Carolyn Moore Layton

A 2018 A&E documentary, Jonestown: The Women Behind the Massacre, focused on four women who were close to Jim Jones, including Carolyn Moore Layton. Australian author Laura Elizabeth Woollett's novel Beautiful Revolutionary is largely based on the life of Layton, who she fictionalises as 'Evelyn Lynden'. Episode 14 of Criminal Broads, a podcast about women on the wrong side of the law, closely covers Layton's story.

Along with members of Jonestown's medical staff, Carolyn was aware of Jones' abuse of pharmaceuticals. In 1978, she was observed shooting him up with a substance he claimed was Vitamin B-12.

In mid-1977, the publication of a critical article in New West magazine prompted Jones to permanently relocate to the Peoples Temple Agricultural Project in Guyana. Over the following two months, over a thousand of his followers joined him there, including Carolyn.

In 1974, Carolyn asked her parents if she could live with them in Berkeley for a few months; she was pregnant with Jones' child. During her pregnancy, Carolyn pressured her father to perform her wedding by proxy to a Temple member named Mike Prokes, so that her child would be legitimate. On January 31, 1975, Carolyn gave birth to a son, Jim Jon Prokes – nicknamed 'Kimo'.

Some who were close to Carolyn noted a change in her personality after she began her affair with Jones, from an amusing and free-thinking young woman to a "ruthless authoritarian". While never occupying a public position within the Temple, Carolyn became known as Jones' "Go to Guy". Her intimate relationship with Jones was concealed from the Temple's wider membership, yet Jones encouraged his children to view Carolyn as a stepmother of sorts, taking them on family outings where they often enjoyed luxuries that were forbidden to the Temple's rank-and-file. A 1974 affidavit by Marceline Jones requested that all her mothering responsibilities be taken on by Carolyn in the event of her death.

In 1972, Carolyn's youngest sister, Annie, visited the Temple and was convinced to stay.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.