10-30-2014, 06:19 PM
SEX, DEATH, AND EXORCISM AT THE KANSAS CITY IHOP
This bizarre story centers around the IHOP -- not the International House of Pancakes, but the International House of Prayer in Kansas City.
![[Image: 20140114-cult-x306-1389824101.jpg]](http://assets.rollingstone.com/assets/images/story/love-and-death-in-the-house-of-prayer-20140121/20140114-cult-x306-1389824101.jpg)
^ Left: Bethany Deaton...Center: Tyler Deaton...Right: Micah Moore
Bethany Deaton, 27, was found dead by a park ranger in the back of a white van in November 2012. She had a bag over her head, there were pills in her reach, and a suicide note was found with her body. She'd been hospitalized for attempted suicide a week earlier.
The note found with her body read:
"My name is Bethany Deaton. I chose this evil thing. I did it because I wouldn't be a real person and what is the point of living if it is too late for that? I wish I had chosen differently a long time ago. I knew it all and refused to listen. Maybe Jesus will still save me."
Bethany Deaton was a nurse who had been married to Tyler Deaton -- a leader within the IHOP -- for about two weeks at the time of her death. One of the roommates in the communal home shared by the Deatons and other IHOP members was Micah Moore.
The Medical Examiner ruled Bethany's death a suicide. But, a couple of days later, Micah Moore showed up at the police station and confessed to murdering Bethany. He claimed that he had drugged and strangled Bethany on the direction of her husband, Tyler Deaton.
Tyler Deaton is a cult leader, IMO. He controlled the sex lives, daily routines, and finances of about 20 IHOP members in his group. Tyler had reportedly gone through gay conversion therapy and been cured. His blog posts in support of turning family members against each other because they should be focused on loving Jesus rather than each other are weird. Moore (and later other members of the cult who considered Tyler their "spiritual leader") claimed that they had all sexually assaulted Bethany regularly on the direction of Tyler Deaton. Cult members also told police that Tyler Deaton had engaged in sexual relations with several male members of the group. Tyler Deaton has not been charged with any crime.
![[Image: article-2014881-0D0420A800000578-314_468x335.jpg]](http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/07/14/article-2014881-0D0420A800000578-314_468x335.jpg)
Mike Bickle ^ is head of the International House of Prayer. There are reportedly thousands of members from all over the world. He and other IHOP leaders immediately began distancing themselves from Tyler Deaton and the whole sordid affair -- they assert that Tyler and his group had become a cult. Bickle, by the way, believes that Oprah Winfrey is The Anti-Christ (that's what he told God TV). He has ties to Texas Governor Rick Perry and espouses extreme opposition to gay marriage and abortion.
Micah Moore is charged with murder. He and his attorneys have recanted his confession and now claim that he was exhausted and that his confession was rendered following a group exorcism at an IHOP group meeting.
The exorcism took place two days after Bethany Deaton’s funeral. The defense motion says the reported exorcism at an IHOP retreat involved “putting their hands on cult members, shouting at demons to leave and scream-praying in tongues, crying and falling to the floor.”
There is reportedly no DNA or physical evidence tying Moore to Bethany's death.
Micah Moore's murder trial is scheduled to begin on November 17. It should be very interesting. I don't know what to believe because everyone involved seems nutty as a fruitcake to me.
Sources:
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/attorneys-ex...s-suicide/
http://www.wsmv.com/story/20089845/suspe...s-to-court
http://www.kansascity.com/news/local/cri...06254.html
http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/news...r-20140121
This bizarre story centers around the IHOP -- not the International House of Pancakes, but the International House of Prayer in Kansas City.
^ Left: Bethany Deaton...Center: Tyler Deaton...Right: Micah Moore
Bethany Deaton, 27, was found dead by a park ranger in the back of a white van in November 2012. She had a bag over her head, there were pills in her reach, and a suicide note was found with her body. She'd been hospitalized for attempted suicide a week earlier.
The note found with her body read:
"My name is Bethany Deaton. I chose this evil thing. I did it because I wouldn't be a real person and what is the point of living if it is too late for that? I wish I had chosen differently a long time ago. I knew it all and refused to listen. Maybe Jesus will still save me."
Bethany Deaton was a nurse who had been married to Tyler Deaton -- a leader within the IHOP -- for about two weeks at the time of her death. One of the roommates in the communal home shared by the Deatons and other IHOP members was Micah Moore.
The Medical Examiner ruled Bethany's death a suicide. But, a couple of days later, Micah Moore showed up at the police station and confessed to murdering Bethany. He claimed that he had drugged and strangled Bethany on the direction of her husband, Tyler Deaton.
Tyler Deaton is a cult leader, IMO. He controlled the sex lives, daily routines, and finances of about 20 IHOP members in his group. Tyler had reportedly gone through gay conversion therapy and been cured. His blog posts in support of turning family members against each other because they should be focused on loving Jesus rather than each other are weird. Moore (and later other members of the cult who considered Tyler their "spiritual leader") claimed that they had all sexually assaulted Bethany regularly on the direction of Tyler Deaton. Cult members also told police that Tyler Deaton had engaged in sexual relations with several male members of the group. Tyler Deaton has not been charged with any crime.
Mike Bickle ^ is head of the International House of Prayer. There are reportedly thousands of members from all over the world. He and other IHOP leaders immediately began distancing themselves from Tyler Deaton and the whole sordid affair -- they assert that Tyler and his group had become a cult. Bickle, by the way, believes that Oprah Winfrey is The Anti-Christ (that's what he told God TV). He has ties to Texas Governor Rick Perry and espouses extreme opposition to gay marriage and abortion.
Micah Moore is charged with murder. He and his attorneys have recanted his confession and now claim that he was exhausted and that his confession was rendered following a group exorcism at an IHOP group meeting.
The exorcism took place two days after Bethany Deaton’s funeral. The defense motion says the reported exorcism at an IHOP retreat involved “putting their hands on cult members, shouting at demons to leave and scream-praying in tongues, crying and falling to the floor.”
There is reportedly no DNA or physical evidence tying Moore to Bethany's death.
Micah Moore's murder trial is scheduled to begin on November 17. It should be very interesting. I don't know what to believe because everyone involved seems nutty as a fruitcake to me.
Sources:
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/attorneys-ex...s-suicide/
http://www.wsmv.com/story/20089845/suspe...s-to-court
http://www.kansascity.com/news/local/cri...06254.html
http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/news...r-20140121