Introducing: CONSPIRACY THEORIES, CULTS, AND CRIMES

journeys into the absolute darkest corners of human behavior. We're talking mass suicides, political assassinations, secret government experiments, and u FO cults that will leave you staring at the ceiling at three am. If you're like me and you live for those stories that seem too twisted to be real but absolutely are, this show is about to become your new obsession. Coming up. I've got a preview from their debut episode, diving into the Heaven's Gate Cult, and trust me,

it's Matt. Make sure you follow Conspiracy Theories, Cults and Crimes on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Marshall was eager to please growing up. He attended church regularly and wanted to become a minister just like his father. But while Marshall was a staunch Christian, he was also interested in looking elsewhere for the answers to life's biggest questions. So when it was time for him to go to college in the late nineteen forties or early fifties, Marshall decided to study philosophy at Austin College in Sherman, Texas, and he made a splash on campus right away. Classmates

remembered Marshall as an extrovert with a magnetic personality. Along with joining the Association of Prospective Presbyterian Ministers, Marshall was a talented singer who led the school's a cappella group. It seemed like whatever Marshall set his mind to, he would achieve it, and when it came time to graduate in nineteen fifty two, the twenty year old decided to

follow in his father's footsteps. That year, he enrolled at Virginia's Union Theological Seminary, but even though he enjoyed diving deeper into Presbyterian theology, he still felt like something was missing, so after two years he decided to change course. He dropped out and studied music and voice instead. Marshall had an undeniable gift. For a while, he even dreamed of a career in opera or acting, but life had other plans. Ever since high school, Marshall had been dating a woman

named Anne Pierce. She was a fellow Texan who shared Marshall's religious beliefs, and despite being long distance while Marshall was at seminary school, they both stayed loyal. In nineteen fifty two, around the same time Marshall dropped out and studied music, he and Anne got married. Before long, they'd settled down in suburban Houston and had two children. At this point, Marshall knew he'd never be a big star, but he could use his voice to support his family.

Soon he became the choral director at Houston's Saint Mark's Episcopal Church, as well as a music professor at the University of Saint Thomas, also in Houston. He was good at what he did, but deep down, Marshall was restless and unhappy because there was one thing he'd never told anyone. He was bisexual. From a young age, Marshall had been taught to hide who he was or face the wrath of people like his father. For decades. He'd succeeded, but it had put a wall between him and those around him.

By the mid sixties, Marshall felt alienated from his wife and kids and resentful of his quiet, suburban life. Eventually, he couldn't repress those feelings any longer, and it would cost him everything. Sometime in nineteen sixty five, when Marshall was thirty three years old, he allegedly began an affair with a male student at the University of Saint Thomas. The details are murky, but eventually Ann found out. She

was furious and immediately separated from Marshall. Three years later, in nineteen sixty eight, the couple officially divorced and got custody of their two children. Not long after that, in nineteen seventy, the university learned about Marshall's rumored relationship with the student, and he was fired. Feeling lost and alone, spent two years drifting around the country searching for his purpose. Because of the Presbyterian Church's stance on sexuality, Marshall no

longer felt welcome there. It was a huge blow to his sense of self. For his whole life, Marshall had found meaning and community through his congregation, and he still yearned for that feeling of belonging, but now he'd have to find it outside of conventional religion. Soon, he found a new sense of spirituality in the form of more eccentric subjects, including astrology, science fiction, ancient mysticism, and UFOs. While exploring these ideas, Marshall supported himself by dabbling in

small ventures. At some point, he even ran a sandwich shop in New Mexico, but nothing seemed to stick. So in nineteen seventy two, forty year old Marshall returned to Houston. He was looking for a fresh start, for someone to build his life with, because despite his newfound interests, he was still very much alone. He had no partner and no relationship with his two children, fifteen year old Mark

and thirteen year old Lane. It seemed like Marshall would never feel whole again, and then he met Bonnie lu Nettles. On the surface, Bonnie was just as ordinary as Marshall. Born in Houston in nineteen twenty seven, she was the second of three children in a working class Baptist family. She married young, built a life as a nurse, and raised four children in the suburbs. But as the years went by, she felt increasingly out of place in the

tidy routines of family life. Like Marshall, Bonnie felt like an outsider. Her daughter described her as someone who never really fit into society. She was a dreamer who liked to stare at the night sky and pretend a UFO would take her away. So it wasn't a surprise that Bonnie turned to New Age spirituality for answers. She explored astrology, theosophy, and fringe ideas about life and the universe. Her nights were filled with study groups and seances, which often left

her straight laced husband bewildered for perspective. She once told him that she was getting life advice from a dead monk named Brother Francis. By nineteen seventy two, it was clear that forty four year old Bonnie and her husband weren't a good fit. It was a difficult moment for Bonnie. Her marriage was failing and her future felt uncertain. All she knew was that a fortune teller had predicted a tall,

fair skinned man would one day change her life. That person came in the form of Marshall Applewhite.