[Editor’s note: The affidavits by members of Peoples Temple criticizing the behavior of Grace Stoen are scattered throughout the records released under the Freedom of Information Act, including at Section B-5-c, Section FF-1, Section FF-7, Section FF-8, and Section FF-9. An alphabetical listing of the Temple members filing affidavits appears here.]
FF-7-m
Affidavit of [blank]
Georgetown, Guyana, South America
I, Rita Tupper, being duly sworn, declare:
I have seen Grace Stoen treat her son, John, with much cruelty. She used to yell at him and lose control of her temper when he did not please her. I have seen her hit him repeatedly and cruelly when she was mad.
I have heard her tell Rev. Jim Jones that he could have the child and that she did not want him.
She has said many times she was unable to cope with the child. She neglected him, never bathing him regularly or feeding him properly. She was never home to care for John, always left him with someone else. Other people as busy as she was found ways to spend more time with their children, but Grace did not seem to care enough to work this out.
Grace continually pressured Rev. Jones to give her sexual attention, even though she knew he did not like that. She continued to bother him anyway.
She used to go into deep depressions and moodiness, and she used to say she wanted to destroy herself, and was unbalanced in her actions. She would scream and yell and go on for hours, and someone in the church would have to go over and assist her, to try and calm her down, which often took hours and hours.
She left her son John with Rev. Jones to care for while she was running around with Walter Jones, even though she was married at the time. She never once checked to see if John was o.k. On one vacation trip, which lasted several weeks, she never cared for the child or spent any time with him; instead she left him for someone else to care for.
/s/ Rita J. Tupper
Dated: 13 August, 1977
Subscribed to and sworn before me,
Commissioner of Oaths of the Republic of Guyana
FF-7-n
Affidavit of Emmett Griffith, Jr.
Jonestown, Port Kaituma, North West District, Guyana
I, Emmett Griffith, Jr, being duly sworn, declare:
Grace Stoen did some things that were shocking to me when I was about 16 or 17 years old. She would run across a room in her apartment totally nude and laugh at the reaction it caused, she would say, “What’s the matter, can’t you take it?” She did this quite often.
She would make exceptions for certain people in her capacity as financial secretary and not require accounting for money she distributed from Peoples Temple funds. She told Joe Wilson and myself that we didn’t need to worry about gas receipts, she didn’t need them. We got gas money from her frequently.
I saw her on many occasions flaunt her relationship with Walter Jones in front of her son John. She would often leave the child behind to accompany Walter somewhere else.
/s/ Emmett Griffith, Jr
Dated: August 13, 1977
Witnesses: [illegible]
FF-7-o
Affidavit of Terry Carter
Georgetown, Guyana, South America
I, Terry Carter, being duly sworn, declare:
In the fall of 1974, I had the occasion to travel from Redwood Valley, California to San Francisco with Grace Stoen and Tim Carter. I was shocked and upset by their behavior. This gave me my first real opportunity to observe Grace being flirtatious and sexually aggressive. Even though she was married and had a one-year-old son, and even though Tim Carter was my brother, Grace was not embarrassed to flirt and finger Tim’s hair while she was driving; and when we stopped for lunch, she lay beside Tim and they caressed each other. When I asked her where her son was, she was flippant as though she couldn’t care less about him.
Grace’s sexual impulsiveness and immaturity – I would even say obsession, came out in other ways, too. For example, once when I was standing with her, and she was holding her son, the four Jones brothers, walked by, and she followed them with her eyes. She turned to me and said, “it’s hard for me to remember they’re just boys, if you know what I mean.” She nudged me, and acted very foolish. She always seemed more interested in flirting with different men – or boys, than she was in her own child. (On the occasion I’ve described here, the oldest Jones son was only 17 and the youngest was [blank space], and Grace was 21 and married and a mother.)
/s/ Terry Carter
Dated: 13 August, 1977
Subscribed to and sworn before me,
Commissioner of Oaths of the Republic of Guyana
FF-7-p, 1-3
Tuesday, August 16, 1977
Affidavit #1
I, Timothy J. Carter, do hereby declare the following to be true and correct to the best of my knowledge and recollection.
Starting in approximately June of 1973, I became close friends with Grace Gretch [Grech] Stoen, who was then legally married and living with Timothy O. Stoen. Subsequently we became “lovers”, though we actually never had sexual intercourse, did frequently engage in petting, fondling, and “making out” with each other. In October, 1973, Grace Stoen did ask me to have intercourse with her: “Will you make love to me even though I’m on my period?” This took place in her home, in her bedroom (at that time she and Tim Stoen were living on Eastside Calpella Dr. in Ukiah, CA. Her son, John Stoen, who she admitted to me was fathered by Jim Jones, was at the house at the time, asleep.)
I initially learned that the natural father of John Stoen was Jim Jones on September 23, 1973, when Jim Jones told me of the relationship he had had with Grace Stoen, at her husband’s request.
Grace Stoen had an open, deep hatred for Tim Stoen, which she spoke openly out to me and to others. She would call him derogatory names, such as “squatty-body”. She complained of him as being an incompetent lover and insensitive husband, and said she could never “get back together” with Tim. She openly said that “I hate Tim Stoen.” She never considered Tim to have the right to call John his son, and would make comments such as, “he is my son, not yours.” She did tell me once that she would fight to ever giving custody of John to Tim Stoen, though she did say that she would give custody of John to Jim Jones, since he was the real father. This type of dialogue was set in terms of postulation, not as something inevitable. Grace spoke of the “pain” the birth of John had put her through (emotional pain), and said if she had to do it over, she wouldn’t. She admitted to me that Jim Jones had used contraceptives to try and avoid any impregnation.
Grace was not aware that Jim and others knew of my relationship with her, and we would see each other on the sneak either in her office early in the morning, by taking rides out in the country, or she would leave her front door open for me to sneak in. She was highly paranoid of being confronted in PC over our relationship.
She was very concerned about concealing the identity of John’s real father, and would mention people outside of PC that she was afraid knew about it. Liz Foreman was one person in particular who she thought knew & would talk about it through the church. She will talk about what would happen “if it ever got out”, as if Jim’s effectiveness as a leader would be severely damaged if it did.
Grace Stoen was a very vindictive person, and told me that she “never forgets” if somebody would offend her or screw her over. She made frequent references to the “blonde haired, blue-eyed, pink-tittied bitches” that Tim Stoen was supposedly attracted to, or who were supposedly close to Jim. I interpreted this primarily as jealousy of Marceline Jones, Jim Jones’ wife.
Grace’s concern for her image over her concern for her child became glaringly apparent to me when, during a PC confrontation, she said “I swear on my child’s life that I never said that” when I exposed her asking me to make love to her.
/s/ Timothy J. Carter
August 17, 1977
[Handwritten certification and stamp of New York notary public]
FF-7-s, 1-2
Affidavit of Deborah Blakey
State of California,
City and County of San Francisco
I, Deborah Blakey, being duly sworn, declare:
I was a close friend of Grace Gretch [Grech] Stoen. She would often confide and talk with me especially when I was newer into the Temple organization and I didn’t know too many people. Her son, she told me, was Bishop Jim Jones’s child. I was not shocked, as a child John has black hair as does Bishop Jones. Grace always died [dyed] hers black to hide the vast difference between her child John and his supposed father who also had brown hair. Often people would remark the John was the “spitting image” of Bishop Jones and she would never say a word to the contrary. She was always very forward and tried to act much more familiar with Jim than did any other person that would come forward and talk with him. It was evident from the beginning that John was Jim’s child. Jim would spend long hours with the child and they were such sensitive and warm moments. The acclaimed father, Timothy Stoen, was never that warm to the child although he pretended to be. There was always doubt in everyone’s mind about the way that Tim treated little John. Grace would often point to Jim and say to John, “Go and see daddy.” John would often climb the stairs to the Bishop’s apartment and say that he was going to see his daddy.
There was never any question about Jim being the true
-2-
father of John. There was always doubt though about Tim being the dad. They don’t have anything that is similar in their features. Jim has always had trouble with his kidneys and ears. So has his other known natural son Steve and so has John. The physical health problems have been transmitted to both his sons, which is even additional proof the John is the natural blood son to Bishop Jones.
Dated this 20th day of August, 1977.
/s/ Deborah Blakey
[Stamp and seal of Notary Public Jim Randolph]
FF-7-t
Affidavit of Danny K. Kutulas
Jonestown, Port Kaituma, North West District, Guyana
I, Danny K. Kutulas, being duly sworn declare:
In the Fall of 1975 Grace Stoen stayed in my apartment at 1435 Alvarado Terrace, Rm 303 Los Angeles, Calif., as a house guest. Grace was aware of my marital problems and asked, “Would you like to fuck me?” She was wearing a thin nightgown and threw her arms dramatically. I said, “You’re nuts.” and walked out of the apartment. This was on a Sunday morning.
/s/ Danny K. Kutulas
Dated August 14, 1977
Witnessed: [illegible]
FF-7-u
[Editor’s note: The following affidavit of Danny K. Kutulas predates his previous one by one day, and is somewhat repetitious.]
Affidavit of Danny K. Kutulas
Jonestown, Port Kaituma,
North West District, Guyana
I, Danny K. Kutulas, being duly sworn declare:
Grace was one of my house guests in my apartment in the Fall of 1975. She was aware of my serious marital problems at the time. On the occasion that the others left the apartment Grace, who was clad in a thin gown, threw open her arms and said, “Would you like to fuck me?” I said, “You’re nuts.” and walked out of the apartment. I feel this typifies her immature narcissism.
/s/ Danny K. Kutulas
Dated August 13, 1977
Witnessed: [illegible]
FF-7-v
[Editor’s note: This affidavit is similar to, but not identical to, an affidavit signed the same day, which appears at FF-8-37.]
Affidavit s/
Lynetta P. Jones
Georgetown
Cooperative Republic of Guyana
I, Lynetta P. Jones, being duly sworn, declare:
These are my experiences and observations:
I remember on many occasions hearing the phone ring in our home in Redwood Valley where I lived with my son James Jones, and his family. I answered the phone on several occasions myself to hear Grace Stoen tearfully asking to speak to Jim. She would talk with him for hours. I would hear him while I was working in the kitchen trying to reassure her or counsel her on various matters. She did this repeatedly and even came to the parsonage herself in this condition a couple of times. She seemed to have no regard for those around her. She cried in front of the other children in the house (at that time there were teenagers) and even attempted to discuss her problems with them until my son noticed and intervened, demanding of her not to do this. My son had apprised the entire house of the situation, an if he had not her hysteria would have necessitated it since she constantly manifested such bizarre behavior.
I remember once overhearing her threatening to kill Tim Stoen. Much of the time she seemed perturbed about him and the time he spent with her.
We often took care of little John in the house as she seemed very unable to meet his most basic needs. He visited with us on many nights and never wanted to go back home after being in the house with us.
My own opinion on the matter of little John’s feature is that it would be the total destruction of a human being to send him back to his mother.
/s/ Lynetta P. Jones
Dated August 14, 1977
Witnessed: [illegible]
FF-7-w
Affidavit of Joseph Wilson
Jonestown, Port Kaituma,
North West District, Guyana
I, Joseph L. Wilson, being duly sworn, declare:
I was a frequent house guest of the Stoen’s and as a consequence was exposed to some bizarre behavior on the part of Grace Stoen. She often wrestled with me and brushed against my privates in a rough manner, obviously attempting sexual stimulation. She within say, “What’s the matter, can’t you take it?” On other occasions she would run in front of me totally nude and ask [the] same question, above mentioned. She also did this in front of me in the presence of Emmett Griffith, Jr.
I began wondering how she kept her accounting in order when she handled some of the finances because she would give me gas money from church funds and not require receipts nor an accounting of any kind. This happened often and regularly. I saw her give Melanie Breidenbach money for personal clothing from the petty cash box in the church office.
She didn’t spend time with her son like she should have, and I know she had plenty of spare time because she frequently took me out to dinner, several times driving all the way to San Francisco from Redwood Valley, just to eat at a restaurant. This is a six-hour drive both ways alone.
On other occasions I saw her neglect her son for the sake of her affair with Walter Jones, many times she would leave John with me or other people and leave with Walter. This caused John a great deal of anxiety and tears. She even went as far as to push John aside, drop his hand, take Walter’s hand and leave.
/s/ Joseph L. Wilson
Dated August 13, 1977
Witnessed: [illegible]
FF-7-x
Affidavit of Carolyn M. Layton
Jonestown, Port Kaituma,
North West District, Guyana
I, Carolyn M. Layton, being duly sworn, declare:
As a member of People’s Temple and a counselor in the organization for a long time I have had the following experiences relating to Grace Stoen.
On one occasion shortly after John Stoen was born Grace went up to the altar of the church to talk to Jim Jones, the pastor. She was crying and he called me up to talk with her as well. She complained that she felt like committing suicide and was unhappy with Tim Stoen as her husband. She suggested marrying Jim Jones. Jim was very kind to her saying this was not possible. He then called up her husband Tim to let him know how she was feeling so he could counsel with her.
On another occasion I went to Grace’s house and she was taking care of John. He was quite young. She was sobbing and crying loudly about her problems while holding him. At the time I thought it was very inappropriate that she be demonstrating such strong depression in front of the child. She did this often.
Grace constantly complained that people slighted her and that she was not treated well by people. Considering the kind of emotional pressure she placed on everyone around her I thought such an accusation was utterly ridiculous and I found people to be extremely tolerant of her. She responded like a child to almost all adults around her, requiring constant praise and reassurance in order to function.
She was very flirtatious around teenage boys and I remember on one occasion she kissed Vincent Lopez on the lips which I felt entirely inappropriate considering the difficult emotional background he came from. She did the same thing to her son John. Other young men complained of similar approaches by her.
Grace Stoen is an emotional cripple. Because of her serious emotional problems I definitely feel she should not be allowed to remove John from his present very satisfying environment. I have known Grace all of the years she has been in Peoples Temple. I remember the very first time she attended. I can say with upmost [utmost] conviction she was given every possible opportunity to grow; and was given far more hours of counseling time and attention than almost any troubled person who came to People’s Temple for help. I saw her talk to Jim Jones for so many hours that he looked like he were about to pass out from exhaustion. In fact on one occasion I saw Jim Jones fall while talking to her and we had to call in some medical people to administer oxygen.
I fully expect that as soon as this affidavit is made known to her she will manufacture the same lies about me that she has obviously done about Jim Jones, but I write this knowing full well that with her gross immaturities she will undoubtedly retaliate in some form or another. I have heard her make threats of retaliation against people before, but I feel I must tell the real facts which I am familiar with regarding Grace regardless of the consequences.
/s/ Carolyn M. Layton
dated Aug. 14, 1977
Witnessed: [illegible]
FF-7-y
DECLARATION OF MARCELINE JONES
I, Marceline Jones, declare under penalty of perjury that the following is true and correct:
In December 1974 I participated in a trip to Guyana. I saw Grace Stoen in Guyana at that time; she had come with a group of members of Peoples Temple on the flight to Guyana and left with them when they returned to the states.
Dated this 18th day of August, 1977.
/s/ Marceline Jones
FF-7-z
DECLARATION OF JUNE B. CRYM
I, JUNE B. CRYM, declare under penalty of perjury that the following is true and correct:
In the latter part of December 1974 I took a flight to the agricultural mission of Peoples Temple in Guyana come up with several other Peoples Temple members. On that same flight with me was Grace Stoen. We traveled to Georgetown, took a short flight to Port Kaituma, and stayed there for about 2 weeks. I shared the same room with Grace Stoen in Port Kaituma for those two weeks. Then we traveled back to Georgetown, and flew home to the States, on the same plane.
Dated this 18th day of August, 1977.
/s/ June B. Crym
FF-7-bb
DECLARATION OF RICHARD TROPP
I, RICHARD TROPP, declare under penalty of perjury that the following is true and correct:
I participated in a two week excursion trip to Guyana in December 1974. On the flight with me was Grace Stoen. She was on the airline flight both coming and going from the church’s agricultural mission in Guyana.
Dated this 18th day of August, 1977.
/s/ Richard D. Tropp
FF-7-cc, 1-3
DECLARATION OF PATTY CARTMELL
1. Patty witnessed Grace pressure Jim Jones incessantly for sex.
2. Grace threatened suicide on numerous occasions, obsessed with the idea of sex with Jim.
3. Grace manipulated Tim Stoen and Jim two point they decided sex with Jim was in hers, Tim’s, in the church’s best interest. The encounter took place in Patty’s home.
4. Grace threatened to kill her husband.
5. Jim used contraceptives and Grace swore she was using pills. Later she laughed and said she had not used pills.
6. Patty heard Tim Stoen say he wanted place to have a child by Jim Jones.
Affidavit of Patty Cartmell
Georgetown,
Guyana, South America
I, Patty Cartmell, being duly sworn declare:
I have observed how one Grace Stoen pressured Rev. Jim Jones for sex. Grace would call me on the phone and cry, and then come over to my house where I lived close to Rev. Jones’ parsonage home. She would ask Jim over and over for sex.
She was aware Jim did not want her in a sexual encounter. Jim was very kind and always compassionate. Grace would still continue on this insane issue of sex. She appeared to be obsessed with wanting sex with Jim Jones. She threatened suicide on numerous occasions.
And then I heard Tim Stoen ask Rev. Jones in the parking lot to have sex with Grace, because he (Tim) was afraid she would leave him in trying to hurt the People’s Temple cause and bring public embarrassment to Jim Jones. So then Jim agreed, and in February or March, 1971, he did have sex with Grace at my house. She got more demanding after that and more threats came from her. Suicide and threats of hurting the cause. Numerous threats to kill her husband were made. Jim had sex with her again, and I helped Grace use a diaphragm. She also took my contraceptive cream, and she used two of them as Jim did everything to prevent any pregnancies. He used prophylactics, too. Grace swore she was taking birth control pills, but later laughed and said she wasn’t.
I later heard Tim Stoen say he wanted Grace to have a child by Jim Jones, as he thought that might settle her down. I didn’t notice what he meant, but Tim seemed to want to help people, though I wasn’t around him enough to know for sure.
When Grace got pregnant that began a nightmare.
/s/ Mrs. Patty Cartmell
Dated: 13, August, 1977
Subscribed to and sworn before me,
Commissioner of Oaths of the Republic of Guyana
FF-7-ff
Affidavit of Carolyn Looman
Georgetown,
Guyana, South America
I, Carolyn Looman, duly sworn declare:
Grace Stoen used to alarm me very much with the way she treated her child, John. More than any other mother in Peoples Temple, she used to scream and yell at him for nothing, even when he was still small. She would spank him almost to the point of beating him, for some slight childlike thing. Even as a two or three-year-old, John was exceptionally bright and sensitive, and more than most children that age he would respond beautifully to reasoning. I am absolutely certain there was no justification for the extreme reactions she had against John. She would smother him with affection one moment and in turn on him very harshly the next. Grace was frequently very busy, but other mothers under similar pressure did not react at all with the cruelty that Grace shown toward John.
Actually, though she had moments of sensitivity, she, more than any other person in People’s Temple, would do things to others that I thought were just downright mean. I tried to overlook this streak in her because she was a hard worker and I assumed she must have a fair amount of human concern, but, in fact it always bothered me that she would do mean things even when there was nothing to provoke her.
/s/ Carolyn Looman
Dated: August 12, 1977
Subscribed to and sworn before me,
Commissioner of Oaths of the Republic of Guyana
FF-7-gg
Affidavit of Melanie Breidenbach
Jonestown, Port Kaituma,
North West District, Guyana
I, Melanie Breidenbach, duly sworn declare:
I resided with the Stoens for one year. One afternoon after napping I remade Grace’s bed, I discovered under her mattress a white envelope full of money. I never saw so much money in my life and counted out five thousand dollars, I put it back under the mattress. One week later Grace Stoen left home to go with her boyfriend Walter Jones.
/s/ Melanie Breidenbach
Dated: August 13, 1977
Witnesses: [illegible]
FF-7-hh
[Editor’s note: This is an earlier version of the affidavit signed the following day at FF-7-x.]
Affidavit of Carolyn M. Layton
Georgetown, Guyana
I, Carolyn M. Layton, being duly sworn, declare:
As a member of People’s Temple and a counselor in the organization for a long time, I have had the several experiences relating to Grace Stoen which the following will describe.
On one occasion shortly after John Stoen was born Grace came up to the altar of the church to talk to Jim Jones. She was crying and he called my [me] up to talk with her as well. She complained that she felt like committing suicide and was unhappy with Tim Stoen as her husband. She suggested marrying Jim Jones. Jim said to her very kindly that this was not possible. He then called up her husband Tim to let him know how she was feeling so he could counsel with her.
On another occasion I went to Grace’s house and she was taking care of John. He was quite young. She was sitting and crying loudly about her problems while holding her son John. At the time I thought it was very inappropriate that she be demonstrating such strong depression in front of the child. She did this often.
Grace constantly complained that people slighted her and that she was not treated well by people. Considering the kind of emotional pressure she placed on everyone around her I thought such an accusation was utterly ridiculous. I found people to be extremely tolerant of her. She responded like a child to almost all adults around her, requiring constant praise and reassurance in order to function.
She was very flirtatious around teenage boys and I remember her kissing Vincent Lopez on the lips one time. Another time she kissed John in the mouth in front of me. Other young men complained of similar approaches by her.
Grace Stoen is an emotional cripple. Because of her serious emotional problems I definitely feel she should not be allowed to remove John from his present very satisfying environment. I have known Grace all the years she has been in Peoples Temple. I can say with utmost conviction she was given every possible opportunity to grow; she was given far more hours of counseling time and attention than almost any troubled person who came to the Temple for help. I saw her talk to Jim Jones until he looked like he were about to pass out. One time while she was talking to him, I saw him fall to his knees and medical personnel had to come and administer oxygen to him. From my viewpoint he gave all that he could to help her and she took all she could. It would be cruel and inhumane to take John Stoen from his father and return him to his mother.
August 13, 1977
Signed: Carolyn M. Layton
Witness: [illegible]
FF-7-ii
[Editor’s note: This is a duplicate of the affidavit at FF-7-v]
Affidavit s/ Lynetta P. Jones
Georgetown, Cooperative Republic of Guyana
I, Lynetta P. Jones, being duly sworn, declare:
These are my experiences and observations:
I remember on many occasions hearing the phone ring in our home in Redwood Valley where I lived with my son James Jones, and his family. I answered the phone on several occasions myself to hear Grace Stoen tearfully asking to speak to Jim. She would talk with him for hours. I would hear him while I was working in the kitchen trying to reassure her or counsel her on various matters. She did this repeatedly and even came to the parsonage herself in this condition a couple of times. She seemed to have no regard for those around her. She cried in front of the other children in the house (at that time there were teenagers) and even attempted to discuss her problems with them until my son noticed and intervened, demanding of her not to do this. My son had apprised the entire house of the situation, an if he had not her hysteria would have necessitated it since she constantly manifested such bizarre behavior.
I remember once overhearing her threatening to kill Tim Stoen. Much of the time she seemed perturbed about him and the time he spent with her.
We often took care of little John in the house as she seemed very unable to meet his most basic needs. He visited with us on many nights and never wanted to go back home after being in the house with us.
My own opinion on the matter of little John’s feature is that it would be the total destruction of a human being to send him back to his mother.
/s/ Lynetta P. Jones
Dated August 14, 1977
Witnessed: [illegible]
FF-7-jj
[Editor’s note: This is a duplicate of the affidavit at FF-7-u]
Affidavit of Danny K. Kutulas
Jonestown, Port Kaituma, North West District, Guyana
I, Danny K. Kutulas, being duly sworn declare:
Grace was one of my house guests in my apartment in the Fall of 1975. She was aware of my serious marital problems at the time. On the occasion that the others left the apartment Grace, who was clad in a thin gown, threw open her arms and said, “Would you like to fuck me?” I said, “You’re nuts.” and walked out of the apartment. I feel this typifies her immature narcissism.
/s/ Danny K. Kutulas
Dated August 13, 1977
Witnessed: [illegible]
FF-7-kk, 1-4
[Editor’s note: This affidavit is duplicated at FF-8-36, a-c. This version includes a cover note summarizing its contents.]
AFFIDAVIT BY TIM CARTER
1. Tim elaborates on the extent of his sexual relationship with Grace Stoen.
2. Grace told Carter: “I just happened to be the mother of the leader’s son.”
3. Grade [Grace] said that if she ever left the church she would not take John because she knew that would be best for him.
4. Carter witnessed Grace to say, and reply to the question she really hated John, “Yes.”
-2-
Affidavit #2
August 17, 1977
I, Timothy J. Carter, do declare the following to be true and correct to the best of my knowledge & recollection.
I want to detail more specifically my physical relationship with Grace Stoen, and some of the specific meetings we had. The first time we ever had physical contact or kissed
was in late September of 1973. It was a Saturday night and Grace was supposed to be in a Planning Commission meeting – it was around 7:30 or 8:00. I was not on the Planning Commission at that time. We met in the alley behind the Los Angeles Temple & then walked through the alley, across Pico Blvd., and further down the alley and stopped and sat on a ledge. We talked a while, holding hands, and kissed, and “French-kissed” each other. She was late for the PC meeting.
The first time we have petted, that I can specifically remember, was one afternoon after going to a luncheon as church representatives, we stopped at her house (on Eastside Calpella Rd., where she lived with Tim Stoen) and made out on her couch. At that time I did fondle her breasts and vagina through her blouse and panty house [hose]. We stopped after about a half-hour.
We had more involved sexual encounters when I would come into her bedroom in the middle
-3-
of the night. I can remember one time specifically when, after making out for a while, and fondling each other, she took all her clothes off, on her own accord. I didn’t feel that having intercourse with her was proper at that time, so I did not remove my clothing. When she saw after a couple of minutes that I was not taking my clothes off, she became almost frantic, stop making out, and put her clothes back on. During this encounter I had fondled and kissed her breasts, and also I touched her vagina.
The night Grace asked me to “make love” to her she again took her clothes off, and I was in my underwear. Our sex play including her masturbating me to orgasm, and my having oral sex with her. It was while I was having oral sex with her she asked me “Will you make love to me even though I’m on my period?”
There were many other times we would engage in simple hugging and kissing, in the car, in the office, and other places. During this whole affair Grace Stoen was legally married to Tim Stoen. John Stoen, her son, would be in the house when I would sneak in at night. One of the other girls, who lived with her at that time, Melanie Breidenbach, knew that we had a relationship of sorts, though she didn’t know
-4-
the extent of it, and used to tease Grace about it.
When the kids were awake at home and we wanted to be together we would take a drive far out on a country road, where we would talk & make out.
Grace was on an ego trip about John being Jim’s son, and made statements to me to that effect, such as she “just happened to be the mother of the leader’s son.” She also told me that if she ever left the church, she would leave John with the church, because she knew that would “be best for him.”
Grace Stoen did admit that she even hated John Stoen during a confrontation we were having on Bus #7. The dialogue was between myself, Grace Stoen, Jim Jones, Sharon Amos, Sandy Bradshaw, Patricia Cartmell, Andy Silver, and I think two others, who I cannot specifically remember at this time. When she was asked, “Isn’t it true that you really hate John?”, Grace Stoen replied “Yes.”
Timothy J. Carter
FF-7-ll, 1-4
[Editor’s note: This affidavit of Jim Jones is duplicated here.]
FF-7-mm, 1-2
AFFIDAVIT OF JOAN PURSLEY
1. Grace was neglectful of John. John told Joan once he didn’t believe Grace would come pick him up because she didn’t care about him.
2. Grace manipulated John to say he loved her. Gave sporadic affection, to John to satisfy her own needs.
Affidavit of Joan Pursley
Jonestown, Port Kaituma,
North West District, Guyana
I, Joan Pursley, duly sworn, declare:
During the time that Grace Stoen was a member of People’s Temple she was very neglectful of her son John. On one of our Summer trips I was in a park watching John and she walked over to where we were and said that she would be back in a few minutes and would take John to the store. After she left he turned to me and said that he didn’t believe she will be back because she didn’t care about him. We didn’t see Grace until late that night. That kind of obvious neglect was very upsetting.
Another thing that really bothered me about Grace Stoen was the way in which she manipulated John. She would grab him and squeeze him then say things like, “Do you love me?” The unhealthy emphasis being centered on John supporting her emotional needs instead of the reverse. I felt that the affection that she sporadically gave the child was inappropriate, I would not term it as affection so much as a satiation of her own needs.
Joan Pursley
DATED August 13, 1977
Witnesses: [illegible]
FF-7-nn
Affidavit of Wesley Breidenbach
Jonestown, Port Kaituma,
North West District, Guyana
I, Wesley Breidenbach, being duly sworn, declare:
I have lived with Grace Stoen for one year pull through this time she was constantly taking money from Peoples Temple church funds. There were money boxes that contained church funds, she not only bought things for herself with this money but also have given me $70.00 for clothes and she didn’t get receipts or money back from me to account for this money. She gave me this money out of the boxes in my presence and I saw her take it out of the boxes.
She was very neglectful of her son John Stoen, she would let him cry without giving him attention at all. She also constantly yelled at him taking her frustrations out on him.
Wesley Breidenbach
Dated August 14, 1977
Witnesses: [illegible]
FF-7-oo, 1-2
AFFIDAVIT OF MELANIE BREIDENBACH
1. Lived one year with Grace Stoen.
2. Grace was an unfit mother for John.
3. Grace mistreated John and left him with other people.
4. Grace slapped and hit John for no reason.
Affidavit of Melanie Breidenbach
Jonestown, Port Kaituma,
North West District, Guyana
I, Melanie Breidenbach, being duly sworn, declare:
I have known Grace Stoen for 2 years and lived with her for one of those two years. In that time I have known her to always mistreat her son John Stoen. I felt that she never cared for John by the way she treated him when he was home. Most of the time he was with someone else, so she wouldn’t have to bother with him. She was a very unfit mother because of the fact that she would get upset and slap him around for no reason, discipline him when he was doing nothing wrong. I feel that she deserted him because she didn’t care about him. She told me herself that she thought that he would be better if he stayed with someone else. I felt this was another way she copped out of her responsibility with him. She never spent time with him or gave any attention or love that a child needs to grown [grow].
Melanie Breidenbach
Dated August 13, 1977
Witnesses: [illegible]