S01 Episode 3 Extra: Heaven's Gate

in store. Airport Home Appliance, unbeatable price selection and people. Welcome to the first Unexplained Extra. For the weeks in between episodes, we'll be taking a look at the stories that for some reason or other didn't make it into the show. For last week's episode, do you See what I See? We came across a story that demonstrates the sheer power of belief and how one man's interpretation of the arrival of the hail Bob comment led to the

death of thirty nine people. The story begins in nineteen seventy two with a Houston born nurse named Bonnie Nettles. Nettles was in every way the typical suburban Texan, married to a local businessman with whom she shared four children. Some might say she had it all, but things, as they often are, weren't quiet as they seemed. The marriage had begun to deteriorate, during no small part to Bonnie's insistence that she had started receiving messages from a nineteenth

century monk named Brother Francis. Nettles began attending seances in an attempt to converse with Brother Francis, and it was at one such meeting that she was given a message that would change her life forever. She was informed that she would meet a mysterious man with light hair and a fair complexion. Despite the cliched nature of the message, Bonnie became convinced that there was a guiding hand at play. Sure Enough, a few months later, Bonnie did indeed cross

paths with a strange and mysterious man. His name was Marshal Applewhite. True to the message, Marsha was indeed tool with fair hair, and like Bonnie, he too had sensed a strange connection between them. Convinced of their mutual destinies, the pair agreed to leave behind the lives they'd known and set off on a journey of self discovery around the United States. It was on this journey that the pair claimed to have experienced an extraordinary awakening. Suddenly everything

had become clear. They had been sent to Earth by an unknown race of extraterrestrials with a special mission to ascend to the level above human and to bring as many other people with them as possible. The pair changed their names to Tea and Doe and started to refine their philosophy, incorporating a fusion of new Agism, science fiction, and Christianity. In October nineteen seventy five, a nineteen year old California named Nuel Moore and his girlfriend Yanna Prucher

came across a strange newspaper article. The heading read UFOs Where did they come from? And requested the attendance of all who were seeking meaning in their life. The advert was enough to entice the pair to hitchhike all the way to San Francisco to attend the meeting. Unfortunately, they arrived too late, but were thankful when two members of

the group offered to drive them home. During the journey, David and Yanna learnt a bit more about the group, and in particular their enigmatic leaders T and Doe, Daniel, and Yanna had stumbled upon what would become known as the Heaven's Gate Cult. Yanna and Daniel returned the following week, and impressed by the magnetism and message that T and Doe were preaching, they agreed to join them, and many others followed, all seduced by T and Doe's ultimate promise,

the granting of entry into the Kingdom of Heaven. Before long, the group had begun to attract considerable attention in the local press, and not much of it good. Fearing the negative attention, T and Doe decided that in order for the group to survive, they would have to cut off all ties with the familiar human world and take the operation underground. For the group members, this meant a strict adherence to a number of rules and regulations. They were

ordered to cease all contact with family and friends. They were to keep to a rigorous program promoting their distinctly separate way of life, with every action regimented, from the way meals would be cooked to how a man was to shave himself. They would be given new names and would henceforth be collectively known as the Class. As an ex member of the group remarked the strict regime was designed to brainwash individuals in order to enable them to

commit completely and absolutely to t and Doe's vision. In principle, they believed the body was nothing more than a vehicle for the soul, that the human experience was a temporary existence that ultimately holds us back from our true potential. To this end, every human habit and construction to be completely stripped away. All understanding of gender, emotion, and sexuality was rejected and egos obliterated in preparation for ascension to

the next level. The eradication of sexual desire proved particularly difficult, with many of the men committing voluntary castration to overcome their natural urges, and so the group remained for a number of years until tragedy struck In nineteen eighty two. Bonnie Nettles was diagnosed with cancer after losing an eye to the disease. She later died in January nineteen eighty five at the age of fifty eight. For Marshall, it was a horrific blow, but somehow he had found an

extraordinary way to rationalize it. Are you always taking care of your family? Do you often take care of others and not yourself. Now it's time to take care of yourself, to make time for you. You deserve it. Tele adoc gives you access to a licensed therapist to help you get back to feeling your best to feeling like yourself again. With teledoc, you can speak to a licensed therapist by phone or video. Therapy appointments are available seven days a

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get started. That's teladoc dot com slash Unexplained Podcast. He had come to believe that t had not died at all, but had instead, in the process of passing over, picked up an angelic body with which to continue her life. He knew this, he told the group because although her body had died, she had continued to remain in contact with him, and that only he alone could interpret her messages. One such message was that T was planning to one day returned to Earth to pick up the rest of

the group. It was an idea that became the basis for Marshall's ultimate plan. In the mid nineties, the group relocated to one eight two three nine Perseo Victoria in Rancho Santa Fe. They became self sufficient through a number of small businesses, including intriguingly website design. At some point, Doe's health had also begun to deteriorate, and after witnessing what had happened to T, he became convinced that he was also dying of cancer. And it was at this

point that something changed. After years of social conditioning, all the members had come to accept that Doe was their literal savior. He had become nothing less than a god, someone they were prepared to do anything for. But more pertinently, Doe was the only man who had the power to grant them access to the next level and ascension into

the Kingdom of Heaven. It became clear that time was running out, and things took a sinister turn in March nineteen ninety seven, as the hail Bop comet reached peak brightness, Doe approached the group with an extraordinary claim. Flying just behind the comet, unbeknownst to the rest of the world, was a UFO. It was t finally returning to collect them all. The class knew immediately this was their last

chance to evacuate Earth before it was too late. In a remarkable series of videos still available online, you can watch the final messages recorded by the group, one after the other. They talked to the camera, smiling, relaxed, and even ecstatic at the thought of what awaited them. On March twenty fourth, the group visited a local restaurant for an all American dinner of iced tea, turkey, and blueberry cheesecape.

It was to be their last outing together. Two days later, the San Diego Police Department received an anonymous phone call. It had been placed by a member of the group called Rio D'Angelo, formerly known as Richard Ford. He requested the assistance of police officers at a location that was well known to the San Diego Police Department, number one eight two three nine, Perseo Victoria. When the first officers arrived,

they found a surreal and haunting scene. Laid out on beds and mattresses throughout the mansion were the bodies of all thirty nine members of Heaven's Gate. Each member wore black Nike trainers and was dressed head to toe in

the same black uniform. On each of their left arms a small triangular patch with the notation Heaven's Gate Away Team written on it, and all had been found with five dollars and seventy five cents in cash on their person, an old habit they had adopted in case they were ever to get stranded anywhere and needed a bus home. Included amongst the bodies was that of a forty year

old David Moore. After postmortem, it was found that all thirty nine members had died after voluntarily ingesting a concoction of alcohol, venobarabatol, and hydrocodone. It was the largest group suicide to ever have occurred in the United States of America. After all the others had been accounted for, Martial apple White's body was found in the master bedroom, seated at the end of his bed. After examination, it was found that he had not been suffering from cancer after all.

All elements of Unexplained are produced by me Richard McClain smith. Please subscribe and rate the show on iTunes, but feel free to get in touch with any thoughts or ideas regarding the stories you've heard on the show. Perhaps you have an explanation of your own you'd like to share. You can reach us online at Unexplained podcast dot com or on Twitter at Unexplained Pod Now. It's time to take care of yourself. To make time for you, teledoc gives you access to a licensed therapist to help you

get back to feeling your best. Speak to a licensed therapist by phone or video any time between seven am to nine pm local time, seven days a week. Teledoc Therapy is available through most insurance or employers. Download the app or visit teledoc dot com. Forward slash Unexplained Podcast Today to get started. That's t e l a d oc dot com Slash Unexplained Podcast