Seantum was a Nephite and member of the Gadianton robbers, a secret band dedicated to murderous conspiracies and power grabs. He is notably infamous for the murder of his own brother, Seezoram, who was serving as the chief judge in Zarahemla around 23 B.C. His heinous act was a clandestine attempt to usurp the judgment-seat, an act of betrayal within a family entrusted with the administration of justice in Nephite society.
Nephi, son of Helaman, and a prophet at that time, publicly announced the murder and identified Seantum as the murderer even before the crime had been discovered by the people (Helaman 8:27-28). When Nephi was wrongly accused of conspiracy in the chief judge’s death, he instructed the people to confront Seantum, who would initially deny but subsequently confirm his guilt. True to Nephi’s prophecy, investigators, upon visiting Seantum’s residence, noted his agitation and found blood on the skirts of his cloak, a physical evidence of the crime he had tried to conceal. Overcome with fear when faced with the irrefutable evidence, Seantum confessed to the murder of his brother (Helaman 9:26-38).
This event was pivotal not just for exposing a member of a secret society but also for validating Nephi’s prophetic authority, as some spectators recognized the divine insight in Nephi’s pronouncement regarding Seantum’s guilt. However, the record does not preserve any details about Seantum’s subsequent fate or any legal retribution that might have been levied against him for his crime.