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The Mormon Murders
Religious fundamentalism turns evil in a dark true-crime thriller starring Daisy Edgar-jones and Andrew Garfield
Under The Banner Of Heaven was more than just a compelling true-crime TV project for writer and director Dustin Lance Black (aka Tom Daley’s husband). It was also a dive into the secretive world of Mormonism – the conservative religious group in which he grew up.
And it’s that personal touch that helped to create an incredibly thought-provoking drama, based on the book of the same name by Jon Krakauer, which looks into not only the horrific murder of a mother and her child, but also the impact of religious fundamentalism.
The seven-part drama, which is coming to ITVX this week after previously airing on Disney+, follows the killing of Brenda Wright Lafferty (Normal People’s Daisy Edgarjones) and her baby daughter near Salt Lake City in Utah. Another Brit, Andrew Garfield, plays Detective Jeb Pyre, who finds his Mormon faith questioned as he investigates the crime and discovers how far some will go in the name of religion.
‘I was a fan of the book when it came out,’ says Spider-man star Andrew. ‘I found it fascinating, but also horrifying. I thought then that it had to be made into a film or a TV show. And with Dustin being so connected to the subject matter I knew he’d not only honour the book, but Brenda Lafferty too, and really unpick the rot at the core of what enabled such evil to take place.
‘It was important that the team didn’t sensationalise anything, that they produced a kind of step-by-step understanding of how something so horrific could come to pass. It’s such an important story, how we create myths and how they affect our behaviour.’ Brenda and her 15-month-old daughter Erica were found with their throats slashed in July 1984, and her brothers-in-law Ron and Dan Lafferty were charged with the murders. Mormon Jeb Pyre is a fictional character based on an amalgamation of the real-life police – some of whom were also Mormons – and his loss of faith mirrors Dustin’s own. ‘I think it’s ultimately about the pursuit of truth in the face of the potential loss of one’s family, one’s social structure, one’s life,’ says Andrew.
The story is told in three timelines: the first is the investigation, in the second we learn about Brenda’s life in flashback, and the third explores the roots of Mormonism – which originated from Christianity but has its own strict rules – and how women fought back against its more extreme beliefs, which can include polygamy.
As the detectives work, we discover that Brenda had come up against members of her husband’s family who were part of an extremist Mormon sect. ‘Dustin collated a really helpful booklet of research for me, and I had access to letters Brenda had written to her sister,’ says Daisy. ‘Something that really struck me was what an incredibly empathetic person she was. Through my research it was hard not to be aware of the misogyny that’s woven into so much of our culture and so many religions.’
For his research Dustin went to Idaho to gain the trust of Brenda’s family, who gave their blessing to the project. ‘I grew up devout in this faith, and at least half of my family is still very active in it,’ says Dustin.
He says that while some members of his family may not be happy with the project, others will appreciate it. ‘Is it ever comfortable to have a mirror held up to your beliefs? Unlikely, but I think that there’s something to be learned,’ he says. ‘Some people may be offended, but I also think that once we’re empowered with the truth, once we have good information, we can make better decisions and I hope that’s what comes of this show.
‘We are in a time now when the world is facing great difficulties, there’s a feeling that we’re not moving forwards, we’re moving backwards. There are clearly world conflicts that are deeply concerning. In times like this people often turn to God, but unfortunately when we go back to fundamental rules, which are mostly incredibly outdated, we get into trouble. You see a turn towards violence and misogyny, and this is a cautionary tale about how that happens.’