[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-1-9
Affidavit of
Melanie Breidenbach
Jonestown, Port Kaituma
North West District, Guyana
I, Melanie Breidenbach, being duly sworn, declare:
I knew Grace Stoen for almost two years and lived with her for one of those years. During the time that I lived with her she never spent much time with her son. When he was home with us she was cruel to him and payed [paid] no attention to him, she would yell at him for no reason, slap him, discipline him when he was doing nothing, she neglected him by always putting him off on someone else to watch. I felt that she didn’t care for him at all by the way she acted towards him when he was home. She told me herself that she felt he would be better off with someone else. It feel it was just a cop-out so she wouldn’t have to take up her time taking care of him properly and give him the attention and care a child needs to grow. I feel that she just deserted him and put him off for someone else to take care of.
Melanie Breidenbach
Dated August 14, 1977
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FF-1-10
Affidavit of
Barbara Cordell
Jonestown, Port Kaituma
North West District, Guyana
I, Barbara Cordell, being duly sworn, declare:
Grace was having difficulty with John during a period when he developed a severe facial tic. She brought him to my home to care for him for an extended period of time. Within a matter of two week[s] away from her he was free of this tic.
Grace generally could not handle John. He told her that he hated her and she could not deal with this. During her visits with John while he was living in my home if he happened to be naughty, she would bring him to me to deal with.
Barbara Cordell
Dated August 13, 1977
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FF-1-11
Affidavit of
Edith Bogue
Jonestown, Port Kaituma
North West District, Guyana
I, Edith Bogue, being duly sworn, declare:
Grace Stoen used to bring John Stoen to my house and leave him for hours. I never knew where she went or when she would be back to get him. When he was little she [w]ould swing him by his arms. I was afraid she would either break his arm or collar bone. She tossed him on his blanket like he was a doll, a number of times during the years from John’s birth until he was older I have heard her call him names like, “John you are stupid, how’s my crazy kid.[“] I’ve seen her pour a drink that he wanted on the ground because he spilled some of it. At times she would be very kind to him and then she would push him away and tell him she didn’t like him. She also said she didn’t like Tim Stoen in front of John a number of times.
Edith Bogue
Dated August 14, 1977
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FF-1-12
Affidavit of
Wesley Breidenbach
Jonestown, Port Kaituma,
North West District, Guyana
I, Wesley Breidenbach, being duly sworn, declare:
I had lived with Grace Stoen for one year all 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 had 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-1-13
[Editor’s note: The following affidavit of Danny K. Kutulas predates a similar statement by one day, and both are 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 typlifies [typifies] her immature narcissism.
/s/ Danny K. Kutulas
Dated August 13, 1977
Witnessed: [illegible]
—–
FF-1-14
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-1-15
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.
/s/Joan Pursley
DATED August 13, 1977
Witnesses: [illegible]
—–
FF-1-16
Affidavit of
Edith Bogue
Jonestown, Port Kaituma
North West District, Guyana
I, Edith Bogue, being duly sworn, declare:
When John Stoen was an infant Grace Stoen would bring him to my house and leave him. She wouldn’t say where she was going or when she was coming back, she would return hours later. When John was only a few months old she would hold him up and swing him around by his arms. I was afraid she would break his arm or his collarbone. She also called him names like crazy John Stoen.
Her conduct around young boys from 10 years old and up was very seductive. She did this around John all the time.
Edith Bogue
Dated August 13, 1977
Witnesses:
[2 blank signature lines]
—–
FF-1-17
Affidavit of
Lynetta P. Jones
Port Kaituma
Guyana
I, Lynetta P. Jones, being duly sworn, declare:
A number of times while I was living in my son, James Jones’s home in Redwood Valley, California, Grace Stoen called him. I answered the phone myself on several occasions to hear Grace tearfully asking to speak to Jim. These conversations would continue for hours. One could not avoid hearing parts of them just working around the kitchen.
Another time Grace Stoen came to our house in the same state of mind, crying loudly. She even approached other teenage boys living the house, trying to tell them her problems. When Jim discovered she had done this he put a stop to it at once. He had already apprised the entire household of the situation. Grace’s hysteria certainly necessitated this.
John spent many hours with us at the house. He often spent the night and always returned home regretfully. He protested having to go back with Grace on many occasions.
Grace openly stated to me that my son, James Jones was the true father of John.
Dated August 13, 1977
Lynetta P. Jones
Witnesses: [Illegible]
—–
FF-1-18
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-1-19
Affidavit of
Joseph Wilson
Jonestown, Port Kaituma
North West District, Guyana
I, Joseph Wilson, being duly sworn, declare:
I was a frequent house guest of the Stoen’s and as a consequence was exposed to some bizarre behaviour 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 would then say, “What’s the matter, can’t you take it?” On other occasions she would run in front of me totally nude and ask me [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 send time with her so 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 in 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.
Joseph Wilson
Dated August 13, 1977
Witnesses: [Illegible]
—–
FF-1-22
Affidavit of
Christine Lucientes
Jonestown, Port Kaituma
North West District, Guyana
I, Christine Lucientes, being duly sworn, declare:
Having been a friend of Grace L. Stoen’s for several years while she was a member of People’s Temple I am familiar with several of her negative personality traits. Having taken care of her son John V. Stoen on numerous occasions and on a regular basis I am familiar with the adverse affect these traits had on John. He was aware of her affairs with men and her flirtatious behavior with teenaged boys and men. He often was the victim of her immature outbursts of emotion and suffered the brunt of her hostility to his father. She was a dependent mother and required affection and attention from the child. The child reflected and displayed great anxiety and developed a facial tic that was severe and involuntary; a twitching of the eye that involved an involuntary squinting.
John is deeply hurt and angry that his mother abandoned him for an affair with Walter Jones. He expressed to me his anger in terms of violence in a childish fantasy of how he would kill Walter Jones. He displayed a great deal of anger in his behavior, particularly when he could not get undivided attention. I was conversing with the child shortly after his mother left him and was interrupted momentarily by another adult, John ran out of the room after grabbing something off of the table. I followed him to another room and asked him what he had in his hand, I discovered some non-prescription caffeine pills. I asked him the purpose for leaving the room with the pills and he told me he wanted to take them and that he wished he could die. I was quite taken aback to hear a 4-year-old speak in these terms, regardless if he had serious intentions or not. The child has had to have a great deal of love and support and a very secure structure has been provided for him to help remedy the problems created by his abandonment.
—–
FF-1-23
Affidavit of
Patricia P. Cartmell
Jonestown, Port Kaituma
North West District, Guyana
I, Patricia P. Cartmell, being duly sworn, declare:
I have known Grace Stoen since I was 15 years old. Ever since she has been in the church she has not had more than one paying job and she held it for only a couple of months. She handled finances for Peoples Temple which were kept under lock and key. One afternoon Melanie Breidenbach told me she was taking a nap and lifted up Grace’s mattress where she found a white envelope full of approximately five thousand dollars. One week later Grace left home with Walter Jones.
As a mother I would definitely deem her unfit. I have seen her on numerous occasions scream at John for no reason and take her hostility out on him.
Dated August 14, 1977
Witnessed: [blank lines]
—–
FF-1-24
Affidavit of
Barbara Cordell
Jonestown, Port Kaituma
North West District, Guyana
I, Barbara Cordell, being duly sworn, declare:
John Stoen had a very bad facial tic while living with his mother Grace Stoen and she asked me to take him to live with me for a period of time. In a matter of two weeks the tic was gone. He continued to live with my family for several months because she was not able to handle him. He would tell her that he hated her and she didn’t know how to deal with that. When she was with him and he was naughty she would return him to me to do the discipline.
Dated August 14, 1977
Witnessed: [blank lines]
—–
FF-1-27
Jonestown, Port Kaituma,
Northwest District, Guyana
Affidavit of
Wesley Breidenbach
I, Wesley Breidenbach, being duly sworn, declare:
I saw Grace Stoen take funds from Peoples Temple cash boxes and spend it on herself. Upon one occasion she gave me $70.00 to buy some clothes out of a cash box and she never asked me for any money back or receipts of for any accounting of the money whatsoever.
Concerning her child John, I felt that she left him alone too much with too many people and because of that he suffered long periods of rejection. These periods of rejection were frequent.
/s/ Wesley Breidenbach
Dated August 13, 1977
Witnesses:
[2 blank signature lines]
——
FF-1-28
Affidavit of Carolyn M. Layton
I, Carolyn M. Layton, being duly sworn, declare:
Grace Stoen personally told me many times that Jim Jones was the real father of John Stoen and not Tim Stoen. She also frequently told me of the special love Jim had for John.
Carolyn M. Layton
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FF-1-29
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-1-30
Affidavit of
Joan Pursley
Jonestown, Port Kaituma,
North West District, Guyana
I, Joan Pursley, duly sworn, declare:
When Grace Stoen was in Peoples Temple she neglected her son John. Once about 2 years ago we were on one of our summer trips and I was watching John in the park and Grace walk up to him and said, “I’ll be back and then we’ll go to the store.” She then left, John turned to me and expressed his belief that she would not be back, that she really didn’t care about him that’s why she wouldn’t be back. This struck me as very sad. He sounded so certain that she wouldn’t be back and she didn’t come back until late that night.
Another thing that really bothered me about her was that she would manipulated him and ask him if he loved her and if he cared for her. She would hug all over him in a sexual manner that was inappropriate for a child.
Joan Pursley
DATED August 14, 1977
Witnesses: [illegible]
—–
FF-1-31
Jonestown, Port Kaituma
North West District, Guyana
Affidavit of
Christine R. Lucientes
I, Christine R. Lucientes, being duly sworn, declare:
Grace Stoen was a friend of mine for several years and I had the opportunity to become acquainted with some of her negative personality traits. Because I babysat her son on a consistent basis I further was made aware of the affect [effect] that those patterns had on him.
Grace is a very immature person whose narcissism requires continual positive support from others, including her son. Instead of being a supportive mother to the needs of John Stoen, she sought reassurance from the child himself. I have heard her frequently ask him if he loved her, if the child didn’t answer in a manner that seemed appropriate to her, her face showed vivid disappointment. I felt the child was unduly pressured by such emotional expectations and acted out accordingly.
I recall on a bus trip back to San Francisco from Los Angeles that Grace was awakened from her sleep and asked to attend to her child that she had left without appointing anyone to supervise. She became hysterical at what she interpreted to be a criticism of her abilities as a mother. In front of the child she shrieked, pulled her hair, hit her head against the bus window and slugged herself. Not only was John upset by this display but several children had incredulous looks upon their faces. I was shocked.
After his mother had abandoned him John expressed to me great hostility and fear of Walter Jones. He related a childish fantasy to me of how he would kill Walter if he tried to take him away to Grace. [2 lines illegible due to over-typing] were ever to be put in Grace’s care again.
/s/ Christine R. Lucientes
Dated August 13, 1977
Witnesses:
[two witness signature lines blank]
—–
FF-1-34
Jonestown, Port Kaituma
North West District, Guyana
Affidavit of
Maria Katsaris
I, Maria Katsaris being duly sworn, declare:
Grace Stoen has always made it clear that Jim Jones is the father of her son John V. Stoen. She would explode with anger if and when Tim Stoen said anything about the rearing of the child or made any criticism of her parental abilities, which he did frequently and accurately. She stated that Tim Stoen had absolutely nothing to do with the child. She was quite emphatic on that point.
/s/ Maria Katsaris
Dated August 13, 1977
Witnesses:
[2 blank witness signature lines]
——
FF-1-35
Jonestown, Port Kaituma,
North West District, Guyana
Affidavit of
Emmett Griffith, Jr.
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 name]
——
FF-1-36
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]
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FF-1-37
I have taken care of John since before his mother deserted him. I have cared for him since the beginning of the year in 1976. He is very attached to me and has a close child-adult relationship.
/s/ Maria Katsaris
Dated August 14, 1977
Witnessed: [illegible signature]
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FF-1-39
Affidavit of
Christine R. Lucientes
Jonestown, Port Kaituma,
North West District, Guyana
I, Christine R. Lucientes, being duly sworn, declare:
Grace Stoen spoke freely to me of the fact that James W. Jones is the father of her son John V. Stoen. In fact she never indicated to the contrary, ever. Indeed, when she talked to John about his father Jim Jones she referred to him as “your dad.”
/s/ Christine R. Lucientes
Dated August 13, 1977
Witnesses: [illegible signature]
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FF-1-42
Affidavit of
Maria Katsaris
Jonestown, Port Kaituma,
North West District, Guyana
I, Maria Katsaris, being duly sworn, declare:
I have known Grace Stoen for five years and John Stoen since he was just a few months old. In all this time I’ve never known her to care for him. Ever since he was an infant she had other people take care of him. She never spent time with him and instead of patiently explaining things to him or answering his questions she would ignore him. She would even call him stupid. Also instead of correcting him in a way he could learn from when he did something wrong, she would yell at him and hit him. As John got older, Grace would often fondle him in a sexual manner and I have even seen her kiss him on the mouth at different times.
Grace would neglect John and ar the time when she did have him with her she did not even bother to say that he ate or took a bath. He was up at all hours of the night because she did not put him to bed. He would go for days in the same dirty clothes. John often remarked that he knew Grace did not care for him, especially when she walked off and left him in July 1976.
When Grace did visit John in August of 1976 he was very upset and acting out terribly. He cried and threw tantrums the entire time of her contact with him. I have never known him to do this except with her. She would often throw tantrums herself that one would expect out of a small child, she would act out and a very immature emotionally unstable manner. I remember one scene in particular when she began screaming, pulling her hair, and knocking her head against a wall, all in the presence of John.
John has told me himself he has no desire to ever see Grace again and that she never really was a mother to him.
/s/ Maria Katsaris
Dated August 13, 1977
Witnessed: [illegible signature]
—–
FF-1-43
Affidavit of Melanie Briedenbach
Jonestown, Port Kaituma,
North West District, Guyana
I, Melanie Briedenbach, 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 Briedenbach
Dated: August 13, 1977
Witnesses: [illegible]
—–
FF-1-45
Affidavit of
Joseph Wilson
Jonestown, Port Kaituma
North West District, Guyana
I, Joseph Wilson, being duly sworn, declare:
Grace Stoen acted in a very lewd and suggestive manner on many occasions. I was a frequent house guest of Grace’s and often would be exposed to odd behavior on her part, she seemed to enjoy running around in front of me and sometimes Emmett Griffith and I while she was totally nude. If we showed any surprise, or discomfort at her behavior she would say, “What’s the matter, can’t you take it?” She would stand very close to me on other occasions and brush herself over my privates in an obvious attempt at sexual stimulation.
I always thought that there was something funny about the way in which she handled the finances. I saw her take money from the petty cash box and give it to Melanie Breidenbach for personal clothing. This cash box belonged to Peoples Temple. She gave me gas money and never required receipts or some kind of accounting, I don’t know how she kept the books in order.
She took me out to dinner frequently and often drove all the way from Redwood Valley, California to San Francisco just to eat out without being seen.
Many times I have seen her push her child away from her, give him to someone else so that she could leave with Walter Jones. Her child would cry when she left him. I remember one time that she let go of her child’s hand, clutched Walter Jones’ hand and left with Walter. Grace never gave her child the quality of time that she could have.
Dated August 14, 1977
Witnessed: [two blank lines]
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FF-1-75a
AFFIDAVIT OF MARYLOU CLANCEY
- Mary Lou witnessed Grace abuse John over a very small incident. He was 4 years old at the time and she had just returned for a visit after having deserted him.
- Grace, upset with John, shoved him into Jim Jones’ arms and said: “Here, take him.”
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FF-1-75b
Georgetown
Guyana, South America
Affidavit of
Marylou Clancey
I, Marylou Clancey, duly sworn declare:
Last summer, 1976, on a Sunday afternoon, Grace Stoen came to visit her son John at Peoples Temple between Sunday services. I was standing nearby in the room talking with Grace when John misbehaved just a little over a piece of candy. Grace became extremely angry with John (a child of only 4 whom she had not seen in two months), raising her voice and overreacting and upsetting him. She was actually shaking with anger. I remember this distinctly because I was upset with her behavior toward him, as were others present in the room. She then abruptly pushed John into the arms of Jim Jones, and sent in an angry tone, “Take him.” She then announced she was leaving. Also, Jim Jones gave her airplane tickets to enable her to visit John later; she didn’t want them, but he insisted she take them.
Marylou Clancey
Dated: August 12, 1977
Subscribed to and sworn before me,
Commissioner of Oaths of the Republic of Guyana
[illegible signature]
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FF-1-76a
AFFIDAVIT OF CAROLYN LOOMAN
- Grace’s behavior to John alarmingly violent: unstable.
- John a bright and reasonable child, but Grace reacted against him to extremes.
- Smother him with affection then reject him.
- Carolyn judges Grace as downright mean.
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FF-1-76a
Georgetown,
Guyana, South America
Affidavit of
Carolyn Looman
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 Peoples 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
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FF-1-77a
RITA J. TUPPER, AFFIDAVIT THEREOF:
- Rita witnessed Grace acting cruelly to John, repeatedly hitting him.
- Rita heard Grace tell Jim Jones he could have the child, she did not want him.
- Grace never spent time with John, neglected him.
- Grace pressured Jim Jones for sexual attention, even when she knew he had made his position clear to her.
- Grace went into deep depressions and tantrums.
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FF-1-77b
Georgetown,
Guyana, South America
Affidavit of [blank]
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
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FF-1-78a
AFFIDAVIT OF JOYCE PARKS:
- Joyce saw John one night left alone with a 10-year-old child.
- The 10-yr.-old was crying because there was no heat and the child had been there with John since the night before.
- Joyce got in touch with Tim Stoen who asked her to take John in her care until Grace was located.
- John was never well-kept by Grace and he often said his mother had gone off and left him with not one person to look after him.
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FF-1-78b
Georgetown
Cooperative Republic of Guyana
Affidavit of
Joyce Parks
I, Joyce Parks, being duly sworn, declare:
That I went to Mrs. Grace Stoen’s home one evening and found that she had left the house and left her son, John, alone with a ten year old child. The house had no heat and the ten year old was crying and said that Mrs. Stoen had left her with John the night before and had not returned. I was able to contact her husband, Timothy Stoen, who asked me to take the child home with me until he could pick him up the next morning. John was in my home on many occasions and constantly arrived dirty. The child would say that his mother was always out and did not have any time to take care of him.
/s/ Joyce A. Parks
Dated: August 12, 1977
Subscribed to and sworn before me, a
Commissioner of Oaths of the
Republic of Guyana
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FF-1-79a
AFFIDAVIT OF LAURA JOHNSTON:
- Laura was present on a bus when Grace was caressing John sexually; he was only one year old. Other adults had to intercede.
- Grace would ignore John to the point he became hysterical to get her attention.
- Grace played favorites with young people and cruelly cut down people she didn’t like.
- Grace was cruel and insensitive to people she looked after in a convalescent home.
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FF-1-79b
Georgetown
Cooperative Republic of Guyana
Affidavit s/
Laura Johnston
I, Laura Johnston, being duly sworn, declare:
I remember on a bus trip, when John Stoen was about 1 year old, and asleep, that Grace Stoen kept caressing his hair in a sexual way, bothering him with the fussing, so that finally other adults had to intercede before she totally disturbed his sleep.
I remember numerous times in Redwood Valley, San Francisco, and Los Angeles when Grace Stoen would ignore her son John to such a point that he would become hysterical because of her inattention.
Grace Stoen always had men around her, and she would encourage them to confide in her. Grace and her husband also took young people into their home, and then Grace would make them feel sorry for her, or – she did cry about how one wasn’t helping her with another problem youngster. Once I remember, Grace crying almost hysterically in front of one youth, complaining about how he hadn’t been helpful enough with another young man named Vincent [Lopez]. I think she used Vincent as a means of manipulating his foster dad, who she later ran off with, leaving her son behind.
She would pick young people who she liked, and excused them of any wrongdoing, but she would come down very hard on others, without regard to their background or family problems, etc. She would cause division between people, and talk viciously behind the backs of some women to get in tight with their companions. She was generally cruel to people she didn’t like.
Grace worked for a while in a convalescent hospital, and knew how to talk about the poor way the patients were treated; but she spent long hours with the others who worked there, laughing about their idiosyncrasies and mocking the patients. Even though she definitely “knew better”, I found that Grace was commonly cruel and insensitive to people, even when she had absolutely no reason to want to abuse them.
/s/ Laura Johnston
Dated: 13 August, 1977
Subscribed to and sworn before me,
a Commissioner of Oaths of the
Republic of Guyana
[illegible signature]
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FF-1-80a
AFFIDAVIT OF SHARON COBB:
- Sharon saw Grace act cruelly towards John.
- Grace laughed while a teenager teased and slapped John.
- Grace teased John asking him to go places with her and then denied him.
- On many occasions Grace would leave John and he would not know who was to look after him.
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FF-1-80b
Georgetown
Guyana, South America
Affidavit of
Sharon Cobb
I, Sharon Cobb, duly sworn declare:
I was present many times when Grace Stoen acted in a cruel manner toward her son, John. One time I saw her stand by him, laughing, while a teenager teased him and slapped him. Grace would also ask John if he wanted to go somewhere with her. When he would reply that he did, she would tell him he could not go with her. On many occasions she would leave John, not knowing who was taking care of him.
/s/ Sharon Cobb
Dated: August 12, 1977
Subscribed to and sworn before me,
Commissioner of Oaths of the Republic of Guyana
[illegible signature]
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FF-1-81a
AFFIDAVIT OF WESLEY BREIDENBACH:
- Wesley saw Grace take money out of Temple cash boxes and spend it on herself.
- Concerning the child John, Grace left him alone with no one to look after him and left him off with other people.
- Grace made John suffer long periods of rejection.
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FF-1-81b
Jonestown, Port Kaituma,
Northwest District, Guyana
Affidavit of
Wesley Breidenbach
I, Wesley Breidenbach, being duly sworn, declare:
I saw Grace Stoen take funds from Peoples Temple cash boxes and spend it on herself. Upon one occasion she gave me $70.00 to buy some clothes out of a cash box and she never asked me for any money back or receipts of for any accounting of the money whatsoever.
Concerning her child John, I felt that she left him alone too much with too many people and because of that he suffered long periods of rejection. These periods of rejection were frequent.
/s/ Wesley Breidenbach
Dated August 13, 1977
Witnesses:
[2 blank signature lines]
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FF-1-82a
AFFIDAVIT OF BARBARA CORDELL:
- John developed a severe facial tick [tic] during a time Grace was having particular difficulty with him.
- Grace could not handle John, and he told her he hated her.
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FF-1-82b
Jonestown, Port Kaituma
North West District, Guyana
Affidavit of
Barbara Cordell
I, Barbara J. Cordell being duly sworn, declare:
Grace was having difficulty with John during the period when he developed severe facial tic. She brought into my home to care for him for an extended period of time. Within a matter of two week[s] away from her he was free of this tic.
Grace generally could not handle John. He told her that he hated her and she could not deal with this. During her visits with John while he was living in my home if he happened to be naughty, she would bring him to me to deal with.
/s/ Barbara J. Cordell
Dated August 13, 1977
Witnesses:
[2 blank signature lines]
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FF-1-83a
AFFIDAVIT OF EDITH BOGUE:
- Grace left the infant John with Edith and not say where she was going or when she was coming back.
- Grace handled John roughly, swinging him by his arms and calling him “crazy.”
- She exhibited seductive behavior towards young boys 10 years old and up. She did this around John all the time.
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FF-1-83b
Jonestown, Port Kaituma
North West District, Guyana
Affidavit of
Edith Bogue
I, Edith Bogue, being duly sworn, declare:
When John Stoen was an infant Grace Stoen would bring him to my house and leave him. She wouldn’t say where she was going or when she was coming back, she would return hours later. When John was only a few months old she would hold him up and swing him around by his arms. I was afraid she would break his arm or his collarbone. She also called him names like crazy John Stoen.
Her conduct around young boys from 10 years old and up was very seductive. She did this around John all the time.
Edith Bogue
Dated August 13, 1977
Witnesses:
[2 blank signature lines]
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FF-1-83c
North West District, Guyana
Affidavit of
Edith Bogue
I, Edith Bogue, being duly sworn, declare:
Grace Stoen used to bring John Stoen to my house and leave him for hours. I never knew where she went or when she would be back to get him. When he was little she [w]ould swing him by his arms. I was afraid she would either break his arm or collar bone. She tossed him on his blanket like he was a doll, a number of times during the years from John’s birth until he was older I have heard her call him names like, “John you are stupid, how’s my crazy kid.[“] I’ve seen her pour a drink that he wanted on the ground because he spilled some of it. At times she would be very kind to him and then she would push him away and tell him she didn’t like him. She also said she didn’t like Tim Stoen in front of John a number of times.
/s/Edith Bogue
Dated August 14, 1977
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FF-1-84a
WESLEY BREIDENBACH, AFFIDAVIT OF:
- Witness Grace take money from Temple funds. She gave him $70.00 of church money to buy himself clothes.
- She was neglectful of her son John, letting him cry and giving him no attention.
- Grace took out her frustrations on John
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FF-1-84b
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 all 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]
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FF-1-85a
AFFIDAVIT OF MARIA KATSARIS:
- Grace made it clear to Maria that Jim Jones was the Father of John Stoen.
- She resented Tim Stoen saying anything to her about how to raise John, or made any criticisms of her as a mother.
- She stated to Maria, Tim had nothing to do with the child.
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FF-1-85b
Jonestown, Port Kaituma
North West District, Guyana
Affidavit of
Maria Katsaris
I, Maria Katsaris being duly sworn, declare:
Grace Stoen has always made it clear that Jim Jones is the father of her son John V. Stoen. She would explode with anger if and when Tim Stoen said anything about the rearing of the child or made any criticism of her parental abilities, which he did frequently and accurately. She stated that Tim Stoen had absolutely nothing to do with the child. She was quite emphatic on that point.
/s/ Maria Katsaris
Dated August 13, 1977
Witnesses:
[2 blank witness signature lines]
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FF-1-86a
AFFIDAVIT OF MARIA KATSARIS:
- Grace was impatient and hostile with John and hit him rather than teach him, even called him stupid.
- She saw Grace fondle John in a sexual way and kiss him on the mouth.
- Grace did not take care of John, and John remarked, when Grace left in 1976, that he knew she did not care for him.
- John was provoked to act out in tantrums when his mother visited him. Grace acted out tantrums in the presence of John.
- John has told Maria himself he never wants to see Grace again.
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FF-1-86b
Jonestown, Port Kaituma
North West District, Guyana
Affidavit of
Maria Katsaris
I, Maria Katsaris being duly sworn, declare:
I have known Grace Stoen for five years and John Stoen since he was just a few months old. In all this time I have never known her to take care for him. Ever since he was an infant she had other people take care of him. She never spent time with him and instead of patiently explaining things to him or answering his questions she would ignore him. She would even call him stupid. Also instead of correcting him in a way he could learn from when he did something wrong, she would yell at him and hit him. As John got older, Grace would often fondle him in a sexual manner and I have even seen her kiss him on the mouth at different times.
Grace would neglect John and at the time when she didn’t have him with her she did not even bother to see that he ate or took a bath. He was up at all hours of the night because she did not put him to bed. He would go for days in the same dirty clothes. John often remarked that he knew Grace did not care for him, especially when she walked off and left him in July 1976.
When Grace did visit John in August of 1976 he was very upset and acted out terribly. He cried and threw tantrums the entire time of her contact with him. I have never known him to do this except with her. She would often throw tantrums herself that one would expect out of a small child, she would act out in a very immature emotionally unstable manner. I remember one scene in particular when she began screaming pulling her hair, and knocking her head against a wall, all in the presence of John.
John has told me himself he has no desire to ever see Grace again and that she never really was a mother to him.
/s/ Maria Katsaris
Dated August 13, 1977
Witnesses:
[2 blank witness signature lines]
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FF-1-87a
AFFIDAVIT OF MARIA KATSARIS:
- She has taken care of John since Grace deserted him in 1976.
- John and Maria have a strong child-adult relationship.
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FF-1-87b
I have taken care of John since therefore his mother deserted him, I have cared for him since the beginning of the year in 1976. He is very attached to me and has a close child-adult relationship.
/s/ Maria Katsaris
Dated August 14 will, 1977
Witnessed:
[2 blank witness signature lines]
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FF-1-88a
AFFIDAVIT OF MELANIE BREIDENBACH
- Melanie lived one year with Grace Stoen.
- During that time Grace never spent much time with the child John.
- Grace was cruel to John and payed [paid] him no attention. She slapped him for no reason.
- Grace told Melanie John would rather be off with someone else. She feels Grace deserted John intentionally to put him off on someone else.
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FF-1-88b
Jonestown, Port Kaituma
North West District, Guyana
Affidavit of
Melanie Breidenbach
I, Melanie Breidenbach, being duly sworn, declare:
I knew Grace Stoen for almost two years and lived with her for one of those years. During the time that I lived with her she never spent much time with her son. When he was home with us she was cruel to him and payed [paid] no attention to him, she would yell at him for no reason, slap him, discipline him when he was doing nothing, she neglected him by always putting him off on someone else to watch. I felt that she didn’t care for him at all by the way she acted towards him when he was home. She told me herself that she felt he would be better off with someone else. It feel it was just a cop-out so she wouldn’t have to take up her time taking care of him properly and give him the attention and care a child needs to grow. I feel that she just deserted him and put him off for someone else to take care of.
Melanie Breidenbach
Dated August 14, 1977
Witnessed:
[2 blank lines]
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FF-1-89a (99876)
AFFIDAVIT OF MELANIE BREIDENBACH
- 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.
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FF-1-89b
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]
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FF-1-90a
AFFIDAVIT OF CHRISTINE LUCIENTES
- Friend of Grace Stoen’s for seven years.
- Narcissism in Grace made her seek support and reassurance from John, frequently asking John if he loved her. The child was under great emotional strain with her.
- Grace threw an uncontrolled temper tantrum in front of John.
- John expressed fear of Walter Jones to Christine. John expressed desire to kill Walter if he tried to take him away to Grace.
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FF-1-90b
Jonestown, Port Kaituma
North West District, Guyana
Affidavit of
Christine R. Lucientes
I, Christine R. Lucientes, being duly sworn, declare:
Grace Stoen was a friend of mine for several years and I had the opportunity to become acquainted with some of her negative personality traits. Because I babysat her son on a consistent basis I further was made aware of the affect [effect] that those patterns had on him.
Grace is a very immature person whose narcissism requires continual positive support from others, including her son. Instead of being a supportive mother to the needs of John Stoen, she sought reassurance from the child himself. I have heard her frequently ask him if he loved her, if the child didn’t answer in a manner that seemed appropriate to her, her face showed vivid disappointment. I felt the child was unduly pressured by such emotional expectations and acted out accordingly.
I recall on a bus trip back to San Francisco from Los Angeles that Grace was awakened from her sleep and asked to attend to her child that she had left without appointing anyone to supervise. She became hysterical at what she interpreted to be a criticism of her abilities as a mother. In front of the child she shrieked, pulled her hair, hit her head against the bus window and slugged herself. Not only was John upset by this display but several children had incredulous looks upon their faces. I was shocked.
After his mother had abandoned him John expressed to me great hostility and fear of Walter Jones. He related a childish fantasy to me of how he would kill Walter if he tried to take him away to Grace. [2 lines illegible due to over-typing] were ever to be put in Grace’s care again.
/s/ Christine R. Lucientes
Dated August 13, 1977
Witnesses:
[two witness signature lines blank]
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FF-1-91a (99939)
AFFIDAVIT OF JOAN PURSLEY
- 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.
- Grace manipulated John to say he loved her. Gave sporadic affection, to John to satisfy her own needs.
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FF-1-91b
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]
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FF-1-92a
AFFIDAVIT OF JOAN PURSLEY
- Grace neglected John.
- Once Grace told John to wait for her and she did not come back to get him. John told Joan he did not believe she would be back, that she did not care about him.
- [3.] Grace would hug John in a sexual manner that was inappropriate for a child.
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FF-1-92b
Affidavit of
Joan Pursley
Jonestown, Port Kaituma,
North West District, Guyana
I, Joan Pursley, duly sworn, declare:
When Grace was in Peoples Temple she neglected her son John. Once about 2 years ago we were on one of our summer trips and I was watching John in the park and Grace walked up to him and said, “I’ll be back and then we’ll go to the store.” She then left, John turned to me and expressed his belief that she would not be back, that she really didn’t care about him that’s why she wouldn’t be back. This struck me as very sad. He sounded so certain that she wouldn’t be back and she didn’t come back until late that night.
Another thing that really bothered me about her was that she would manipulate him and ask him if he loved her and if he cared for her. She would hug all over him in a sexual manner that was inappropriate for a child.
/s/Joan Pursley
Dated August 14, 1977
Witnessed:
[illegible signature]