Out of Polygamy

Justice for Johnny

Justice for Johnny

My brother John William Nicholson died on July 24, 2004



Phoenix News 5's 
Tammy Leitner covers 
Johnny's Death:
	-Article
	-Video

under strange circumstances.
Below is a report written up on my brother's death:

FBI Report

On June 14, 2006, I spoke with Ms. FLORA JESSOP at length over the phone concerning the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS) sect. The sect's primary, historical "headquarters" is located in the border towns of Colorado City, Arizona and Hildale, Utah. The sect's self-proclaimed and recognized prophet is WARREN JEFFS. Mr. JEFFS is currently a FBI Top 10 Most Wanted fugitive on charges of sexual assault on a child and Unlawful Flight to Avoid Prosecution (UFAP).

Ms. JESSOP escaped from the FLDS and polygamous marriages involving young girls. She is very active in educating the public of the inherent, often criminal, abuses inside the FLDS sect and in assisting young men and women that leave the sect. Ms. JESSOP has been very helpful to this Reporting Agent (RA) in providing background information on Mr. JEFFS and possible FLDS contacts for Mr. JEFFS within Colorado.

During our conversation, Ms. JESSOP made the RA aware of a suspicious death that occurred in the Hildale, Utah area. The death involved JOHN NICHOLSON, Jr. and occurred on July 24, 2004.

On July 24, 2004, Mr. NICHOLSON, Jr., age 22, was rappelling down a cliff side when he fell and died from his injuries. According to Ms. JESSOP, Mr. NICHOLSON was experienced in rappelling and was using a 50' rope for rappelling down a 250' cliff face. Given his experience, more precautions would have been used by Mr. NICHOLSON, Jr.

There were several other things that were suspicious to Ms. JESSOP and others familiar with the tragedy. Reportedly, there were suspicions that Mr. NICHOLSON, Jr. was a victim of sexual abuse from WARREN JEFFS. Just prior to Mr. NICHOLSON'S death, WARREN JEFFS was notified that his nephew BRENT JEFFS was filing a civil lawsuit based on allegations that WARREN JEFFS sexually abused his nephew. BRENT JEFFS and Mr. NICHOLSON were the same age and attended the same school that WARREN JEFFS was the principal at.

Additionally, according to Ms. JESSOP and other sources, one of the eyewitnesses to the death was CHARLES ZITTING. Mr. ZITTING had become a friend of Mr. NICHOLSON'S two months prior to the fatal incident. Following Mr. NICHOLSON'S death, Mr. ZITTING "inherited" or was given Mr. NICHOLSON'S new pick-up truck. The only item the family received from Mr. NICHOLSON Jr.'s personal effects through the police was the rope involved in the situation. The rope was released to the family and was promptly burned by Mr. NICHOLSON'S father, JOHN S. NICHOLSON, in a bonfire.

Another suspicion lies in the immediate cleaning of Mr. NICHOLSON Jr.'s room. Those close to Mr. NICHOLSON Jr. stated that his room was typically unkempt, but immediately after his death, his room was cleaned to a "spotless" condition.

Just prior to his death, Mr. NICHOLSON, Jr. was working for LESLIE JEFFS, the brother of WARREN JEFFS. LESLIE JEFFS owned a trucking business, and Mr. NICHOLSON, Jr. was reportedly driving to and from Texas. Mr. NICHOLSON had some kind of dispute with LESLIE JEFFS and had lost his job. It is currently unknown what kind of dispute cost Mr. NICHOLSON, Jr. his job. Coincidently, LESLIE JEFFS had been associated with the sexual abuse of BRENT JEFFS.

Other suspicions were raised because the initial investigators all were members of the FLDS sect, or had very close ties. It appears that a limited follow-up investigation was conducted.

Reportedly, two young boys, first born sons as was Mr. NICHOLSON, Jr. (first born sons carry religious and family significance in the FLDS sect and other religions) all died the same day, July 24th, 2004. The deaths occurred as a result of falls from elevated positions. Given the adversity recently (at the time) facing WARREN JEFFS, rumors circulated through the community of possible blood atonements related to the deaths on a religious holiday. (July 24th is recognized as Pioneer Day, the day Brigham Young and his followers arrived in Utah and began to establish Salt Lake City)

Blood atonement is a FLDS doctrine that the blood of the sinner must be spilled to atone for the sins of that sinner. The only chance for salvation for the sinner is through the spilling of that person's blood. The suggestion is that if Mr. NICHOLSON, Jr. was a potential participant in a lawsuit involving accusations of sexual abuse by WARREN JEFFS, the blood atonement doctrine may have been directed against Mr. NICHOLSON, Jr., leading to his death.

During the conversation with Ms. JESSOP the RA learned of ties between JOHN S. NICHOLSON and WARREN JEFFS. Most significantly, Mr. NICHOLSON, Sr. had been excommunicated from the FLDS by Mr. JEFFS, but was recently reinstated to a position within the sect, and his wives were "re-assigned" back to Mr. NICHOLSON. The significance of this cannot be underestimated. The RA is not aware of any other excommunicated member being brought back into the sect. To accomplish this, The RA believes Mr. NICHOLSON would have done something rather extraordinary to regain favor with WARREN JEFFS.

Furthermore, Ms. JESSOP stated that Mr. NICHOLSON, Sr. has worked for WARREN JEFF'S brother BLAINE JEFFS. One of Mr. NICHOLSON'S daughters, SARAH NICHOLSON, is married to SETH JEFFS, another brother of WARREN JEFFS. SETH JEFFS, as a reminder, has been charged in Colorado with aiding WARREN JEFFS in his fugitive status.

Finally, the RA received information that there is documented written correspondence between Mr. NICHOLSON, Sr. and WARREN JEFFS.

Regarding Johnny's death, Kathy writes:

My little brother John William Nicholson attended Alta Academy while Warren Jeffs was headmaster. My brother was in the same grade and class with Brent Jeffs, the young man who publicly accused Warren Jeffs, Leslie Jeffs and Blaine Jeffs of sodomizing and molesting him at Alta Academy. (Larry King Interview)

Battery Lawsuit filed by nephew Brent Jeffs (Jul-2004)
Child Molestation Lawsuit filed by nephew Brent Jeffs (Jul-2004)
Conspiracy Lawsuit filed by nephew Brent Jeffs (Jul-2004)
Fraud Lawsuit filed by nephew Brent Jeffs (Jul-2004)
Sodomy Lawsuit filed by nephew Brent Jeffs (Jul-2004)

I called my brother Johnny on his 22^nd birthday, June 25, 2004. I had been outside of the community for over a decade and as a result my brother always felt comfortable sharing negative details about the community. These were things that were inappropriate to discuss within the community.

During our lengthy conversation, we discussed many things. One of these was regarding the job he had loved for many years as a trucker for Leslie Jeffs. But recently, he abruptly quit. I was bewildered because he loved that job. When I tried to pursue an answer as to why he quit, he said that some things had happened and he didn�t feel comfortable discussing it over the phone. So I asked him to come visit me on the east coast and visit so that he could talk freely. When our phone conversation ended and I had wished him a happy birthday, he said we would talk soon about the sudden falling out with Leslie Jeffs and that he would definitely consider a trip out to see me.

That was the last time I spoke to my brother. He was dead less than a month after our conversation.
My brother Johnny was a fun loving, easy going outdoorsman. He learned at a very young age to fish, raft, camp for days, hunt, hike and mountain climb. As he grew older and more experienced he began repelling. It became more a part of his life and he was very good at it. He invested most of his earnings into gear and safety equipment. It was his passion.

He died on July 24, 2004 which is Pioneer day. It is celebrated by the state of Utah in commoration of Brigham Young and the first group of Mormon pioneers. This had historically been a day of �blood atonement.�

While on a family vacation in California with my husband and children, I received a shocking message that my brother had been killed in a mountain climbing accident. That is where the lies, deception and confusion began pertaining to my brother�s death. The first thought to run through my head was that maybe he was drinking and mountain climbing. But that didn�t make sense, because he knew the dangers of mountain climbing and repelling and always took safety precautions. Then I became very saddened and angry at him, assuming that he had been drinking. That would be the only explanation I could think of to explain his fall. Eventually, I found out afterwards, after begging for information, that the autopsy report did not find any alcohol in his blood.

At the funeral I was very distraught and in a fog. But my husband, who attended the funeral was very lucid and clear headed. He began to notice a series of inconsistencies from those that told the story. Inconsistencies included where he fell, how he fell, when he fell and how he died. Some said that he fell at one mountain. Other eyewitnesses said another. Some said that he died instantly. Other�s said that he died hours later. Some said that the authorities arrived right away. Other�s said they didn�t arrive until 2am, 8 hours after his fall. One of the witnesses �spiritualized� his death saying that Johnny had given him the keys to his truck and told him he could have the keys because he knew something was going to happen that day. The keys are a symbol within the Mormon religion relating to anointment from God. The irony is that this eye witness claims that he just happened to look away for a moment and didn�t see how Johnny really fell.

Some claimed that his rope was too short and he fell. Other�s said his rope was long enough and that he hit a ledge that propelled him over the mountain. The police reported another story that the rope was far too short and that he had reached the end of the rope and fell. My brother was an expert in mountain climbing and would not have used a rope that was too short or not taken the necessary safety precautions.
Another peculiarity involved the fact that Johnny�s room was immaculate before his death. He never cleaned his room. And he also had very bad debt. But right before he died, all his bills were paid off.
When I pursued the police record about his death, I found out that it had been �sealed� and was not available for public record. The police in Short Creek have been known to be in cahoots with Warren and the church. In fact many police officers have been fired by the state for hiding evidence � See Article. Also the guy who was appointed as our �guide� at the funeral was Charles Zitting, who I believe just happened to be the mayor�s nephew.

This all happened around the time that Warren Jeffs was being investigated for accessory to rape and the molestation of Brent Jeffs. Warren went into hiding and was in hiding at the time of my brother�s funeral. Warren was eventually placed on the top 10 most wanted list by the FBI, later apprehended in Las Vegas with many disguises and hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash. (capture) My brother knew Brent Jeffs very well and it is too coincidental that he said he knew something around this time and then ended up dead weeks later on the known day of atonement.

If you know anything about John William Nicholson�s death, please contact me . I want to see justice for Johnny and would appreciate any information anyone may have.

Note: See Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer
History of FLDS: http://www.childbrides.org/texas_YFZ_leader_wants_fresh_start.html
Timeline: http://extras.sltrib.com/specials/polygamy/Timeline.asp
Charts: http://www.mormonfundamentalism.com/ChartLinks/LeroySJohnson.htm

Blood Atonement:

Blood Atonement

View the links below at http://www.utlm.org/topicalindexa.htm

#56 Messenger, Blood Flows in Utah

#77 Messenger, Brigham Young and Wild Bill Hickman

Hickman's Work Found?

Brigham Young Indicted For Murder

#81 Messenger, Blood Atonement Ritual

#81 Messenger, Interesting Parallels