Along a dusty rural road in northern Mexico on Monday, a Mormon family's three-vehicle convoy was ambushed by a group of armed men spraying bullets through the morning sky. The victims of the shooting, nine in total and all U.S. citizens according to CBS, were members of the LeBaron family residing in a Mormon community in Chihuahua. The Mexican government suggests the brutal massacre, described as a kind of "twisted evil," was a case of mistaken identity. But, as The Washington Post reports, family members believe it was actually a targeted attack carried out by local drug cartels.

As a manhunt for the murderers continues, many questions remain: Who was behind it? What was the motive? And why are there reports of a NXIVM connection in all this?

Here's everything you need to know.

Who are the LeBarons?

The family lives as fundamentalist Mormons. According to The Daily Beast, they broke away from the Church of Jesus Christ Latter-day Saints in Utah after it banned polygamy. The LeBarons reportedly formed a religious sect called the Church of the Firstborn, and their practice of polygamy has now largely faded from the community.

Why were they in Mexico?

The family has a long history in Mexico dating back to the early 20th century. The Washington Post reports they were, "part of a decades-long migration of fundamentalist Mormons who settled in northern Mexico to practice their religion in relative isolation."



Did anyone survive the attack?

Eight children did, though one of them is critically injured, David Langford, a relative of the victims, told The New York Times.

Per Mexican journalist LeÓn Krauze's reporting for Slate, one of the survivors, a 13-year-old boy, walked 14 miles to get help. Krauze claims the LeBaron family sent him photographs of the crime scene, which he describes in detail, below:

One shows a child shot, sunken like a small bundle on the floor of one of the cars, his left arm softly hugging the back seat. In another one, a woman slumps against the driver’s seat, broken glass strewn around her, the screen of her SUV still shining. LeBaron also posted video of one of the vehicles, burnt beyond recognition. “There were just a few charred bones left,” he later wrote. In the middle of the carnage, the men found a miracle: a baby girl, unharmed, still strapped into the car seat where her mother had left her. Her name is Faith.

Who is behind the killings and why were they carried out?

The motive is still unclear, and no suspects have been named. El Chapo, who is currently serving a life sentence at a U.S. Supermax prison, was once active with his Sinaloa Cartel in the area where the attacks occurred. Mexican Security Secretary Alfonso Durazo has said the victims may have been mistaken for a rivaling gang. Perhaps, Durazo posited, they even got caught in crossfire. According to The Daily Beast, the Sinaloa group is now "at war with rival groups, including remnants of the Juárez Cartel with an allied group called La Línea, and the fast-rising, incredibly ruthless Jalisco Cartel New Generation."

The LeBaron family disputes these suggestions. “It couldn’t have been a mistake,” family member Alex LeBaron, an elected deputy to the Chihuahua state legislature, reportedly said during an interview on Mexico’s W Radio. “This is terrorism, plain and simple.”

Does the LeBaron family have connections to local drug cartels?

According to The New York Times, two members of the LeBaron family were kidnapped and murdered after confronting cartel leaders in 2009, but as of late there's reportedly been peace. However, The Daily Beast reports that, "leading members of the LeBaron community have distinguished themselves as outspoken opponents to the growth of cartel-related kidnappings, extortion and killings in Mexico."

Their Mormon community does have ties to NXIVM.

That's according to The New York Post, which is reporting that the LeBaron family's community is where ex-NXIVM leader Keith Raniere "recruited young women to work as nannies in an upstate New York compound run by the accused cult — suggesting at least in part that the jobs would get the girls away from their home region’s drug violence, according a man hired by Raniere to produce a documentary about the group."

The Houston Chronicle reports that NXIVM's ties to the Mormon community came up in May during NXIVM defector and documentary filmmaker Mark Vicente's testimony. According to the outlet, Vicente's testimony revealed how Raniere "created a 'girls school' for Mexican teenagers, many of whom were recruited from within the LeBaron community to live in the Albany area under the care of a 'first-line slave' for Raniere."

What is NXIVM accused of?

NXIVM is a so-called "sex cult" located in upstate New York. The group's nefarious inner workings, including the use of slaves and iron branding, were revealed over the course of several months as federal prosecutors pursued cases against its highest-ranking members, including Raniere. For more on NXIVM, click here.



Where does the LeBaron investigation stand now?

Authorities apprehended a suspect in connection to the case, but have since learned he was not involved. Alfonso Durazo, Mexico’s security minister, has said there are "serious advances in the investigation.”

Rose Minutaglio Staff Writer Rose is a Staff Writer at ELLE.com covering culture, news, and women's issues.

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