTube channel, and he has made videos analyzing heists in movies and video games such as Grand Theft Auto V; he also plays Prison Architect. Family Tragedy: Hitler's Germany to Jones's Cult Jones had ordered the ambush out of fear that Ryan would expose the cult. The cremated remains of nine Jonestown victims were discovered in a decrepit, now-shuttered funeral home in Dover, officials said. Jones had a penchant for suddenly getting on the compound loudspeaker long after everyone had gone to bed and shouting, "White Night! We accompanied Assemblyman Ryan to shopping centers and campaign events to pass out pamphlets and speak with voters. I was even unaffected by the rice weevils and other strange bugs we ingested daily.". He pulled out a gun and shot and wounded two cult defectors. Breathing heavily, I pulled myself to my feet, stumbled to the planes baggage compartment and took shelter. I barely got a wink of sleep. SAN FRANCISCO (AP) _ Former Peoples Temple member Larry Layton was met with frightened screams when he boarded a truck full of people trying to flee the Rev. Ryan traveled to Guyana after winning his fourth congressional term to investigate reports from cult defectors--including Laytons sister, Debra--that the cult was holding members against their will. Besides, when had a congressman ever been assassinated on foreign soil while on a congressional delegation trip? It wasnt unusual for Temple members to be awakened at dawn over the loudspeaker and summoned to the pavilion for one of his increasingly unhinged sermons. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. Infants cannot commit suicide. None of those red flags made the congressman reconsider. It was a mass murder. Laurence Laird Layton, a distinguished scientist whose later life was devastated by his family's involvement with the Peoples Temple cult, died Wednesday in his Emeryville home. Each cup of Kool-Aid has 20 grams of sugar, or to be precise, the equivalent of 5 teaspoons of sugar. It was utter pandemonium. 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. At least 10 other Americans were wounded in the attack. In 1954, he was named director of research at the Navy's munitions factory in Indian Head, Md., where he designed missile fuels. Hes a jug, and nothing more. The outfits were a ridiculous gimmick, and the role was clearly objectifying. [29][13] The program is four hours long. Surviving the Heart of Darkness / Twenty years later, Jackie - SFGATE [10] Afterwards, another jewelry store in Lower Bucks County became suspicious of a person they believed was casing the place for a future robbery. 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. "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. 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. The first issue is how do we settle it to make sure the ashes are where they belong at Evergreen where everybody is," she said, referring to the cemetery that is the site of the mass grave. jungle. Peoples Temple was successful in recruiting new members because they always provided what the community needed, a case of supply and demand. Larry Layton Obituary (1962 - 2017) | Johnstown, Pennsylvania - Echovita Larry Layton, a former member of the People's Temple cult, is to be released on $250,000 bail pending an appeal of his conviction last December for aiding and abetting the murder of. But Layton, saying he wishes he could ease the pain of survivors of the Jonestown massacre, could be freed within five years. The fact is, those who died in Jonestown were real people, with families, friends, and loved ones. High 56F. My ribs were broken. Larry Layton later became the only person ever charged in connection with a massacre at the nearby Port Kaituma airstrip. encampment about 250 miles (400 kilometers) from the Guyana capital of With the dark glasses he wore indoors and out, his glossy black hair and Infants cannot commit suicide. 1998-11-02 04:00:00 PDT CALIFORNIA -- For a young woman of 17, flinging herself on the world after the cloistered atmosphere of an English boarding school, Peoples Temple seemed daring and exciting. 40+ "Larry Layton" profiles | LinkedIn Then, as a group of men dug the truck out of the mud, we heard a loud commotion from the pavilion. Larry Layton, a member of Jim Jones' Peoples Temple - UPI Loudspeakers They all joined Peoples Temple, and Larry and Deborah Layton quickly became two of Jones's closest confidants. Their accounts led to an expos in New West Magazine planned for publication in summer 1977. First the children; poison was squirted into babies' mouths with a syringe. I did not recover my old self; bullets render that impossible. Ive shared my Guyana story countless times, but its still a challenge to go back and relive those days. of | AP. Ryan decided that we would wait until the morning and suggested we keep a low profile until then. He was met with mostly beaming declarations Individually, their insistence would have been hard to question. In May 1978, she was sent by Jones to Georgetown to chaperone some Temple children on a cultural exchange. "I understand what these well-meaning secrets were for," Layton says. The approach continued even after hed moved from Sacramento to Washington, D.C. Layton spent approximately 18 years in either the Georgetown Gaol in Guyana or U.S. federal prisons before his release in April 2002. brother and I . Charismatic and tall with salt-and-pepper hair, he commanded a room. Layton Made Scapegoat, Defense Argues - Los Angeles Times Repeatedly, the defectors mentioned forced participation in mass-suicide rehearsals known as the White Night trials.. [10], Lawton also founded the Reality Check Foundation, which is a 501(C)(3) charity that includes a mentoring program, and an annual golf outing. His first encounter with organized crime was through his father, a metal worker who delivered bribes to the New York mafia. In fact, I would have been on that truck, with a rifle. Her startling introduction to life there quickly allowed Layton to see the cracks in the facade. homeless and help addicts get clean. [10], Lawton executed his first robbery when he was 28, an inside job to collect insurance money. Police investigating homicide at northwest Austin apartment complex Monday night, DPS searching for driver responsible for killing motorcyclist, fleeing scene, Storm chances return Thursday; some could be strong, Slow debris clean-up in Little Walnut Creek leads to flooded homes during rainstorms. [6], Lawton was born in North Hempstead, New York on October 3, 1961. Larry Layton was convicted in 1986 by a federal jury in San Francisco of conspiring in the 1978 murder of California congressman Leo Ryan and aiding and abetting in the attempted murder of Richard Dwyer, a U.S. diplomat wounded in the attack. Don hung back for a moment before approaching Congressman Ryan and me at the picnic table and surreptitiously passing along the note. can really trust," or by the knowledge that failure meant punishment, physical -- the signal that meant an attack was imminent, an excuse for conducting a suicide drill. What finally happened to Larry Layton? - Quora [37], Lawton is an advocate for prisoners and their rights, and comments on the justice system. Nearly 300 children were administered the poison with no comprehension of what it meant, including a number of infants in the arms of their parents. Although he called it a very grave crime, Peckham said Layton has shown great remorse, and his actions in 1978 reflected how the cult leader, the Rev. 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. Offenders sweltered in "The Box," a 6-by-4-foot On November 17, we landed at the tiny airstrip at Port Kaituma. Among them were George Moscone, who the Peoples Temple played a significant role in electing mayor in 1975, and Harvey Milk, the pioneering openly gay city supervisor, who went so far as to write a letter to President Jimmy Carter extolling Joness work and rebutting charges that he was abusive. Within minutes, Ryan and four others were shot dead. Georgetown, "I knew we'd entered a prison camp and I knew I wanted out. [27] Lawton says he regrets his time spent in prison, because he missed out on seeing his children grow up; his grandmother died, and his father became afflicted with Alzheimer's disease while he was inside. sweeping Escape came in May 1978 when Jones sent Layton to Georgetown as The Kool-Aid Man is a huge anthropomorphic pitcher filled with some red substance which may be either Kool-Aid itself, blood, or something else entirely. Don put it in his pocket and took a few more steps before carefully unfolding it. Generator vs power station: Which one is right for you? Layton became a senior insider in Jones' entourage. secret, that her mother had fled Nazi Germany.). and [22] Fingerprint evidence connected Lawton to the October 1994 Palm Bay heist, and he was charged with that crime as well. [26] He was incarcerated in many prisons during his sentence, which included Jesup in Georgia, Riker's Island in New York, Edgefield in South Carolina, and Yazoo City in Mississippi. Laytons mother, also a Peoples Temple member, died of cancer in Jonestown two weeks before the massacre. spiritual. By the early 1970s, however, Mr. Layton's personal life changed in ways he had hardly thought possible. "It was devastating to him. His suggestion that I would learn far more from first-hand experience was in step with the way he approached politics. [10] While in prison, Lawton earned a paralegal qualification and became a gang mediator. I hope tonight is the last one. | California Historical Society. Jackie Speier is a congresswoman representing Californias 14th congressional district, which includes San Francisco and the peninsula.Excerpt from UNDAUNTED: Surviving Jonestown, Summoning Courage, and Fighting Back by Jackie Speier, reprinted under a license arrangement originating with Amazon Publishing. fake healings. Layton Sentenced to Life in Ryan's Death - Los Angeles Times All I could think was I am not going to make Grandma live through my funeral. Jim Jones, the charismatic leader of the Peoples Temple cult. a life 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 . Much later, Layton writes, she would find them "on the bookshelf in Father's house with the many other prescription drugs taken from Temple members.". [32] By 2010, Lawton had shipped 10,000 DVDs across the country. The Prosecutions of Larry Layton - Alternative - Jonestown [8][9] The 367-page book covers his early life, his string of crimes, and his post-release career. Many of his papers on this top-secret work are still classified. jumped out a New York apartment window before Layton was born.). dangled head-first into the well late at night, Layton writes. | AP. Her book "Seductive Poison" will be in bookstores in November. (It was the 60s.) 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