Roy Jeff’s, who spoke out publicly against his father Warren Jeffs, has died
Leroy "Roy" Jeff's, who spoke out publicly against his father Warren Jeffs, has died.
According to a post by his sister Rachel Jeffs, Roy Jeffs, who would have turned 27 on June 5, died at his home on Wednesday, May 29.
Leroy Jeffs was described by his sister as "fun loving brother who wanted to make the world a better and happier place. He loved to laugh and had a good sense of humor."
Rachel Jeffs said her heart is heavy for her brother who was disowned and treated bad by his father.
"He did not allow Roy to grow up with his siblings, and he kept him hidden in houses of hiding most of his growing up life, telling the family that Roy was a bad boy and tried to turn us against him" said Rachel Jeffs in her post. "I'm proud of Roy for the courage he's shown in being the first of my siblings to leave the FLDS cult and trying to figure out life the best he could."
Rachel Jeffs said he tried to rebuild his life after being rejected by most his family and friends.
"He tried hard to find his mother and make contact with her but was unable to do so," said Jeffs.
Roy Jeffs sat down with Nick McGurk, a reporter for ABC4 back in February, 2018, four years after he left the FLDS church.
He described his life living in a polygamist family as very bad and said he has about 50 siblings, so his dad never had time for him.
"There were times he went out of his way to shun me. Just seeing how my mom was treated - she was treated horribly by my dad. Just a lot of psychological abuse," said Jeffs.
Roy Jeffs wanted to share his experience to help others and said to remember there are people in the FLDS communities who are good people and believe what they are doing is right.
You can read the full article and watch the interview at ABC4.com.
As of Sunday, funeral arrangements have not been announced. For those who want to help the family, a GofundMe was created, saying they wanted to give Roy an honorable funeral.
If you or someone you know needs help, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 24-hour support at 1-800-273-8255.
Story provided by our News Partners at ABC 4 News.