'I can affect people:' Leader of alleged cult laughs and denies killing his wife as her case remains a mystery more than two years after she was found dead in a minivan in what appeared to be a suicide

Daily Mail, UK/February 21, 2015

A Missouri man and 'spiritual leader' of an alleged cult denies killing his wife on an upcoming episode of CBS's '48 Hours.'

In CBS's '48 Hours: Fall From Grace,' television news reporter Troy Roberts investigates the mystery surrounding the death of Bethany Deaton, 27, who was reportedly involved in an alleged religious cult.

It has been more than two years since the body of 27-year-old Deaton was found in the backseat of a minivan with a plastic bag over her head and a goodbye note in Longview Lake.

But the circumstances surrounding the woman's death remain a mystery.

In an upcoming episode of '48 Hours' -- airing Saturday -- Roberts aims to determine whether an alleged religious cult was responsible for the young woman's death.

Deaton, who wed the alleged cult's leader Tyler Deaton just two months earlier, was found with prescription sleeping pills in reach that night in October 2012, and the medical examiner declared her death a suicide.

A little more than a week later, Bethany's friend Micah Moore, also a member of the alleged cult, confessed to her murder, claiming Tyler ordered him to do it.

Details about the alleged cult surfaced, and Tyler was reported to have been the ringleader.

CBS reports that Tyler told members of the alleged cult, also known as 'Community,' what to wear, when to eat, and even controlled romantic relationships among the group.

'They did as they were told. They didn't make decisions on their own,' Penny Cole, a detective with the Jackson County Sheriff's Office, said.

More secrets began to spill out in the case as it was revealed that the Community members were in sexual relationships with one another, including Tyler with other men, Rolling Stone reports.

Moore reportedly told a detective that he and several men in the house had been sexually assaulting Bethany and were afraid she might tell someone about it.

A murder charge against Moore was recently dismissed, but investigators became suspicious about the circumstances surrounding the newly-wed's death.

'[Bethany] was a nurse and pretty successful,' Susan Zirinsky, '48 Hours' executive producer, told CBS. 'The drugs she took were an over-the-counter sleeping medication. She's a nurse, she has access to all kinds of narcotics.'

Zirinsky also noted that Bethany's eyes were open when police found her body, which is unlikely in an overdose situation, and authorities say that she had been writing 'thank you' notes to her wedding guests at the time of her death.

In the show's preview, Roberts asked Tyler if he believed the group he led was a cult, he said no and claimed that no one with the 'qualifications' to make that statement have done so.

'My gift, and something that is also a curse, I can be electric and magnetic.' Tyler said. 'I can affect people.'

Tyler admitted that his relationship with his wife was strained and let out a laugh before denying being 'murderous.'

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