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On May 17th, 1931, Marshall Applewhite was born in Spur Texas. He attended Corpus Christi High School in Austin Texas and was recounted as being an active student and was moderately religious. He attended several universities and attained a degree in philosophy. He wanted to become a minister at one point. He was married at this time, with two kids. -
He was drafted into the military, and was deployed in Austria and New Mexico as a member of the Army Signal Corps.
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Pleading "emotional distress", Applewhite leaves the University of St. Thomas. This was the first clear sign of emotional and mental unrest.
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A year after he left the University of St. Thomas, Applewhite's father passed away. This led to Applewhite to spiral further into depression.
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Applewhite met Bonnie Nettles when she was a nurse. They would discuss mysticism and spiritualism at great lengths. Inevitably concluding that they were sent down as "divine messengers". They worked together temporarily in a bookstore and teaching center. -
Bonnie and Applewhite in late 1973 began traveling around southwest America spreading their views. While there is no specific time when their views transformed into the infamous Heavens Gate, it is believed that it was around this time when it was established.
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Through the roughly decade period of time, Applewhite and Bonnie traveled around southwest America spreading their beliefs. Through this time, they gained loyal followers. They also received funds from many sources that supported the couple financially throughout this time.
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At age 57, Bonnie Nettles passed away due to cancer in her eye spreading to the rest of her body. This death once more sent Applewhite into a bout of depression and made him question ascension to heaven.
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Following the death of Bonnie, Marshall Applewhite continued his nomadic lifestyle, spreading the idea of Heaven's Gate to America. At this point, Heaven's Gate had expanded and fully developed into not only an ideology, but also a cult. Heaven's Gate in its full development is theologically debated on the exact beliefs of its members. With this being said, it was generally accepted to have had roots in Evangelicalism, while simultaneously having heavy influence from ufology and millenarianism.
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Applewhite and the Heaven's Gate cult purchased land near Manzano, New Mexico. They turned this land into a compound before abruptly leaving in April 1996.
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In October of 1996, the loyal members of Heaven's Gate, and Applewhite relocated to a mansion which they would call "the Monastery". They would pay $7,000 in cash each month for rent. This would be the last official "headquarters" for the cult. -
Media reported on the night of March 13th, many unidentifed lights and flying objects (UFOs) were reported in the Phoenix area. This would cause Applewhite to panic and spiral about his beliefs.
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Following the UFO sightings and Applewhite being made aware that Comet Hale–Bopp was approaching, Applewhite concluded that this was the sign the group had been looking for. He claimed that "the only way to evacuate this Earth" was through suicide. He recorded the tape "Do's Final Exit" that explained this, and what needed to be done next. -
It is believed that the mass suicides were done in three waves. 21 women and 18 men. To kill themselves, all members took phenobarbital mixed with applesauce accompanied with vodka. After ingesting the mix, they secured plastic bags around their heads to induce asphyxiation. All members were wearing identical black shirts and sweatpants.
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With the death of Marshall Applewhite and all of his loyal followers, the Heaven's Gate was lost with their lives. This mass suicide the end of their religion.