GRAND BLANC TOWNSHIP, Mich. — The man who killed four people in a Michigan church while setting it ablaze long harbored hatred toward the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, according to longtime friends, and told a stranger who showed up at his door days before the attack that Mormons were the "antichrist."

The suspect, identified as Thomas Jacob Sanford, 40, began making those sentiments known years ago after his return from Utah, where he dated but broke up with a girlfriend who was a member of the Mormon faith, two childhood friends said Tuesday. Sanford moved to Utah after leaving the Marines and told his friends he became addicted to methamphetamines.

No longer the happy-go-lucky kid who was voted class clown, Sanford routinely spouted off about his grievances against the

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