While Searching Warren Jeffs's Compound, Investigators Found a Secret Fault Filled With Horrors

In 2002, Warren Jeffs succeeded his father Rulon Jeffs as the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS) prophet, reported ABC News. He immediately imposed more strict rules such as no television, books, movies, or popular music. The women in the church were told they had to "keep sweet" by way of obeying their husbands and not displaying any emotions of their own.

Four years after his ascension, Jeffs would be arrested in Las Vegas in August 2006. He had been on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list since May and was apprehended for "alleged sexual assault of a minor in 2002 and for one count of conspiracy to commit sexual assault with a minor that same year," per the FBI. He was later sentenced to life in prison. When authorities raided Warren Jeffs's compound, they discovered mountains of disturbing evidence in a secret vault.

In the Netflix documentary Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey, former Schleicher County Sheriff Dave Doran described what he saw when investigators raided Jeffs's ranch in Texas. Everything on the fourth floor of the house was white, from the carpet to the walls to the drapes. "I mean it was almost glowing," said Doran. It was very unsettling.

When they got to the back room, authorities found an archway with a sheer white curtain over it. Once they passed through it, they stumbled upon another room. Looking visibly uncomfortable, Doran revealed that they discovered a bed in the second room. "It was actually like an altar, where you'd carry a person and put them on that bed," he explained further. This set the tone for what authorities would find next.

In the basement was a massive vault that investigators were unable to crack. That's when they brought in a jackhammer. This went on for hours. Once inside, they found "audio tapes of Jeffs allegedly sexually assaulting the 12-year-old girl, just a fraction of the staggering amount of evidence seized at the ranch that led to the 55-year-old Jeffs' swift conviction," per Deseret News.

According to The Salt Lake Tribune, in 2018 Jeffs's ranch was converted into a sober living facility. The 29,000-square-foot house was bought by Glyn and Jena Jones from Jeffs’s 65th wife, Briell Decker. The Joneses work with the faith-based Dream Center network which started in Phoenix, Ariz. Not only did they plan to help people suffering from addiction, but the couple also hoped to help former FLDS members transition out of the church.

Despite the fact that some aspects of the original design still remained, such as a secret room beneath the main entrance, the Joneses worked hard to make the facility a place where community can gather. For Decker, she just wanted to turn something dark into something light. "I wanted it to benefit other people," she told the Salt Lake Tribune.