Polygamist Guilty in Slayings of 4

Polygamist cult leader Aaron LeBaron was convicted in a federal court in Houston of directing the June 1988 slayings of three sect defectors he called the “sons of perdition� and a girl. Prosecutors said LeBaron, the grand patriarch of the Church of the Lamb of God, sent “murderous missionaries� to kill Ed Marston, brothers Mark and Duane Chynoweth and Duane Chynoweth’s 8-year-old daughter, Jenny. The jury deliberated for 6 1/2 hours before convicting LeBaron of conspiracy to commit murder for hire, conspiracy to obstruct religious beliefs, racketeering conspiracy and racketeering.