The Carnival Cult Murder | Episode 325 | Morbid: A True Crime Podcast | Forensic Files

hey weirdos I'm Elena I'm Ash and this is morbid [Music] yay it's um a cult Edition ooh yeah fun
I'm just gonna hit a cult this is like kind of a cult it's like they consider themselves a cult but they're kind of
like cults they're not even called light because they're pretty cult heavy but like I
don't know you'll get it when you you'll get it when you get it at first I thought you said they're not even
cult-like because they're pretty cult heavy and I was like wouldn't that make them culty then no they're not called
light light like I wouldn't call them like yeah I wouldn't even call them off-brand cult it's like
they're just like a cult that has aspartame in it oh so their diet yeah like Diet cult like it tastes really
disgusting but it does a lot of damage I mean I like Diet Coke but Aspartame is really bad for you yo Brian I am trying
to drink aspartame if you don't know what I'm talking about you should so that's what they are their diet they're
like the diet soda of Cults where it's bad but it's like not the same as the regular but it's somehow worse for you
okay that's what they are all right that was a journey and we got there we got there you know it's been a week guys
it's been a week is anyone else dealing as like parents are you dealing with like tons of school viruses apparently
there's like a [ __ ] ton of them going around and we've managed to get away from a lot of them but they are weird
and like quick and yeah really just a big pain in the ass I'm really excited that the kids are almost done with
kindergarten for like a minute but then I'm like do summer camps have their own viruses too of course they do they're
probably worse but probably like mutants anytime you gather kids together it's just a petri dish stop Gathering yeah
kids together let's all just stop Gathering all together yeah let's just no we already did that yeah no we didn't
though that's yeah honestly that is the problem but you know what here we are talking about diet Cults how's everybody
feeling loopy we keep seeing everybody getting their merch that is pretty cool so exciting everybody looks gorge in
their merch I'm so happy and I'm so happy to hear that it's soft and because that was like our biggest thing where
like it needs to be soft do you want to feel it cozy comfy silky Silhouettes everywhere that's exactly what we're
looking for and you know what you guys are serving it up for us like back to us at least serving sultry silhouette yeah
surrealness realness are hissing so yeah it's this is going to be a really gnarly one just wanna well it is
you wanna be clear this is like not super old-timey but like for anybody I think my age it's gonna feel like oh
that was just 10 years ago because it's from 1991. I wasn't even alive but like it's so probably a little old time
everyone else just not as old-timey as I usually go so we're going to take you back to
September 25th 1991 and we are going to talk about the Kearney cult oh I know it's immediately you're like oh yeah I'm
scared I can see why it's worse for you than a regular cult it is see it's got its own
thing now the the guys involved in this whole thing are Jimmy Lee pennick Mark Goodwin and brothers Keith and David
Lawrence they were in a satanic cult they started the whole thing they claimed they were working off of Anton
lavey's Satanic Bible I think they were just [ __ ] but you know like I think you'll we'll all make a decision at the
end of this now Jimmy kind of there's always one that becomes kind of the de facto leader of these kind of things
yeah every cult needs a leader every cult needs a leader I don't even know if he was actually the co-leader but he
definitely got like he was the one that everybody kind of remembers from this um he was he was really the one who did
the most like dirty work too and he seemed to have a past of doing dirty work and doing bad things and hurting
people and straight up murder this is not his first rodeo that we're going to talk about oh yeah like this is not his
first rodeo and it's not his first ritual sacrifice okay yeah yeah but Mark Goodwin had been into this Satan [ __ ]
for a long time I think Jimmy was kind of just like joining it just as like whatever when he got older like into his
20s but Mark Goodwin he was the one that was into it since like Elementary School
damn yeah which is like pretty early to get into Satanism I would say I would say so I mean um yeah yeah you know I
just feel like okay like how did that occur but teachers and other students said he was super into it he was like
straight up at 12 years old like drawing inverted crosses on things what which to
me I'm pretty sure and like if you hear his background a little bit you can hear
he was into like metal music like Ozzy Osbourne and [ __ ] that was on CD covers
yeah so I don't think that was like really to be honest I don't think this that was an indicator of what he was
capable of later in life I think it was like he liked the music he saw the imagery that's probably what everybody's
like he was a Satanist when he was 12. yeah but then we have some some stuff that points to him actually being a
Satanist when he was younger such as like I said he was intrigued by like dark [ __ ] at a pretty young age but he
went bad with it like you know we can who gives a [ __ ] if somebody's into like
weird [ __ ] when they're young yeah I wanted to be a witch when I was little yeah like I was into really weird [ __ ]
when I was young I'm still into really weird [ __ ] I'm not gonna murder anybody
no and I haven't done it before so it's to let's you know I always try to I hate
when it's like put on that like he was into dark [ __ ] when he was younger so of
course this was gonna no one cares right like he was into metal and all the things that they tried to point to In
The West Memphis Three case like they wore black he did this but he was more interested not like you look at the West
Memphis Three case for example it's just like a really good example of the satanic Panic kind of thing oh yeah
which by the way quick side note anybody watching stranger things thank you for telling me that Eddie's character is
based off of Damien from from The West Memphis Three because holy [ __ ] I can't
watch it the same anymore like I'm I was already invested but now I'm like I love
teddy and I was like now I feel validated for loving Eddie I didn't realize that it's great everybody go
watch stranger things if you hadn't and to everybody who's been tagging me telling me about Eddie's character being
connected to that thank you because I had no idea and I am watching it in a whole different light now but yeah go
look at that so so yeah they kind of pointed I look at the West Memphis Three cases like those were kids that's sure
maybe they got in a little trouble and they're like tiny little you know Arkansas town where you get in trouble
for everything but they weren't like hurting people they weren't killing people they weren't sacrificing animals
they were wearing black and listening to metal right like that's all and they were into like horror movies and they
got pegged as like satanists but it seems like Mark Goodwin when he was younger he wasn't into all that kind
of side of it the music the horror movies the aesthetic all that stuff he really wanted to gain power over people
like he wanted Satan's power he wanted to sell his soul yeah like he was interested in the dark [ __ ] that like
the satanic Panic like tries to latch onto he was not into it for like aesthetic
um he had read a lot of books about satanic worship and he had formed his own like Meathead ideas that like ritual
sacrifices and murder were part of the whole thing and that that's what it takes to gain power and blah like
basically he's just stupid right and that's where he went with it so at 15 Goodwin formed his own cult called
Satan's disciples wow which first of all that wow you're 15. second of all that is the stupidest name for a
cult I have ever heard in my life it is so on the [ __ ] nose right like oh hey we're Satan's disciples I know if
Satan was in the room he'd be like that's what you came up with that's all you got right he'd be playing this
disciple like that's just dumb I was like come on like do yeah ready go cult name go oh [ __ ] okay hold on oh you put
me on the spot oh no okay oh that's a good one I like that I think that's a great hey guys we're
there it is that's our cult that is hilarious it explains exactly what we're all about and it's creative
and it's scary it is yeah I get it but yeah Satan's disciples no no thank you um so this little cult had it started
off with about six people between the ages of 12 he was 15 by the way weird between the ages of 12 and 35.
the [ __ ] yeah how did you know 35 year olds not sure why a 35 year old was hanging out with 12 year olds and 15
year olds no good reason I could tell you that much well and apparently they would meet and perform rituals and old
Barns and abandoned cemeteries and in forests anywhere that's spooky ookie and seems right on the nose for a Satan
missed call I want to know like what Satanic rituals are other than sacrifices like what are the other ones
yeah there has to be other ones here because you only hear about sacrifices but because that's just scary in what is
associated with it yeah I want to know what what other kinds there are I'm gonna look into that yeah there's a
there's probably a zillion other ones they probably don't really even do so to be quite honest right well like rituals
are probably not really part of it to be quite honest but I'm not sure it just seems very like it's it's all we talk
about this all the time that like you know every religion that like gets that like stereotype placed on them of
what people think that religion is and Satanism is no different yes and it's usually not right like not true
not correct it's just what is put out there in the media and you know popular culture whatever Satanism just happens
to have gotten like a real bad rap for like ever because just like what people think it is it's too many
generalizations it is we generalize too many things in general General see how meta that was we are
generalizing too much in general I feel like it's just like the world is generalizing people and things and ideas
generalizing is losing all meaning in my head in general it really is I won't get too far don't worry but
either way they're doing all these rituals Goodwin was obviously the leader and would act like the high priest of the
cult oh he was so fancy he loves his power and authority now the group would sacrifice animals for the rituals [ __ ]
off more than once a week according to this now for example in this trigger warning
for ash too to be quite honest I am going to talk I'm not going to go into detail don't worry but I'm just going to
mention an animal that was killed here so trigger warning okay for example one of the rituals
included killing a cat and then putting its blood into fancy goblets and they all drank it to summon demons to do
their bidding that's stupid and rude and [ __ ] up and also incredibly dangerous
I'm sure thank you all of the above yeah like get out of here and it's like I never understand this like we're trying
to summon demons to do our bidding maybe this is like me being a Capricorn or like me being my personality type
that like I have a control issue I'm not summoning anybody to do my [ __ ] for me
no you're not I could never hand over control to a demon for them to do what I need I'll get it done well and I want
something done do it yourself that's just too tricky because like you're not supposed to trust a demon no of course I
can't trust anybody no I don't even trust you I say it all the time you want something done you got to do it yourself
you want it done right I found that do it yourself I have found that I love DIY there you go
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know demons to come out and do [ __ ] for them which is just like okay now Goodwin
also said that members of The Cult were black robes because metal yeah uh but the women in the group were not allowed
to wear robes lame they had to wear black lingerie or had to be just naked [ __ ] right off with that that's what I'm
saying like Mark get the [ __ ] out of here we know exactly what you're doing Marky Mark of course we know which like
just like why would you do that like why would you sign up for that here's the thing if people want to be naked then
get it like be naked do whatever you want if that's your thing by all means go be naked I don't care but don't let a
dude tell you that you have to be but that should not be the dress code right that should not be a dress code
somewhere you decide if you want to be naked if you're cool with it you go that's also just not a dress code
because you're not dressed yeah that's a black lingerie yeah yeah now they later
said weirdly they had a lot of of trouble getting women to join the group I wonder why I can't imagine why
they were like yeah women are just like a little scarred of sadness um no I think we're just like done with being
objectified like bro I think it's you and your weird band of predators that scared them off and not the Satanism
part but like okay whatever you want to think sure anyways Goodwin said that there would always be a huge orgy and
everyone would dance around while the satanic chorus sang I believe it for sure I think all of
that happened absolutely for sure now Goodwin said that he actually left the satanic disciples at one point because
one of them suggested that they kill an innocent person and he was like No And they suggested a baby oh she's a ritual
and he wasn't down for that he literally said quote To Kill a Kid for a ritual that lasts maybe three hours and that
kid's life is gone for good that's pointless agreed yeah we all agree mark But you
said he had killed other people before you no that was Jimmy oh okay but Mark ends up being part of like a very bad
thing where someone dies and it's like Mark where was that energy in 1991. keep that where was that around you at all
times that you shouldn't kill people he's a conundrum no the the brothers Keith and David Lawrence are up next
I'll tell you about them Keith Lawrence was a Satanist for a while but his brother David who is three years older
than him was not at all David tried to say that that you know heavy metal was what brought Keith into Satanism that
was his whole thing because once again that's how the culture made me do it pop culture made me do it it's not me being
a shitty person uh but you know I'm gonna call [ __ ] on that apparently though Keith did take music very
seriously and really probably was influenced because of his own mind and mind and not the actual lyrics or music
of himself he just liked music so of course he was also big into reading tons of book about Satan tons of book just
tons of a book about Satan that you know the many book he read tons of books about Satanism and
he really dove headfirst into it once he started so he just got really interested
in it which would be fine if he just got interested in it wanted to learn about it wanted to do whatever but David said
that once Keith got really into this his personality changed drastically he said
he became a more hateful more aggressive person he said he hated everybody and everything around him and he would do
things like simply to get people upset he liked upsetting people he was actually so upset that David didn't want
to become a Satanist Keith was he was like why is my brother not a Satanist that one day during an argument about
this topic at hand he grabbed a kitchen knife and chased him around the kitchen with it that'll definitely make somebody
want to do what you want them to do I'm like what did you think he was like wow this seems great you know what on second
thought brother this has changed my mind you you seem like you're making very good choices so I'm gonna go ahead and
go with you in this yeah your threats have changed my my my mind so as you can see Keith is having some issues with the
whole Satanism thing his person I don't think it has anything to do with Satanism to be quite honest I think it
has to do with Keith being like a problem child because he was getting into trouble he was being an [ __ ]
he's chasing his brother around with a kitchen knife so he ends up being sent Away by his parents to a private school
okay and this private school was in Terre Haute he was supposed to be working on his anger issues just get his
behavior under control and David his brother did love his brother a lot even though he didn't understand the Satanism
thing and he had chased him around this [ __ ] kitchen with a kitchen knife he chalked it up to Sibling [ __ ] apparently
and it's wild and you know siblings I guess if you chased me around the kitchen with a knife it would be a while
before I talked to you again just FYI yeah I won't do that cool I can safely say I won't because it'll be a while
it'll be a while for me and you talk it'll it'll be a few days before I speak to you again we have a whole job to do
together we do we have a whole last job today don't don't do that okay well David loved his brother and he did spend
up like when he came back from school he spent a lot of time with him he didn't stop hanging out with him when he was
probably trying to make sure too that he could kind of keep him on a good path yeah like keep him on the straight and
narrow and he was quoted as saying that he hung around with Keith that and this is like both funny and sad the way he
quotes this oh no um he said he hung around with Keith the most because he was the only member of his family to
treat him with respect David said that but then he was quoted as saying quote a satanic brother is all I had oh man you
know what life does get Bleak within family systems sometimes and you know but some people have nobody so at least
you did have a satanic brother it's like I would I want him to have a shirt that says like I was born into
this family and all I got was this lousy satanic brother I love it I'm with stupid
a satanic brother is all I had I'm with satanic brother I have a satanic brother
that's all I got so Keith and David met Mark Goodwin when they yeah they came into each other's lives they bonded they
ended up working together so that's how they met okay um and they immediately bonded over Satanism and Keith and
Goodwin actually because remember Keith is the brother that's bonding over Satanism
David just kind of goes along with his brother he's like trying to support it yeah but Keith and Goodwin signed a
blood a blood pact that they believe we're going to bring them power and they said quote if we're gonna do
this let's do it to the full extent and sign with our souls that's what they recorded saying later of like that's why
we did it okay they would do seances and rituals and all other manner of hokey [ __ ] that they believed was part of this
whole thing I just love that they're like let's if we're gonna do it let's do it right let's sign with our souls man
and I'm like are you supposed to have one yeah like with the way that you're looking at this I don't feel like you
guys do have one yeah because I feel like with the way they're looking at it is so hokey and like so just like
fictional that I feel like they would be the ones to be like we're not supposed to have souls man give our souls to
Satan but like apparently but apparently they had them and then they signed with their souls so that's
why they are like Blood Brothers now it's really a lot and I also wonder like did this happen in front of David was
David just standing there being like cool guys yeah good luck I guess I wonder how he felt about this whole
probably wasn't psyched so now the Lawrence brothers and Goodwin are both at odds with their own respective
families because they're getting worse and worse like they're not being they're not being good boys okay and they're
having a lot of problems with their parents and their families they're not keeping it in check yeah and they just
want to keep worshiping the devil but they need they need to get like more steady jobs because they were just
taking like jobs every which way because you know the devil may be totally giving
them all the power in the universe and [ __ ] but he's not going to spot them at
20 for rent so no they decided to get jobs together with this traveling Carnival company
I was waiting for the carnival element the carnival got to come in yeah because you know at this point they're like we
want to we want to keep worshiping but like we also need to buy food and pay rent so like we let's do this together
what is the creepiest job we could all take together Carnival it is they really nailed it
they really looked for that so while doing this they decided they wanted to start a brand new cult because
Cults okay so they recruited Jimmy Lee pennick in Brownstown because he was working the carnival circuit so this is
just a bunch of carnies ready to stamp some pentagrams on their heads and have an orgy for Satan Carney Cole because
they met him obviously like these Carnival circuits like they travel obviously and people will travel with
them because certain seasons and different places are Carnival season you know a carnival season up north is going
to be summer but then you could go down south in the winter and that's still Carnival season down there so it's
always Carnival it's always five o'clock somewhere and it's always party season somewhere you're like really selling it
you're like just so you know you could go to a carnival anytime you want just go to the right geographical location
okay okay like I feel like I you know how people have those like tiki bars and it's like Zoe's five o'clock somewhere
there's only one part of a creepy ass bar that just says it's always Carnival season somewhere please do that I'm
gonna commission that for you you should make a t-shirt that says that you were just like hello hello hello
t-shirt people are you listening people uh so yeah you know just a bunch of carnies got together and they were like
Satan yeah okay cult time so during all of this they're working at the carnival worshiping Satan and all of this is when
they met William Anthony alt so many boys have been here well in poor William alts he and they called him Tony I
should say that's what he was known as because his middle name was Anthony thank you
now Tony was a good guy really yeah okay and Tony is unfortunately our victim here oh no Tony
was only 21 at the time he was interested in Satanism he was looking for dudes to hang out with he was kind
of like marching to the beat of his own drum he just wanted like Bros to do that
with so his name was William Anthony Tony alt like I said he was born July 2nd 1970 in a small town in the small
town of Rochester Indiana he's a cancer there you go so is what does that mean like a sweet soul Who's like it makes
sense in touch with their emotions and just like cancers are like very ethereal oh you know mom's a cancer oh there you
go yeah like just picture him off all right so there you go Tony I get it and Tony he just feels like he was like a a
guy who just like needed he just needed like the right group yeah to take him in
you know his parents were Shirley and Gerald they divorced at one point but um the mother Shirley had remarried
Robert alt and that's where he took his last name he had a sister Angela and a brother Charles he was into like weird
[ __ ] he was just like into the occult he was interested in it he really I think
it was just one of those things where it's like you know this is almost like it probably to him looked at first like
you know like just like something like D and D something that people they're into
they get together they do it yeah it's something that bonds them together it's a built-in group of friends you're all
interested in weird dark [ __ ] but then he he did start seeing that it was like
a little more than that but I don't think he fully understood now he had started working for the poor
the poor John's Carnival company which is the one that they all found themselves working for at one point okay
because again it's always Carnival season somewhere so they were they were moving around to a bunch of them but
they ended up at this one so he met them in September of 1991. on DeKalb County fairgrounds and again he was only 21
years old a baby a baby so he expressed to them he heard them talking he like kind of got to know them
a little bit and he expressed to them that he was like you know I would like to join your cult
sounds kind of fun he was very interested in this stuff and also again he was like I really just want some
friends to hang with so like can I join yeah and you know we all want that of course we all want that but for some
reason they were not interested in him becoming part of the cult really which is weird do they have a reason they
didn't really give a reason huh and later what's even more frustrating is these [ __ ] talk about Tony and they
say that like he was a really nice guy and he didn't deserve any of it are you kidding me literally talk about him like
yeah you know what he's like a really great guy and like we shouldn't have done what we did so it's like they admit
that this is like a really good guy and I do wonder if the initially they were like yeah you don't belong because
you're actually a like good person and we're shitty people okay you we don't want you here because we don't want to
hang out with a good person I wonder if that's part of it they could tell he was
a good person probably so in September again he's like he's like I want to join your call they're like no no and he's
like come on like I want I want to join your call yeah like just let me join in September he approaches them and tells
them you know I want to be part of everything they keep telling him no and the thing is
he finally was like well listen uh I know something I know something pretty big okay he knew
something that could take these [ __ ] down oh uh-oh and he decided this was his end to the Cults
which is not great so somehow he knew that in August of that same year an 18 year old guy named Andrew Lee Wright was
murdered in Ohio by having his throat slit Jesus he was murdered in an Ohio field and his body was dumped on the
turnpike he was also a carnival worker this guy apparently Andrew had been killed because he had been speaking
about Panic committing another crime in Ohio before that oh well he also knew that this is what Tony knew Tony was
like I know that someone by the name of Keith Lawrence and someone by the name of Jimmy Penick
are responsible for this murder of Andrew Lee Wright yeah oh we don't need you to know so now
he knows he has something on them and he's trying to use it as blackmail for them to let him into his their group
okay this is a bad plan from all sides unfortunately like any way you turn this puzzle
that it's not gonna it's not gonna work it's wrong wrong answers everywhere like
it's not because if you know that somebody has something to do with a murder don't go to that person about it
go to the police about it exactly and like yeah because it's like he seems like he was desperate he seems
like he desperately just wanted to be in a group I don't know who knows if he truly believed that this was true that
he had done it that's the other maybe he thinks that it's a rumor but he's like I'm gonna use this because why not right
there's no way that Tony could have known that him doing this was gonna cause anything of what happened of
course not but it's like Just for future ref when this kind of thing is never a good
way to get somebody to to let you into a group or to like you don't want to hang
out with these people no you don't and I don't think Tony truly wanted to either
I think he just wanted a group and he didn't know how bad these guys were I really don't
so of course at first they're like fine you can be part of the group but there's
like a huge initiation process and there's a ritual in this probably you know some like orgy involved and you
have to make sure you don't tell anyone about this okay because shit's about to get real so don't tell anyone that you
are becoming part of this cult don't even tell people that this cult exists that's the only way that you're ever
going to become one of us and he was like okay he's like that's easy yeah he's like I don't want to talk about it
anyway so September 25th 1991 they asked a friend of the cult which is like a friend of the Pod but really scary I
would assume because like literally it's like friend of the cult um This Woman's name was Brenda Ferguson
to help them with this whole thing of course they didn't really tell her what they were doing that's the thing
they weren't like hey Brenda we want to do something terrible to this guy can you help us out they said that they were
initiating Tony into their satanic church and that they needed her help to scope out a really good secluded place
that has like satanic Vibes but also might be really good for a picture after you know flanking the new initiate like
a graduation photo okay so it had to be a mix of broken down cemetery and picturesque View
you know yeah like that's what they were looking for not an easy task beautifully
said but you know what who better than Brenda to do this I trust Brenda who doesn't so they everybody can trust a
Brenda so the carnival is shutting down for the day all the rides are over the lights are slowly turning off the creeps
are slinking out of their booths to do all manner of dark [ __ ] I'm totally kidding they were probably
just completely normal people who are just going home after A Hard Day's Work yeah they're definitely just going home
for a beer yeah that's all what we just pictured but like in reality they were all just like wow great great job
everybody see you tomorrow yeah now except for these [ __ ] these were the ones slink enough to do some bad [ __ ] so
now everything's over they work their hard day Brenda picks them all up in her car she picks up Jimmy Mark Keith David
and Tony so Brenda had found the perfect place she had done her job it was the secluded
Farm outside of Auburn um Auburn farms and farms are perfect for a ritual oh of course they're all
like this is what we need they're spooky but you know they're necessary they can
they can be picturesque they've got everything and they're super secluded usually that's the thing and I feel bad
because Brenda did a good job with the location if it was what they were planning on doing which was some like
spooky Yuki ritual not involving any kind of sacrifice or anything like she'd done she'd found a great location for
that and I feel bad because I think she thought that she was just setting them up for a really great ritual that
evening and then so she just left and dropped them off thought nothing of it and they all said she didn't no they
didn't tell her anything they told her initiating Tony they've done something terrible so
so they get in there and they have Tony lie down on the door that they have makeshifted into a satanic altar once he
lay on the door slash altar they tied him up and they gab get they gagged him with a towel it like bothers me I'm like
at what point did he realize I know like I thought about it and I was like did you realize like as soon as it start
like when they tie you up you have to realize something is awry or at least just be like like start to get nervous
and it's like he I'm sure he tried to get away it's just like really sad it's heartbreaking
so it begins with Keith reading some kind of satanic spell or prayer who knows like these [ __ ] probably just
made this [ __ ] up of course so this is happening and everything just kind of seems weird but not yet completely
violent it's just weird and then Jimmy just whips out Keith's knife and slices from Tony's neck to his groin oh my
goodness and we are talking a deep cut like close to the y-shaped incision that you prepare an autopsy with right yeah
that takes force of course trust me that takes Force so now that they have sliced
he he's basically been sliced open he's been eviscerated at this point good one in the Lawrence brothers just
start putting inverted crosses like cutting them into his upper torso and abdomen they also just slice into him
like all over the place and he's alive for all of this he was still alive so now he is lying here bound and gagged
and bleeding and sliced open and Jimmy Panic leans down into his face and asks Tony if he is ready to die
what Tony answered and Jimmy's response was to slice open his throat oh and he said he answered me but I don't
think he ever said what the answer was but he said I'm assuming it was no this all just happened so quick it happened
so fast and the fact that he was saying he answered me is like he was alive for all of that yeah until the very end and
it's just like you think of Tony on his way and he's probably just excited to be
a part of something yeah and obviously had no idea that this was gonna happen it's just like thinking of him driving
out there that night ruins you yeah because it's just he had no one could ever conceive of this happening Never No
One never and that's why I truly believe that Tony didn't think that that maybe thought those rumors of you know Keith
and uh Jimmy being murderers was were just like rumors because they were in a satanic cult and all that right I truly
believe he probably didn't know exactly what he was getting into I agree with you I really believe that and which
makes it even sadder because I think he just wanted a group to hang with right and it really does break my heart
now they weren't done after they've slid open his throat and are satisfied that he is dead Goodwin Keith
Lawrence and Jimmy all help each other cut off Tony's head yeah and they dismember him why they cut
off his hands and then they attempted to burn the dismembered pieces of his body
they took all the remains after this and they buried them in a shallow grave in a
nearby fields that was like near the site of the murder then they just call Brenda and had her pick them up
and here I'm wondering about what Brenda thought about them being minus one member here right because it was Tony
original like did Tony go out there with them yeah Tony was out there with them so so here's the thing I don't know
about Brenda I don't know what and that's why I'm not gonna sit here and like pretend to know about Brenda or
what she knew or what not I know that they claim that they didn't tell her anything and I know that she was really
not brought into this after this but I'm still like Brenda did you ask where Tony was I mean I would ask maybe
am I detail-oriented I don't know if I would just be like well I came here with this many of you and now there's
one less of you one you would think that she'd be like oh is Tony coming like does he need her that's the thing I'd be
like where's Tony like they need a ride that's what that would matter what I would ask yeah that's the thing like I
intentionally chose a secluded area for you like where is he but I guess just playing Devil's Advocate and no pun
intended um maybe she did ask and maybe they gave some kind of answer like it's part of
the initiation he has to walk home he has to like find him so his way home it's true that's why I don't want to
like say either way with Brenda I obviously it makes you question but you have no idea and I don't wanna who knows
who Brenda is now either way they stopped at an Arby's food kidding me that is always just like so incredibly
disturbing when they carry out such a heinous act and then go get a burger yeah now how did they pay for this
Arby's by the way oh I'm sure you're gonna they didn't pay for it with their money they took money from Tony's
Pockets before they burned his dismembered corpse in a field nearby I don't understand how people can do
this to other people they stole money out of his pocket while they buried his dismembered corpse nearby the place
where they murdered him in a Satanic ritual torture I just don't that's like I just said I just don't get it it's
like how do you not think of your brother or your sister or your dad or like that like your cousin right like
there are people exactly and how do you not think how do you not put yourself in
a place of empathy and like think how you would feel if this happened to your family exactly or how your family would
feel if this happened to you like I just don't understand the lack of empathy that people have I don't either that's
the thing it's like that that's what kills me these are people love these people right and like I feel like every
decision I make I think about how it's gonna affect the people around me and me yeah and it's like does everybody get it
right all the time no of course not but but these kind of people don't even consider it it's not even a fleeting
thought in their mind what these yeah these people are who they could be hurting and these choices are just like
I mean these are Beyond like that's the thing like you don't get these right or wrong you just know that murdering
somebody is wrong it's and this is like torture absolutely torture now what's crazy too is they just kept working the
carnival because nobody was not nothing happened and actually ended up driving down to
Florida at one point to get Winter Carnival jobs because remember the carnival is in season everywhere and
they did so in Keith's van which he called rigor mortis that's so [ __ ] lame you guys are the lamest yeah like
the lamest [ __ ] they returned home at the end of the year and luckily by December people at
Art there was Rumblings about what happened to Tony he was missing people were already saying you know I he hung
around these guys with these guys we know about these guys the other thing is and like I'm glad
that they're I'm not glad that they're stupid but it's just like oh I know you already knew that Tony was on to you so
did you not think that those rumors were circulating and then you're gonna do this to Tony that's only gonna add fuel
to the fire and then people are gonna come in hot on your tail like how did you not think of that like did you think
a demon was gonna come and save you like from all of this [ __ ] you idiots foreign
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Goodwin's own dad called police and told them that he had something to say that's
a good dad right there he told them his son had described to him that he witnessed a murder that was part of a
ritual satanic sacrifice oh my God that poor man too I'd be having to do that that's my son that's what he did really
great and having to call the police and be like you need to come arrest my child
that I can't imagine the internal struggle that you would go through oh well they were immediately arrested good
now Tony's body was discovered the next day December 13 1991 when deer hunters in the area stumbled upon the Loosely
buried body they also found the burnt remains of a hand and a head now Goodwin was charged with conspiracy
to commit murder Jimmy Penick was charged with aggravated murder he basically just admitted the entire thing
outright he was like yep I did it Goodwin admitted that he had witnessed the entire thing and had lightly
participated you don't lightly participate in Murder you [ __ ] face you participate or you don't you
participated and by the way being there is participating oh yeah whether you're picking anything up and doing it
yourself you're participating in a murder because you're not acting you are stopping exactly you are fully part of
that yup and it's like and and you did nothing afterwards to to alert anybody then you are fully part of like Tony's
body just was out there rotting for months because you didn't tell anybody consider yourself a murderer yeah you
piece of [ __ ] now the Lawrence brothers were actually vacationing in the Bahamas
at the time so they were busy I don't even know what I could possibly say about that but they came back on
January 10th and when their plane landed in Miami they were quickly extradited immediately back to Indiana and were
charged with aiding in a murder good I'm so mad that it wasn't on the way to them
right I know they actually got to have a last vacation that makes me so angry now
during the trial they admitted that Keith had actually tried to cut Tony's heart out what yeah that came out so
Keith being like I lightly participated yeah police not a ton like he did not or that wasn't even him
it was Goodwin who said that he lightly participated but Keith one of the brothers he's he just comes home from
the Bahamas and it's like what I don't yeah I didn't do anything and they're like no he actually tried to cut his
heart out but like good try now Goodwin and David Lawrence decided that they were going to find religion in jail
because they think it helps and David Lawrence actually said if he went to prison that Jesus would just
freeze his soul because no man can lock that down yeah spoiler alert that doesn't happen so and
he said though that he regretted the whole thing because quote that boy Tony had the right to live yeah he did and
you took it from him yeah they all say that a lot like a lot of them are like he had a right to live and I'm like then
why'd you take it from him what is wrong with all of you and Mark Goodwin actually apologized to Shirley Tony's
mother but she said get [ __ ] good he said to her Mrs Givens I never really knew your son whatever I know I do know
he was a good-hearted person I am very ashamed of what I did to your son and she actually yelled at him you damn well
should be what chance does he have now what am I supposed to feel sorry for you you never should have done it exactly
it's like yeah [ __ ] off like oh I love that because I always sorry after the fact is always like okay but you were
sorry you wouldn't have done it and it's like that kind of thing sorry after I murdered your child and uh do you think
that's going to help in any way shape or form how do you think that's going to help the sorry and then what business do
you have saying that you didn't even know my son but what you do know of him is that he's a good person so you didn't
know him but you took his life yeah okay like very cool the little you knew about
him was that he was a great person right and that's just and that's all you knew
and you still decided to do this so exciting insult to injury it truly is David also said that he blamed his
brother Keith completely okay and he regretted hanging out with him so much and he said even if he had gotten out of
this whole thing he would have never spoken to him again Jimmy Penick was 25 at the time and he
ended up getting 60 years in prison good he pled guilty to avoid trial and possibly the death penalty now he had a
lot of like aggravating factors in his sentencing that were very interesting to read and I just want to tell you a
couple an aggravating factor in his sentencing was the fact that he had done it before yeah because now they know
that he had done it before was he convicted of that murder he did do that so in the court transcript it says quote
this was the second time that defendant Jimmy Lee pennick would has murdered someone because previously in August of
1991 he murdered a man in Fulton County Idaho cutting also cutting his throat with a knife so it was also the same
exact way that he murdered Tony how did he get away with that I don't know that's what's so crazy and it says also
considered for his sentence was the heinous nature of this crime yeah in the court documents as well it stated that
if his sentence was reduced in any way it would quote depreciate from the seriousness of all of this most serious
classification of crimes in Indiana perhaps the most heinous crime ever committed in DeKalb County Indiana
they said that quote the death of the victim at the hands of the defendant Jimmy Lee pennick was painful and
torturous to the victim and that quote later on the day the murder later on in the day of the murder of defendant Jimmy
Lee pennick knowingly ate food purchased with money stolen from the deceased victim and then they reference also the
planning of it like they obviously had planned this out completely in the complete lack of remorse that was also
considered good now penix team argued quote Panic does concede that the victim suffered
some pain some we're here to argue the amount of pain I inflicted on this individual and
he's also like okay I can seed that I guess he suffered some pain but argues that virtually all murders involve pain
or torture so this is not an element particular to the facts of this case case which can be used to justify
imposition of enhanced or consecutive sentences you're kidding me the amount of pain that he inflicted on his victim
Through Torture should not be taken into account when it comes to sentencing like
a big sentence or consecutive sentences is what they're saying tell me that the job because all murder hurts right tell
me the judge flipped him off absolutely and did not consider that yes the so the
court found that infliction of grave injury and pain over an extended period of time is sufficient to support an
aggravating Factor now what's interesting about this remember we're involving torture here like pain and
torture they used a precedent for this and this precedent was Loveless versus the state 1994. this is precedence set
in the case of chandel shares horrific torture and murder in 1994. now Melinda Loveless is the defendant
stated there that's really interesting to me I was like holy [ __ ] that is wild
because remember this trial happened like after the chandashara case happened right right so Panic like because the
trial happened like way later than the murders of course now Penny says quote and this is what the court said quote
panic's own words describe how the victim's chest and abdomen were cut open how Goodwin tried to cut out the
victim's heart before he died and how the victim remained conscious throughout this and responded to questions from the
defendant only after defendants slit the victim's neck did the torture end there's sufficient evidence on the
record to support this aggravator so they were like your own [ __ ] defendant like sealed his fate there
right he told us everything so what are you trying to do now they also tried to get rid of the aggravating factor that
used the dismemberment and concealment of the body panic's team argued that dismemberment and concealment and are
basically the same thing they're both done for the same purpose to conceal okay yeah but the court was like
no you idiots they said quote furthermore we do not believe that these are the same factors although removing
and burning the hands may have been done to conceal the identity of the victim and get ready removal of the head had
nothing to do with this defendant himself stated that the head was removed in order for Keith Lawrence to give the
skull to a friend no yes found that buried in a court transcript it was never repeated in any
newspaper what that he's his team is trying to sit there and be like well they dismembered
the body to conceal the identity of the body so you can't have two aggravating factors one for concealment of the body
and one for dismemberment because we're arguing that they were done for the same
reason okay and they're like cool we can do that on the hands if you really want
but the head [ __ ] Jimmy Penick literally told the court it is on record that they took
Tony's head off so Keith Lawrence could give the [ __ ] skull to a friend that's beyond that is so beyond any kind
of words that I can ever conjure right now like I'm like and you are sitting and for his defense
team to be sitting here trying I'm like Honeys hang up the towel yeah hang up the towel I what are you doing
how can you try to argue that when you know full well that that's already been said truly Wild
Now Keith at the time was 20 years old he got 50 years in prison with 20 suspended years for conspiracy to commit
murder he actually got out of prison in 2004 and he had 20 years probation knocked on there and in 2006 he went
back to jail for 180 days for public intoxication and then apparently was being held on bond for charges of
criminal confinement and captivity put him back and could not find any other thing about it I was like what the
hell is going on let him in prison leave him in prison he hasn't changed and he was being held like without like you
could like with no bail yeah which they were like obviously they're doing that because of his previous [ __ ] right now
David he got he was 23 years old at the time he was a little older than Keith remember and he pled guilty to assisting
a crime and he got eight years in prison now Mark Goodwin pled guilty to assisting a criminal and Battery by
means of a deadly weapon and he got eight years that's [ __ ] thank you both of those sentences thank you so
[ __ ] and insulting very insulting like Tony's Family can you imagine I would have been here's outrage eight
years and when he was in jail when Mark Goodwin was in jail he also found religion and said everyone should be
careful of the lore of Satanism and literally said quote look at William alt he was a Satanist and he didn't make it
because you killed him because you murdered him it had nothing to do with him being a Satanist you
murdered him because you're a murderer because you're a torturer I feel like he said that to be a dick he's it's
outrageous like why else would you say that yeah you know why he didn't make it it had nothing to do with him being a
Satanist it had everything to do with him meeting your stupid ass and then he admitted his own fault in the other
murder that started this entire thing he said quote I regret it because that boy
had the right to live so did Andrew their families put time love and money into those guys and now there's no more
of them because of you thank you what like I like you're just saying that is is oh
okay that would cool but that's your [ __ ] fault dude and I also love that they it shows you exactly that statement
to me is like very um very much encompassing Mark Goodwin and all these guys is like him being
like you know yeah it's a real bummer because their family put like a ton of Love time money into them and like now
they're not here anymore it's like do you think that's why people put like a lot of people love people and care about
people they put time love and money into them and then once they're gone like [ __ ] I did all that for nothing like
that's not how that I think that's how human emotions work which just shows us that you don't that's the thing an
understanding of them because it's like no Tony's family just loved him right it's and Andrew's family loved him it
has nothing to do with I put time money and all this into someone and now they got murdered and that's annoying to me
no it's that they cared about them it's that they are not here anymore to love to talk to to joke with to do anything
it's so crazy that they're just like oh yeah they just you know the family put all this [ __ ] into them and now they
don't for nothing that just shows that tells you everything you need to know about it really how he considers his
personal relationship exactly and probably why he was able to do something like this yeah it's insane to me
so that is the tale of the Kearney Cults wow that was really really gut-wrenching yeah I just the fact that
Tony just wanted to be a part of something that's what killed it probably went out there so like I said so excited
and this is what happened exactly and his poor family having to sit through this trial and listen to these guys say
like yeah I didn't even know your son but I heard he was great sorry for killing him my bad for those families to
have to deal with that I yeah I don't even know how you would go about the rest of your life it's so flippant and
it's that's it that is the perfect word for it it's so flipping and it's just acting like
like murder is just like oops sorry that I ran over a nail with your car and I popped the tire like that's a bummer
that's a great car and it's like no this is a person that you ceremoniously tortured and killed and
that's the thing they dismembered like him saying oh they put so much time and money into this it's like a car yeah it
truly is like he treats it little them like it's a possession this whole thing is just a possession and not human
beings that actually were taken from their families and loved ones this is devastating it's a really like it
reminded me of the Fall River called look how gnarly that got and how just like wow like the chaos and that but
these guys all admitted it they all admitted to being there a couple of them obviously tried to take themselves like
bring themselves into a like outer shell there'd be like I was just there I didn't touch them but they all know what
they did of course and they all inflicted some kind of injury on Tony and they all deserve to be in prison
forever but unfortunately yeah like the Lawrence brothers there and Mark Goodwin
they didn't get nearly enough and they get to go back out and live the lives yeah Tony should have been living yeah
21 years old so sad poor Tony I know well yeah that's a rough one that was a really sad one it was but thank you guys
of course for listening and we hope you keep it weird I do not have to tell you not to keep it this weird and I'm simply
not going to Elena will [Music]

In 1991 a group of young men met by happenstance working the local carnivals together. They were Jimmie Penick, Mark Goodwin, brothers David and Keith Lawrence and William “Tony” Ault. Everyone but the latter boy already knew each other, they had long been interested in invoking the powers of satan and decided to start a cult together under the name, Satan’s Disciples. When William “Tony” Ault met them at the carnival he realized that they had some things in common and just really wanted to be part of their group. Unfortunately William would not make it through what his new friends called the “initiation process.” Instead they would torture and kill the 21 year old.

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Brief Summary

The Kearney cult's members brutally murdered Tony Alt during a satanic initiation ritual.

Key points

The Kearney Cult. Exploring the bizarre and dark world of the Kearney cult from 1991.
David's Brotherly Bond. David reflects on his brother's respect and influence, calling him a 'satanic brother.'
Tony's Cult Initiation. Tony seeks acceptance in a cult, unaware of the dark path ahead.
The Chilling Aftermath. After the murder, the perpetrators disturbingly stop for fast food, revealing their coldness.
The Brutality of Indifference. A chilling examination of how the murderers showed no empathy for their victim.
Confessions of Regret. One of the murderers admits he regrets his actions, but is it sincere?

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

This is like the diet soda of cults.

Describing a cult's nature humorously.

1:27WatchDec 24, 2022

Tension

85/ 100High tension

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