Aum Shinrikyo and Cults that Went Wacko

Heaven's Gate
March 26, 1997: Suicides in Rancho Santa Fe

Still nostalgic for his partner, Applewhite renewed recruitment in the 1990s and established a headquarters in Rancho Santa Fe, near San Diego. In March 1997, believing that the Comet Hale-Bopp was a cosmic sign to act, Applewhite and 38 followers committed suicide by ingesting phenobarbital and putting plastic bags over their heads, aiming their souls at some kind of extraterrestrial link-up. Autopsies showed several of the men, including Applewhite, had been castrated.

"The Marker We've Been Waiting For"

• The 1992 Waco Standoff