KIRTLAND, Ohio — The following is part one of our five-part series: "Bloodline and Blind Faith: Untold Stories of the Kirtland Cult Killings," a look at the 1989 Kirtland cult killing of the Avery family by Jeff Lundgren and his followers.

Jeff Lundgren grew up in Missouri, in a home defined by strict faith and a controlling, abusive father.

“It was a lonely life. I had few playmates and I had few friends,” Lundgren once admitted.

Eventually, he realized force brought power.

“I was very proud of myself the day I was finally big enough,” he recalled of fighting back against his father. “He [Jeff’s father] said, ‘I’m going to take you back to that fence,’ and I stood up, looked him in the eye and said, ‘Let’s go.’”

Credit: File

Jeff left college and served aboard a Navy ship during

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