Jay Whitman

Jay Elijah Whitman (b. December 21st, 1933) is an American criminal and cult leader most infamous for his role in the murder of Olympian Margaret Kelly.

Whitman was born in Boise, Idaho. His father abandoned the family when he was only four months old, and from then on he was raised by his teenage mother by herself. After a stint in juvenile hall, he was disowned by his family and headed westward to Wyoming.

There, he meet and began courting Sarah Armstrong in 1952. The pair were married four years later, and moved to Montana. In 1963, Sarah divorced Jay after he was sentenced to five years in prison for forgery.

In 1968, he met then seventeen year old Alex Altman. Two months later, seventeen year old Sasha Adams was recruited. The group would continue to pick up members before forming a commune near the Eagle Rock Campground in Colorado. In 1971, he was arrested and tried alongside the group for five murders.

As former member Helen Linton wrote in a 1987 article, "he is somehow both the most in tune the needs of other people and yet, has no regard for anyone for anyone other than himself."

Early Life and First Imprisonment
Jay was born Jay Elijah Whitman on December 21st, 1933, to sixteen-year-old Anna Whitman (née Hughes). His father, Louis, was eighteen and a waiter at a local diner. The two were hastily married but it was a loveless union, and he left Anna six months after Jay was born.

While Anna loved her son, she was unprepared to be a mother.

Marriage and Children
In late 1956, Sarah discovered she was pregnant.

Sarah was incensed upon learning of Whitman's crimes, and promptly divorced him.

Meeting Alex Altman
Whitman was released from prison in April 1968.

Expanding Group
In the summer and fall of 1969, Whitman added three to his following; Debbie Stone, Claire Fox and Blake Johnson.

Eagle Rock
By mid-1970, Whitman was growing bored in Kansas.

Kelly Murders
In June 1971, Altman met seventeen year old runaway Michelle Valens and recruited her to the group.

Legacy
Whitman fathered five children in his life, four daughters and one son. One, Susan, died at the age of two in 1963. A second, Esther, committed suicide at age 18 in 1988.