Deadly Vows : the True Story of a Zealous Preacher, a Polygamous Union and a Savage Murder

Sean Goff was a dynamic Pentecostal minister who was already running his own church by the age of twenty-two. He had wed a pliable teenager and bent her to his will, eventually convincing her to agree to his secretly taking a second wife named Joy. Although at first the clandestine arrangement worked well, problems soon began to surface. Leif Wright, Sean’s friend and co-worker, confronted Sean about his hidden polygamous lifestyle, which threatened to scandalize their employer, a world-famous televangelist. Sean’s foray into polygamy led to his association with an online community where he earned respect by dispensing advice to other evangelical polygamists. He derided divorce as the sign of a weak man who didn’t know how to lead his women. It was especially troublesome to Sean when Joy hinted that she wasn’t happy and wanted to have a meaningful career. Then Joy suddenly disappeared, although friends continued to receive her e-mails. The messages seemed strange, and some wondered whether she was really traveling around Europe. Leif Wright takes his readers into the mind of a ruthless, controlling killer in this straight-from-the-headlines true crime saga, leaving us all to question just how well any of us really knows our neighbors, friends and spouses. Leif Wright knew Sean Goff, a powerful and engaging Antioch minister and missionary for 16 years and never had any indication that Sean might be a sociopath until he was subpoenaed to testify against him. As Leif approached the witness stand, Sean smiled at him and winked. It was then that Leif realized, as discerning and intelligent as he thought he was, that Sean had completely fooled him throughout their long friendship. Leif's best friend was a cold-blooded killer, and he had unknowingly helped Sean think of ways to escape apprehension for his sadistic crime. Deadly Vows is a true story of betrayal and the murder of Joy Risker, whose mutilated remains were found buried beneath a stack of lava rocks in 2003. Her fingertips had been severed, her teeth sawed out and her face smashed with a blunt object. Just who is the real Sean Goff? a powerful, engaging man of God or a brutal psychopath and polygamist? Best friend and accomplished journalist Leif M. Wright takes readers into the mind of the killer in this horrifying, straight-from-the-headlines true crime saga, leaving all to question just how well any of us really knows our neighbors, friends and spouses Describes the investigation into the disappearance of Joy Risker, second wife of San Diego Pentacostal evangelist and polygamist, Sean Goff, the discovery of Risker's remains in a shallow grave in Arizona just north of the Mexican border, and the trial that ended in Goff's conviction for her murder