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7/26/92 – Tony Alamo Harbors Murderer Richard Church, known as Jim Wahl, within his ministry, Knowingly Endangering his Followers

Daily Herald
July 26, 1992

As part of a plea agreement that saved him from a possible death penalty, confessed killer Richard Church agreed to tell the full story of his three years as a fugitive, authorities say.

Church escaped Aug. 21, 1988, after killing Raymond and Ruth Ann Ritter and savagely beating his former girlfriend, Colleen, and her 10- year-old brother. He was arrested in Salt Lake City Nov. 21,1991. In between those dates, Church, 23, spent time in California and other states with a religious cult headed by the Rev. Tony Alamo.

To avoid the death penalty, Church pleaded guilty Thursday in McHenry County Circuit Court in Woodstock and agreed to spend the rest of his life in prison. He also agreed to spend several weeks giving police details of his life as a fugitive so they can work to close holes in the nation’s law enforcement network.

Church’s attorney, Harold McKenney, said in 1989, Church narrowly escaped arrest when Internal Revenue Service agents made a raid on the Alma, Ark, headquarters of Alamo’s religious group.
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His crime was featured on the TV show “Unsolved Mysteries”. Click on the video below to view the episode. Click HERE to be directed to the Illinois Department of Correction inmate search to view Richard Church and his full profile.

In: Secrets Exposed!

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