Who Were Heaven's Gate?

The Mass Suicide: "Earthly Containers"

The bodies were discovered on March 26, 1997.

There were 39 men and women ranging in age from 26-72 (21 women and 18 men) .

They were identically dressed in black shirts, pants, and Nikes with a purple shroud.

The cult members had taken mass doses of barbiturates.

When found, their bodies were in various stages of decomposition.

They left their "earthly containers" behind to join aliens who would take them to the next level of existence.

The aliens were in a spaceship traveling behind the Hale-Bopp comet.

The Cult: "Evolutionary Level Above Human"

Heaven's Gate was led by Marshall Heff Applewhite, known as "Do" (formerly "Bo") and Bonnie Lu Nettles, known as "Ti" (formerly "Peep").

The cult began in the early 1970s.

They started actively recruiting on the Internet in the mid-1990s.

Members of the cult had a Web consulting business, Higher Source.

They lived in a house in Rancho Santa Fe, a wealthy community in San Diego.

Their Beliefs: The Last Judgement?

See the Heaven's Gate homepage and manifesto.