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Other New religious movements Rancho Santa Fe, California, USA · 1997
Heaven's Gate: official investigation determines 39 members participated in collective suicide
Record class
Separate register
Evidence status
Official finding
Authority role
See cited record
Organization
No organization assigned
Spiritual nexus
The San Diego County Sheriff's Office determined that all 39 members found dead in March 1997 participated in a mass suicide over several days. The deaths were inseparable from Heaven's Gate's departure belief, but the official record cited here does not establish homicide, physical compulsion or a criminal finding against Marshall Applewhite. The dossier therefore records belief-directed collective death without converting group membership into proof of coercion.
Primary record
Sources
- San Diego County Sheriff's Office, 'Heaven's Gate Case.'
The investigating agency records the discovery of 39 members in Rancho Santa Fe and its determination that all participated in a mass suicide over several days.
Related record
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