SAN DIEGO, CA (KGTV) - March 2022 marks 25 years of the Heaven's Gate mass suicide, one of San Diego's darkest moments.
The San Diego County Sheriff's Department responded to an anonymous tip on March 26, 1997, which led to the discovery of 39 bodies inside the Rancho Santa Fe mansion.
Investigators determined that 39 people mixed drugs with their food, drank alcohol, and placed bags over their heads, believing the cult leader, Marshall Applewhite, that a UFO was behind the Hale-Bopp comet to put them on a higher level of existence. will take.
It became the largest mass suicide on American soil.
In the two-hour 20/20 special, ABC's Diane Sawyer dives back into the mysteries of Heaven's Gate, talking with former followers, family members who lost loved ones to the cult, and some of the first To learn about the tragedy. In 1997, Sawyer spoke exclusively with RÃo DiAngelo, a former cult member who had left before the mass suicide. He interviewed her again after more than 20 years.
The special, The Cult Next Door: The Mystery and Madness of Heaven's Gate, "20/20" airs Friday, March 11 from 9:01-11:00 p.m. on ABC and the next day on Hulu.