Disclaimer: This article contains mentions of murder and abuse. Reader discretion is advised.
Evil Lives Here‘s upcoming episode will revolve around the horrific crimes of cult leader Anna Young. She was caught decades after her crimes when her daughter reported that Young might have been involved in the murder of a toddler. The episode “Murder in the House of Prayer” will air on ID on Sunday, March 24, 2024, at 9 p.m. ET on Investigation Discovery.
Anna Young was the leader of an Alachua County cult called House of Prayers. In 2021, she was convicted of the second-degree murder of a toddler and manslaughter of a three-year-old. The toddler, Emon Harper, was starved and beaten to death in 1989. Harper’s body was never found.
Katonya Jackson, a victim of manslaughter, was reportedly locked in a closet and deprived of her medicine, which led to her death in 1983. Katonya was having multiple seizures. Her family believes they were a result of the abuse and malnourishment, reported The Gainesville Sun.
The deaths that occurred decades ago remained a secret among the members of the cult until Joy Fluker, Anna Young’s daughter, reported to the Alachua County Sheriff’s deputies. After she shared her suspicions about her mother’s involvement in Emon Harper’s death, authorities then began investigating the House of Prayers’ activities.
Young was sentenced to 30 years in prison for the murder of Emon Harper and 15 years for the manslaughter charge against Katonya Jackson. The sentences were to be served concurrently. Anna Young was 79 when she was convicted and sentenced to prison.
How did Anna Young die?
CBS 4 reported that 42 days after being sentenced to serve time in prison, Young died in state custody on March 31, 2021. She was serving time at the Florida Women’s Reception Center in Ocala when the Florida Department of Corrections announced her death. According to Oxygen, Young likely died after contracting COVID-19 while in custody.
The House of Prayer reportedly started as a haven for people who had committed wrongdoings. Joy Fluker told First Coast News that the members wished to turn their lives around. The cult promised its members financial security, second chances, and salvation. Anna Young also started running a religious boarding school. She gathered around two dozen cult members, including the students of the school. They began calling Young “Mother Anna” and looked at her as the voice of God.
Anna Young reportedly fled the country in 1992 when she was wanted on a child abuse charge of bathing a 12-year-old child, Nikki Nickelsen, in a tub of bleach, causing severe burns. First Coast News reported that Young also instructed and even coerced one of the members to abandon her child in Puerto Rico. She forced a man to cut off his penis as punishment for engaging in sexual intercourse.
In the decade before that, between 1983 and 1992, the House of Prayer was an active cult. Members were forced to follow and accept Young’s rigid interpretations of the Bible. Much later, the former members reported severe abuse. This included physical abuse, forced labor, being locked in a box, and prolonged starvation.
Evil Lives Here’s upcoming episode will air on ID on Sunday, March 24, 2024, at 9 p.m. ET.
