KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The suspect in the death of a former Arlington resident has told sheriff's investigators that he acted on the orders of the woman's husband, Tyler Deaton, the leader of a group of Texans who apparently included sex in their spiritual practice, according to prosecutors and court affidavits.
Deaton and his wife, Bethany Leidlein Deaton; the suspect, Micah Moore; and some others in the group were students together at Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, and had moved to Kansas City to participate in a fundamentalist Christian organization and school, officials have said.Several in the group, including the Deatons and Moore, shared a house in Grandview, a Kansas City, Mo., suburb.Bethany Deaton, 27, was found dead Oct. 30 in a van parked near a lake.She had a plastic bag over her heard, and an empty pill bottle and an apparent suicide note were in the van, investigators have said.Her body was sent to her parents in Arlington for burial.But on Friday, Moore, 23, walked into Grandview police headquarters and told detectives that he had killed Bethany Deaton.He said he and other men had sexually assaulted her after she was given Seroquel, a prescription antipsychotic drug, according to affidavits.Moore said Tyler Deaton, 26, told him to kill Bethany because the group feared that she was about to reveal the assaults to her therapist. Deaton said that "he knew Micah had it in him to do it," according to court documents.The men in the group also had sex with Tyler Deaton, according to the investigators' report.After Moore's confession, authorities asked that Bethany Deaton's body be returned to the Jackson County medical examiner's office in Kansas City for further tests, prosecutor Jean Peters Baker said.On Wednesday, the Jackson County Sheriff's Department issued a news release asking anyone with information about "past or present criminal activity of this group" to contact authorities."While we understand the safety concerns of those with information, we would also like to assure everyone they may always provide information via [a tip hotline] in a completely confidential manner," the release stated.Tyler Deaton, described by acquaintances as domineering and charismatic, led the group from Georgetown to the International House of Prayer, which has facilities in Kansas City and Grandview.Allen Hood, president of International House of Prayer University, issued a statement confirming that Moore and Tyler Deaton were enrolled there and that Bethany Deaton "had attended a six-month internship in IHOPU in 2009 and went on to become a registered nurse working in a local hospital."Hood described Tyler Deaton as the leader of "an independent, close-knit religious group" that was operating separately from the International House of Prayer "under a veil of secrecy."Bethany Deaton grew up in Arlington, the daughter of Eric and Carol Leidlein. According to an online obituary, she graduated from Southwestern University in 2005 and moved to Kansas City, where she earned a nursing degree in August 2012 and married Tyler Deaton on Aug. 18.Tyler Deaton graduated from Calallen High School in Corpus Christi in 2005.This report includes material from the Star-Telegram archives.Have more to add? News tip? Tell us
