The son of polygamist cult leader Warren Jeffs who exposed his father's group and revealed he sexually abused his own children has died by suicide at the age of 26.
Roy Jeffs was found dead on Wednesday in his home in Salt Lake City, Utah. He would have turned 27 on June 5.
Roy was one of the first in his family to break away from his father's sect of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and shed light on his father's egregious abuses.
But he struggled to rebuild his life after he was rejected by most of his family and friends.
His death was announced in a touching post by his sister Rachel Jeffs on Friday, where she praised him as a 'fun and loving' brother who was courageous enough to escape the cult.
Roy Jeffs (left), the son of polygamist cult leader Warren Jeffs (right) was found dead by suicide at his Salt Lake City Utah home on Wednesday May 29
Roy Jeffs was one of the first in his family to break away from his father's sect of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in 2014 and shed light on his father's egregious abuses
His death was announced in a touching post by his sister Rachel Jeffs on Friday
'My heart is heavy and I’m sad to say that my fun loving brother Leroy Jeffs, 27 years old, died Wednesday, May 29, 2019. His father, Warren Jeffs treated him the worse of all my brothers. He did not allow Roy to grow up with his siblings and he kept him hidden in houses of hiding most of his growing up life, telling the family that Roy was a bad boy and tried to turn us against him,' she wrote.
'I’m proud of Roy for the courage he’s shown in being the first of my siblings to leave the FLDS cult and trying to figure out life the best he could. Roy was fun and loving and always enjoyed a good laugh. You will be remembered and missed brother!' she added.
Warren Jeffs is the President of the FLDS Church and is considered a prophet among his followers. He's currently serving a sentence of life plus 20 years in Texas after he was convicted of sexually assaulting two girls he married as plural wives in August 2011.
In the polygamous cult he had as many as 87 wives - many of them minors - and has between an estimated 50 to 70 children.
In 2014, Roy Jeffs left the church and in 2015 he spoke publicly saying he was molested by his father when he was four or five - marking the first time any of Warren's children accused him of sexual abuse.
'I remember him saying you should never do this. And then he did it to me,' Roy said to CNN.
Roy said he was molested only one time but the incident scarred him and made him feel like he 'had done something wrong' for the rest of his life.
Roy helped his siblings come forward as well. His sister
