Doomsday Duo charged for taking teen out of Arizona ahead of apocalypse

A woman accused of illegally transporting her teenage son out of Arizona in preparation for the apocalypse is back in the state to face criminal charges.

Maricopa County sheriff’s deputies extradited Spring Thibaudeau and her brother, Brook Hale, from Fairbanks, Alaska, earlier this month after they allegedly took Thibaudeau’s son — Blaze Thibaudeau, now 17, but who was 16 at the time — out of state over their beliefs that he is to be “the herald of the Second Coming of Christ,” according to court documents.

Spring Thibaudeau, 49, and Hale, 48, are charged with custodial interference and conspiracy to commit custodial interference in the Oct. 23 incident. Blaze Thibaudeau allegedly was taken from Gilbert High School without the permission of his father, Benjamin Thibaudeau.

Blaze Thibaudeau was flown from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport to Boise, Idaho. Along for the ride was his sister Abigail Snarr, 23. In Boise, they met Hale and left in a white Lexus SUV, headed for the “Canadian mountains,” the court reported.

The abduction drew international attention. The foursome reportedly was intercepted trying to cross the Alaska-Canada border. Alaska State Troopers arrested Hale and Spring Thibaudeau on warrants from Maricopa County. Blaze Thibaudeau has since been “safely returned to his father,” according to court documents.

Both Hale and Spring Thibaudeau are being held on $500,000 bonds. The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office released videos of deputies arriving at the Intake, Transfer and Release jail on South 28th Drive, first with Hale on Dec. 13 and the next day with Thibaudeau. The videos show the pair being booked and outfitted in standard orange jail pajamas.

Benjamin Thibaudeau told police that “both Spring and Brook have become increasingly religious and specifically focused on topics pertaining to the end of the world and the ‘apocalypse,’” according to probable cause statements.

In divorce filings by Benjamin Thibaudeau, he accused his wife of being similar to Lori Vallow Daybell, the “Doomsday Mom” who murdered her two children and was extradited to Arizona on Nov. 30 to face charges in the killing of her fourth husband, Charles Vallow.

“Several years ago, (Spring Thibaudeau) started forming belief in end of the world scenarios, eerily similar to the well-publicized Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell saga, which also took place between Gilbert and Idaho and which culminated in murdered children,” Benjamin Thibaudeau said in the court filing.

Vallow Daybell reportedly believed her children had become “zombies.” They went missing from Chandler in September 2019. Their bodies were located in June 2020, buried in the backyard of the Idaho home of Vallow Daybell's husband and alleged accomplice, Chad Daybell.

Chad Daybell is the author of several novels and memoirs with apocalyptic themes aimed at an audience of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, known colloquially as Mormons.

On Dec. 7, Vallow Daybell, 50, pleaded not guilty to two charges of conspiracy to commit murder in Maricopa County Superior Court. One charge is for the 2019 shooting death of her ex-husband, Charles Vallow. The other charge is for the attempted murder of a Gilbert man, Brandon Boudreaux, the husband of Vallow Daybell’s niece, in 2019.

Both Daybells were Latter-day Saints with extremist beliefs not accepted by the mainstream church.

In an August story for the Idaho Statesman exploring the Daybells’ religious views, reporter Alex Brizee, who covered Vallow Daybell’s trial, described Chad Daybell as believing he “received personal revelations from God” that “certain people … were possessed by dark spirits” that should be “cast out.”

According to Brizee, both Daybells believed “the world would end in July 2020, and that they would lead a group of 144,000 people who the Book of Revelation in the Bible said would be saved during the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.”

‘Mother’s beliefs are insane’

Hale and Spring Thibaudeau seem to hold similar beliefs, according to court records. Media reports identify Spring Thibaudeau as a member of the Latter-day Saints.

Benjamin Thibaudeau told police that “both Spring and Brook have had dreams and ‘premonitions’ from God about the upcoming end of the world,” according to court documents. These premonitions identified Blaze Thibaudeau as a “Davidic herald of the second coming of Jesus Christ,” who “needed to be protected from the upcoming apocalypse” by “taking Blaze to the ‘mountains’ to keep him safe.”

In a motion filed in October as part of the divorce case, Benjamin Thibaudeau stated that Blaze Thibaudeau “has strongly resisted his mother’s beliefs” and “strongly believes that Mother’s beliefs are insane.” It added that Blaze Thibaudeau “would not have gone with Mother willingly.”

The motion included a note Hale allegedly wrote to his children, telling them that Jesus Christ “is coming again to the earth very soon” and that he had been “called to assist in preparing the way for his return.”

In the note, Hale distributed his assets among his children and relatives, including 4,000 ounces of silver, the equity in his home, two motorcycles, $11,000 in his safe, and his firearms and ammunition.

“These are all just material things and will not be of much value as we move closer to the end times,” Hale wrote.

He explained that he’s spent years collecting “food storage and emergency preparedness items” in his garage.

“Keep those close as you will likely be using them in the near future,” the letter stated. Hale also asked his family to take care of his pet cat, Isaiah.

The divorce petition was dismissed on Nov. 21 at Benjamin Thibaudeau’s request.