Defense Diaries Podcast
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GARDENS OF EVIL: Inside the Zion Society Cult Podcast - Investigator Mike King Tells All
Posted
February 3, 2026
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February 3, 2026
5,653
520
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1:16:40Now Playing🔴 LIVE on Defense Diaries — Bob Motta and Ali sit down with retired law enforcement investigator and criminal profiler Mike King to discuss his new podcast "Gardens of Evil: Inside the Zion Society Cult" and his book "Deceived."
For over a decade, a quiet neighborhood in Ogden, Utah hid a terrifying secret. Behind the perfectly manicured lawns lived more than a hundred members of the Zion Society — a doomsday cult led by a soft-spoken landscaper who proclaimed himself a prophet of God. Weapons were stockpiled. Children were taken from their parents and groomed for abuse. And the whole operation hid in plain sight until one brave woman walked into an investigator's office and changed everything.
Mike King was that investigator. With over 40 years in law enforcement — including service as an investigator in the Weber County Attorney's Office and the Utah Attorney General's Office, criminal profiling training under the FBI, and work on the Emmy Award-winning documentary "Who Killed King Tut?" — Mike led the 1991 takedown of the Zion Society. Now he's bringing the full story to a new audience through the Gardens of Evil podcast on the Gamut Podcast Network.
In this live conversation, we break down:
⚖️ How the investigation unfolded from the defense and prosecution perspectives
🔍 The challenges of investigating crimes against children inside a secretive cult
🧠 How cult leaders use coercive control to manipulate followers
📖 The story behind Mike's book "Deceived" and why victims reconnected 30 years later
🎙️ What to expect from the Gardens of Evil podcast series
This is the kind of case that exposes the failures — and the triumphs — of the criminal justice system. You don't want to miss it.
🔔 Subscribe and hit the bell so you don't miss when we go LIVE!
👇 LINKS 👇
🎧 Gardens of Evil Podcast
📕 "Deceived" by Mike King available on Amazon
🎥 Profiling Evil YouTube: @ProfilingEvil
#defensediaries #GardensOfEvil #ZionSociety #MikeKing #cultinvestigation #Deceived #criminalprofiling #truecrimepodcast #livestream #profilingevil
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