Investigators Thursday
identified the bodies of
39 cult members who
apparently committed
suicide in the belief that
a UFO, shielded behind a
comet, would take them
to heaven.

“We know who they are,”
Sgt. R.H. Morse- told
reporters outside the
million-dollar mansion in
this exclusive community
near San Diego, adding
that the names of the
victims would not be
revealed until relatives
had been informed.
Police said the 39 men
and women, dressed
alike and covered in
identical purple shrouds,
appeared to have died
from drug overdoses in a
well-staged mass suicide
over several days.

"We ... were able fo
determine, based on
their physical

appearance and some
of the characteristics of
their bodies and liquid
found at the scene, that
they may have ingested
drugs,” ite Gerald
Lipscomb of the Sheriff's
Department said.

"We believe the drugs
were taken for a very
specific purpose and
that was to take their
own lives ... That was their
intent. They planned to

do “this,” “Lipseomip
added.
Suicides, discovered

Wednesday, apparently
took place over about
seven days, with not all
of the victims dying at
the same time.

“| would have fo tell you
they were in different
stages of deterioration
and that’s about the
most pleasant way | can
describe it,” he added.

Sheriff's deputies who
entered the house
Wednesday were driven
back by fumes anda
hazardous materials
squad was sent in to
check for poisonous gas.
Police say the odor was
from the rotting bodies.

In Washington, President
Clinton said he was
shocked and sickened
by the deaths.

"ts . heartbreaking,
sickening ... shocking,”

Clinton said when asked
his reaction to the deaths,
which is the largest mass

suicide in the United
States.
The bodies were

discovered by Beverly Hills
computer expert Nick
Maizorkis and one of his
employees, a former
member of the group.
They were all wearing
black pants and black
tennis shoes, with purple
shrouds covering the face
and chest. Police said the
bodies were lying on cots
and mattresses with their
hands at their sides.

Matzorkis said the
employee, identified only

‘as Rio, received a packet

from the group Tuesday
night saying its members
had committed suicide.
Matzorkis, owner of
Interact Entertainment of
Beverly Hills, fold CNN the
package also contained
two videotapes showing
the members saying
goodbye and that they
appeared happy about
their decision.

In an interview on the NBC
“Today” show, Matzorkis
said he and Rio drove to
Rancho Santa Fe
Wednesday. ;

“He read me the lejter in
the car ... and they
explained that by the
time this letter was being
read that they will have
already, as they
described it, ‘shed their

containers,’ which is }

guess what they use to
describe their bodies,”
Matzorkis said.
According to the letter
and the videotapes, he
said, the culf members
believed “that they were
going to be taken away
by, as odd as this sounds,
I'm just telling you what |
heard, by a UFO, that a
UFO would come by and
pick them up.”

He said he had met about
15 members of the .cult,
which designed computer
Internet web pages, and
they told him’ the
Unidentified Flying Object
was hiding behind the
Hale-Bopp come? as it
neared Earth.

When he and Rio arrived
at the $1.6-million
mansion Wednesday, he

said, Rio went into the
house. “When he first
came out he was white as
a sheet..He said ‘They did
he

Matzorkis said he then
contacted police and
asked them to check the
house. He said the pre-
suicide videotapes
showed the victims “were
quite jovial and excited
about moving on to this
next stage.”

A message on one of the
group's Internet pages,
called “Heaven’s Gate,”
said, in part, “Whether
Hale-Bopp has a
“companion” or not is
irrelevant from our
perspective.

“However, its arrival is
joyously very significant
to us at ‘Heaven's Gate.’
The joy is that our Older
Member in the
Evolutionary Level Above
Human (the ‘Kingdom of
Heaven’) has made it
clear to us that Hale-
Bopp’s approach is the
‘marker’ we've been
waiting for-the time for
the arrival of the
spacecraft from the Level

The Bait: A brand new Neon from Chrysler (approximate retail
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Page 3 -- Over The Edge -- April 1, 1997

santa Fe Police Identify 39 Mass Suicide Victims

Above Human to take us
home to ‘Their World’-in
the literal Heavens. Our
22 years of classroom
here on plane? Earth is
finally coming to
conclusion-’ graduation’
from the Human
Evolutionary Level. We
are happily prepared to
leave ‘this world’ and go
with Ti's crew.”

The message, which does
not explain who “Ti” is,
added, “We are so very
thankful that we have
been recipients of this
opportunity to prepare
for membership in Their
Kingdom, and to
experience Their
boundless Caring and
Nurturing.”

Milton Silverman, a
lawyer for the owner of
the house, told reporters
the mansion had been
rented to a religious
computer group led by a
man called “Father
John" and that its
members, who did not
drink alcohol or smoke
and were celibate,

believed they were sent
to America as “angels.”

This space has been
dedicated to
students who have
not contributed.

Thank you for your
co-operation...

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