I Was the Detective Who Took Down the Zion Society Cult — Here's What Happened | Mike King
September 29, 2026
AI Summary
5 min readThe Detective Who Took Down a Doomsday Cult
Mike King spent decades in law enforcement—patrol officer, SWAT operator, detective, criminal profiler. But his career changed direction the day a young woman walked into the district attorney's office where he worked, shook his hand with a confident grip, and said: "I'm involved in a cult that's sexually abusing children. Do you have a minute to talk to me?"
That woman, Aaron, had spent two and a half years inside the Zion Society, a polygamist doomsday cult hiding in plain sight in Utah. She had left on her own and spent two months wrestling with her conscience before coming forward. King's investigation would lead to the rescue of 32 children, the conviction of 12 people, and more than 4,000 documented rapes of children.
The Investigation: Corroborating the Unthinkable
King had no experience investigating cults. His mental model came from the Satanic Panic era—people twisting their heads around like The Exorcist. What he found was something different: a former Mormon excommunicate who built his own church, married 28 women ranging from age 59 down to age 2, and taught that he was the only pathway to paradise. The doctrine evolved from polygamy to "spiritual lesbianism" among the women, and eventually to introducing children to "the sexual way of life."
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What you'll learn
- 1 (00:22) **The Walk-In That Changed Everything** - A young woman walks into the DA's office and tells Mike King she is in a cult that is sexually abusing children, launching a career-defining investigation.
- 2 (25:55) **Defining the Cult and Its Leader** - Mike describes the leader of the Zion Society, an excommunicated Latter-day Saint who used religious teachings to justify polygamy and child sexual abuse.
- 3 (41:54) **The Investigative Challenge: Corroborating the Unthinkable** - Mike explains the crucial process of building a case from a single witness's testimony, focusing on the need for corroboration before taking action.
- 4 (50:22) **The First Bricks: Finding Corroborating Witnesses** - Mike details the step-by-step process of finding witnesses who could confirm Aaron's testimony, starting with a child who had escaped the cult.
- 5 (62:55) **The Chess Match: Surveillance and Secrecy** - Mike describes the delicate balance of gathering evidence without tipping off the cult, who were preparing for a confrontation.
- 6 (71:49) **The Search Warrant: Putting Integrity on the Line** - Mike recounts the moment he presented his case to a judge to get a "no-knock" search warrant for the entire compound.
- 7 (77:58) **Bust Day: The Raid on the Compound** - Mike describes the morning of the raid with 70 officers, the tension of the briefing, and the discovery of hidden weapons.
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Show Notes
Mike King started his career on patrol and SWAT with the Ogden City Police Department in Utah before becoming the lead investigator in the 1991 Zion Society case, involving a 120-member polygamist doomsday cult led by self-proclaimed prophet Arvin Shreeve. After a member came forward and revealed what was happening inside the group, Mike and his team launched a secret 24-day investigation that ended with coordinated raids on multiple homes, 32 children being removed from the group, and Shreeve and several members ultimately going to prison. Mike later led multi-agency task forces, served as Chief of Staff to the Utah Attorney General, trained in criminal profiling, and created Profiling Evil.
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Connect with Mike King:
Website: https://profilingevil.com/about/
Book: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B092NZ4GJP?ccs_id=f3feb9b3-1dbe-4ce9-ad29-5791e32c6ee7
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Hosted, Executive Produced & Edited By Ian Bick:
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Timestamps:
00:00 Mike King's Beginning 01:13 Growing Up in Salt Lake City 04:42 A Father's Legacy 05:31 Path to Law Enforcement 08:09 Applying Life Lessons 12:07 Surviving Electrocution 15:42 Early Days as a Cop 22:31 Impactful Calls 24:59 Life as a SWAT Officer 28:04 Finding Common Ground 30:00 Joining the DA's Office 34:49 The Encounter That Changed Everything 36:
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