The series, directed by Dustin Lance Black, examines the investigation into the murder of Brenda Lafferty and her baby daughter in 1984 by her brothers-in-law Dan and Ron Lafferty. The Lafferty family were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and the brutal murders rocked the religious community in Utah.
While it is a dramatised version of real-life events, the FX TV series does not tell the whole story, and it is only through reading Jon Krakauer's book of the same name that one is able to see the full picture. Here is everything that you need to know, but be warned: this article contains some spoilers for the series.
Under the Banner of Heaven follows the investigation by detectives Jeb Pyre (Garfield) and Bill Taba (Gil Birmingham) to find out who killed Brenda Lafferty (Daisy Edgar-Jones) and her 15-month-old daughter Erica, and arrest them. Though the detectives are fictional, the case is very real.
After uncovering a number of secrets of the Lafferty family, the detectives race to capture Dan (Wyatt Russell) and Ron Lafferty (Sam Worthington) and they do so in the show's finale, but that is where the drama ends — the real case was far from over.
Following their arrest in August 1984, Ron and Dan Lafferty protested their innocence and claimed to have nothing to do with the murders of Brenda Lafferty or her infant daughter. Days before their joint trial was set to take place Ron Lafferty attempted to take his own life and, per Krakauer, was left in a coma for two days. As a result, the brothers were not tried together.
In January 1985, Dan Lafferty was tried for his part in the murders of Brenda and Erica Lafferty. He chose to defend himself in court rather than use the lawyers appointed to him by the court, and ultimately he was found guilty of two counts of first-degree murder.
After telling the jury that he would give himself the death penalty if he were in their position, the jury were split 10-2 on the matter. This meant he was given a life sentence because a unanimous vote is required for capital punishment to be passed down as judgement. In his book, Krakauer argued Dan Lafferty managed to narrowly avoid the death penalty by flirting with a member of the jury during the trial.
Ron Lafferty was tried several months later, and there was evidence presented in court that he claimed to have had "a revelation" from God to kill his sister-in-law and her child, which he shared with his brother.
The criminal was also found guilty of the murders, but unlike his brother the jury voted unanimously for him to receive the death penalty. He chose to be killed by firing squad, but died in prison at the age of 78 from natural causes.
Dan Lafferty is still alive today and is serving a life sentence, and he even spoke with Krakauer for his book. The author claimed that the murderer continued to have no remorse for the killings of Brenda and Erica Lafferty, with him saying to Krakauer that it was a "revelation from God that these lives be taken".
Under the Banner of Heaven is available to watch in full on ITVX now, it is also available to stream on Disney+.
Brenda, 24 years old, and her 15-month-old daughter Erica were brutally murdered in their home in American Fork, Utah, in 1984, in an incident which has since been detailed by Jon Krakauer in his 2003 book Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith.
Though the detectives are fictional, the case is very real. After uncovering a number of secrets of the Lafferty family, the detectives race to capture Dan (Wyatt Russell) and Ron Lafferty (Sam Worthington) and they do so in the show's finale, but that is where the drama ends — the real case was far from over.
In the end, Dan changed his mind about taking Matilda's daughter as his wife and instead married a woman named Ann Randak who he'd met when borrowing a horse from the ranch she worked at.
Nov. 11, 2019: Ron Lafferty dies of natural causes after spending 34 years on death row, one of the longest-serving condemned inmates in the country. 2022: Dan Lafferty remains in the Utah State Prison, serving a life sentence.
Pyre is an invented character who does not exist in real life as one of the detectives who investigated the murders. The detective who investigated the double homicide was primarily Terry Fox, who was the American Fork police chief.
Brenda, who didn't agree with Ron and Dan's fundamentalist views, strongly advised Dianna to seek divorce from Ron. Unable to find any other way out, Dianna officially filed for divorce, which was finalized in 1983. Following their split, Dianna moved back to Florida, taking their six kids with her.
“Dustin Lance Black Is Ready for Backlash, 'Death Threats' From the Mormon Church Thanks to Under the Banner of Heaven,” read another. As promised, the show has managed to offend or at least alienate most of the Latter-day Saints who have given it a chance, including the most sophisticated viewers.
In the end, after listening to Allen's own words, Jeb appears to have decided that he will, in fact, remain a man of faith, just not to the Mormon church depicted in Under the Banner of Heaven.
In fact, the case is still considered one of the most notorious and gruesome in the state's history. And while the case is it's based on is real, the show does have some fictionalized elements. Detectives Jeb Pyre and Bill Taba are characters that were created purely for the show, Newsweek reports.
Brenda Lafferty was beautiful, intelligent, and assertive. And those were some of the reasons why her brothers-in-law, Ron and Dan Lafferty, decided to murder her and her 15-month-old daughter Erica in 1984. Weeks FamilyBrenda Lafferty and her daughter Erica. Both were murdered by Ron and Dan Lafferty in 1984.
In the book, Krakauer, a non-Mormon and a fierce critic of all religions, serves as the audience's surrogate. In the TV version, the fictional Jeb Pyre, a devout Latter-day Saint, fills that role as well as the role of the series' hero.
Unlike with Dan, the jury at Ron's trial were in agreement over the punishment he should receive and he was given the death penalty after being found guilty for the murders of Wright Lafferty and her daughter. Ron chose to be executed by firing squad, but he died in prison of natural causes in 2019 at the age of 78.
Today, according to friends and family, Allen has remarried, is living in Utah, and remains an active Latter-day Saint — which seems at odds with the way the character is played. Black, though, urges viewers not to jump to conclusions until the series wraps up.
“How could someone hear what they were planning and not do anything to warn Brenda?” Brenda's sister Betty Wright McEntire asked Krakauer. “I just can't understand it.” As of 2004, Claudine was reportedly working at the Provo LDS Temple. She died in 2016, at the age of 96.
“Dustin Lance Black Is Ready for Backlash, 'Death Threats' From the Mormon Church Thanks to Under the Banner of Heaven,” read another. As promised, the show has managed to offend or at least alienate most of the Latter-day Saints who have given it a chance, including the most sophisticated viewers.
Some animal cruelty happens. A dog is hung by a rope and then killed. You can hear it whining in distress. There is also talk about the father beating a dog to death with a baseball bat, but it is not shown.
Introduction: My name is Pres. Carey Rath, I am a faithful, funny, vast, joyous, lively, brave, glamorous person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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