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| “ | I had a revelation. | „ |
| ~ Landon justifying his abuse of his underage wife |
Wyatt Landon is the main antagonist of the Law & Order episode "Lost Boys". He is the leader and self-styled "prophet" of a religious cult who brainwashes a teenage girl into marrying him and bearing his children, and who is indirectly responsible for a member of his cult murdering his own brother.
He was portrayed by Colm Meaney, who also portrayed Harold Garrett in Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Captain Myles Standish in Free Birds, King of Hearts in Alice, and Pat Farrell in Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa.
Early life[]
Landon is a Mormon fundamentalist who founded his own sect, the Church of the True Path, and declared himself a "prophet"who had visions from God that supposedly gave him the right to run his followers' lives and marry multiple teenage girls, who were all expected to bear him children. He and his cult settled in Boyd Canyon, Arizona, where the local government did his bidding.
He married a 16-year-old girl named Michelle against her will when he was 52, and she bore him two sons, Eric and Ephraim. He treated her like a sex slave, regularly raping her and forbidding her to have a life outside of him. He also used his children to commit welfare fraud; he conned a social worker into believing that Eric had asthma and needed disability insurance by exposing the boy to feathers, to which he was allergic.
When Michelle was 19, she fell in love with Patrick Friendly, a 21-year-old member of the church who promised to marry her and help her and her children escape Landon's abuse. Landon eventually found out and excommunicated Patrick and his younger brothers, Luke and Caleb. Michelle nevertheless managed to escape from him by running to New York City with Patrick and his brothers. She was taken in by Brian and Joan Weimer, two former Church of the True Path members who fostered boys whom Landon threw out of the church.
Landon kept custody of Eric and Ephraim and refused to let Michelle see them, as well as threatening her with eternal damnation (and implied physical violence) unless she returned to him. When that didn't work, he contacted Caleb, who was homesick, and promised to let him back into the church if he delivered Michelle to him. Caleb tried to trick Michelle into coming with him by saying that she could get her children back. Patrick stopped him, however, and an argument ensued that ended with Patrick stabbing his brother to death.
"Lost Boys"[]
NYPD Homicide Detectives Cyrus Lupo and Kevin Bernard investigate Caleb's murder and eventually discover his connection to Landon, as well as what Landon did to Michelle. After arresting Patrick for Caleb's murder, they locate Michelle, who tells them that Landon has been trying to track her down to bring her back to the cult. They also find that Landon and two of his followers are in nearby Palmeira, New York. Because Landon is trying to forcibly take Michelle somewhere she does not want to go, the detectives arrest him for attempted kidnapping.
At his arraignment, Landon successfully petitions the court to force Michelle to appear at trial, arguing that he has a right to confront his accuser. He also persuades the trial judge to exclude any mention of his religion, including his polygamy, which robs Executive Assistant District Attorney Michael Cutter and Assistant District Attorney Connie Rubirosa of a chance to show the jury why Michelle ran away. Finally, he has his cronies in Boyd Canyon issue an arrest warrant for Michelle for child abandonment.
During the hearing into the arrest warrant, Michelle testifies that Landon forced her to marry him and that he sexually abuses her. Landon, meanwhile, testifies that he never abused or raped Michelle, and that she is lying about him and his church to justify having run away from him and their children. The judge quashes the warrant, but the prosecution is dealt another blow when Michelle discovers that she is pregnant with Landon's child and decides to return to the cult so she can raise her children together in a financially comfortable home. Realizing that this is the last decision Michelle will make of her own free will, Cutter and Rubirosa reluctantly drop the charges against Landon. He is last seen ordering Michelle to leave with him.
External links[]
- Wyatt Landon on the Law & Order Wiki
