The child custody battle over John Victor Stoen was the crucible in the history of Jonestown.

 

John Victor’s mother, Grace Stoen, had given birth to her son on January 25, 1972. When she finally quit the Temple on July 4, 1976, she left John Victor behind in the legal custody of two Temple members. Soon afterwards, she began a lengthy effort to get her son out of the Temple as well, and hired a lawyer to represent her interests.

 

Tim Stoen – Grace’s estranged husband, Jim Jones’ chief lieutenant, and John Victor’s putative father – eventually followed his wife out of the Temple and reunited with her, at least for purposes of reclaiming her son. As much as he had been Jones’ advocate, he became Jones’ antagonist. In addition to representing several other relatives and former members in lawsuits against the Temple, Tim Stoen appeared in court with Grace during the custody hearings and accompanied their lawyer to Guyana in fall 1977 to try to enforce a court order restoring John Victor to his mother.

 

The problem for Tim and Grace Stoen – indeed, for everyone involved – was that he had filed an affidavit declaring that Jim Jones was the father of John Victor. Armed with this affidavit, Jones was adamant in his claim that John Victor was in fact his son. His decision to go to leave the United States forever in August 1977 – indeed, his refusal to leave Jonestown during the community’s final year – was as much out of a fear that he would be arrested or otherwise forced to surrender the young boy.

 

The battle between Jim Jones and Tim Stoen, then, came down to John Victor. As early as the mid-1970s in San Francisco, Jones had sworn that he would protect his followers, even unto death. “If they come for one of us,” he often cried out to the cheering congregation, “they come for all of us.” If he were ever to surrender John Victor – purportedly his own flesh and blood – to an enemy like Tim Stoen, how could anyone in the Temple believe that Jones would honor his commitment to protect them?

 

The answer is, he would never give up John Victor Stoen. They would all die before that happened. And so they did.

 

The following documents represent highlights from the child custody battle over John Victor Stoen.

 

• In August 1977, shortly after his arrival in Jonestown, Jones made two affidavits regarding his relationship with Grace. The Temple’s own summaries of the two documents are written out below. The affidavits appear here.

 

Affidavit of James Warren Jones

 

1. Describes Grace Stoen’s mental imbalance and determination to leave her husband and church fellowship.
2. Tim asked Jim to do what he could, “anything of a sexual nature to keep her.”
3. Related to her based on principle, not romance, attested to by Patty Cartmell.
4. Though preventative measures taken, Grace conceived. Refused abortion.
5. Jim tells his dislike for Grace as an insensitive, self-absorbed person.
6. Grace was fiercely, even violently hostile to Tim.
7. Jim determined to keep his child because the mother’s imbalance is detrimental to the child. Also, Grace’s boyfriend a racist
8. Grace took $3,000 set up as a trust for John and spent it on herself.
9. Even after relating to Walter Jones, Grace still pressed Jim for marriage.
10. July 4, 1976, Grace left with Walter Jones without saying good-bye to John.
11. John is happy in Guyana, does not want to return to Grace.
12. John had experienced so much conflict over Grace he threatened to jump off a roof.

 

[Second] Affidavit of James Warren Jones, August 13, 1977

 

1. Same as previous affidavit, but adds to the ending that he feels so strongly about keeping the child for the child’s own good that he has risked his entire reputation on it. He has not returned to the city and can tell no one why.
2. The relationship with Grace was the gravest mistake of his life, but to return the cuild [child] to Grace would only compound the child’s conflict.