Carolyn Louise Moore Layton (July 13, 1945 – November 18, 1978) was a leadership figure within Peoples Temple and a long-term partner of Temple leader Jim Jones. Along with other inner circle members, she assisted in the planning of the mass murder-suicide that took place in Jonestown, Guyana on November 18, 1978. She was the mother of a child by Jones, Jim Jon "Kimo" Prokes.
Early life
Carolyn Louise Moore was born in Sacramento on July 13, 1945. Her father, John V Moore (1919–2019), was a Methodist minister and a conscientious objector during WWII. Her mother, Barbara Ann Covington (1922–2004) was a homemaker and long-term supporter of the peace movement. In 1946, the family moved to Youngstown, Ohio, where John was pastor of Himrod Avenue Baptist Church.
On Christmas Eve of 1947, Barbara was hospitalised due to complications of an ectopic pregnancy. Carolyn was sent to live with her grandparents back in California while her mother recovered. The six-month separation allegedly took a toll on Carolyn; when left alone in her crib, she would cry inconsolably. It was several weeks before her separation-anxiety seemed to be under control.
In 1949, the Moore family returned to California. John was a pastor in numerous locales throughout Northern California, including Del Paso Heights, Hayward, and Chico. Two more daughters were born: Rebecca (1951) and Annie (1954). Carolyn appeared to be a happy child, making friends at school and church.
Throughout her school years, Carolyn was a high achiever with an active social life. She was concerned with social justice and identified as a Communist. In 1963, she graduated high school in Chico. She worked for the summer as an elevator operator in San Francisco. The following fall, she began her education at UC Davis.
Davis
As a student at UC Davis, Carolyn majored in international relations and was on the college honor roll. She spent her junior year of college in Bordeaux as an exchange student and became engaged to a Frenchman, Alexandre. Carolyn informed her friends and family of her plans to marry Alexandre and remain in France, studying philosophy. The engagement was dissolved, however, and Carolyn returned to Davis, sharing a house with seven girlfriends.
It was one of these girlfriends who introduced Carolyn to Larry Layton, a fellow student and conscientious objector to the Vietnam War. The Moores were surprised by Carolyn's relationship with Larry, who seemed comparatively quiet and passive. The couple married in the summer of 1967. While Larry completed his studies, Carolyn started a teaching credential. She was working as a student teacher at Vacaville High School during the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Carolyn was shocked when her students started cheering at the news.
The following summer, Larry began alternate civilian service at the state mental hospital in Talmage, Mendocino County. Carolyn found a job as a physical education and social studies teacher at Potter Valley High School. Larry was also a substitute teacher in Ukiah Unified School District which included Potter Valley High.When Potter Valley High was closed she taught French at Ukiah High School in nearby Ukiah. (Student of hers at PVHS 1968–1970).The couple left Davis and moved to Potter Valley, not far from Ukiah.
Peoples Temple and Jim Jones
Carolyn and Larry started church-shopping in Ukiah. Within a month, the Moores were receiving letters from their daughter about her progressive new church, Peoples Temple. John was disturbed by what he perceived as the worshipful tone of the letters, particularly with regard to the Temple's pastor, Jim Jones. After a prolonged period of not hearing from Carolyn, the Moores visited Potter Valley, where they discovered that Carolyn was living alone, Larry having gone to Reno to arrange a quickie divorce. Furthermore, Carolyn had a black eye and had started keeping a rifle beside her bed.
Carolyn telephoned Jones to come over and meet her parents. Together, they informed the Moores that they were in love. They also claimed that Jones' wife of twenty years, Marceline, was unable to respond to him sexually and that Jones couldn't get a divorce himself, due to Marceline's purported mental illness. After the meeting, John V Moore concluded of Jones: "A phony preacher. Another Elmer Gantry."
Over the years, Carolyn continued to write letters to her family, extolling Jones' virtues and defending the relationship. She also claimed that Jones was the reincarnation of Vladimir Lenin and she of Lenin's mistress, Inessa Armand.