‘Sister Wives’ Star Christine Brown Opens Up About Her Grandfather’s Murder in New Book 

Sister Wives star Christine Brown is shedding light on her family’s long and troubled history in polygamy in her new memoir. 

Christine – whose family has been dubbed “polygamist royalty” by some – has mostly positive things to say about growing up in a plural family. But in 1977, her peaceful world was rocked when her beloved grandfather was brutally murdered by a rival polygamist group.

Christine Brown’s grandfather was murdered by rival polygamists

Even before she married Kody Brown, Christine was deeply familiar with the concept of plural marriage. Her mother was one of her father’s two wives, and her paternal grandfather, Rulon Allred, was a leader of one of Utah’s largest polygamist sects, the Apostolic United Brethren. 

In Sister Wife: A Memoir of Faith, Family, and Finding Freedom, Christine describes Rulon “a kind, good, loving man.” Unfortunately, her time with him was cut short when he was killed on the orders of notorious polygamist Ervil LeBaron.  

Rulon and members of the LeBardon family had crossed paths when both spent time in a polygamist community in Mexico. But Rulon declined to join Ervil’s group, which put a target on his back.   

“Ervil was … angry that Grandpa Rulon wouldn’t bow down to him,” Christine explains. 

“Ervil’s followers talked about ‘blood atonement’– which is basically the idea that some sins are so bad they can only be remedied through death. In Ervil’s mind, Grandpa was a false prophet,” she writes. “So Ervil sent his wives to kill my Grandpa.” 

Rena Chenoweth and Ramona Marston confronted Rulon outside of his chiropractic clinic in a Salt Lake City suburb. Even though Rena pulled the trigger, she was acquitted. “No one cared much about the death of a polygamist,” Christine says. (Ervil’s crimes are explored in the 2024 Hulu docuseries Daughters of the Cult.) 

The ‘Sister Wives’ star has a family connection to the LeBarons

Rulon Allred’s murder was shocking. But for Christine’s family, there was an extra layer of complication. The TLC personality was related to Ervil LeBaron, who was her great-uncle on her mother’s side. 

Christine’s mother, Annie, was the daughter of Ervil’s brother, Floren LeBaron, and his wife Anna. However, Anna and Floren’s marriage didn’t last. Anna left her husband when her daughter was two, and Annie did not get to know her birth father until she was an adult. As a result, Christine had virtually no contact with that side of the family.  

“I never met Ervil, or his wives,” Christine shares. But her family’s twisted past made her realize that “the threats to our group didn’t always come from the outside” and that there was “darkness in our community.” 

Meanwhile, Ervil – who was also linked to multiple other murders – did eventually have to pay for his crimes. In 1979, he was captured in Mexico and extradited to the U.S., where he was convicted of ordering Rulon’s murder. He died in prison in 1981. 

Sister Wife: A Memoir of Faith, Family, and Finding Freedom is on sale now. 

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