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Tests confirm cult members ingested drugs, alcohol
April 5, 1997
Web posted at: 5:02 p.m. EST (2202 GMT)
SAN DIEGO (CNN) -- Blood tests performed on the 39 cult members who committed suicide last month confirmed that they had all swallowed drugs and alcohol before dying, the San Diego County Medical Examiner said Friday.
Investigators found a "recipe" on the bodies of some of the victims that called for eating applesauce or pudding mixed with the anti-seizure drug phenobarbital, followed by a vodka drink.
All 39 victims had phenobarbital in their blood; 33 had alcohol. In addition, medical examiner Brian Blackbourne said, blood tests showed that four of the victims had the painkiller Vicodin in their bloodstreams.
"All these things are additives," Blackbourne said. "The alcohol plus the phenobarbital is an additive, and the Vicodin ... just further depresses the breathing."
Vicodin was found in the blood of the two cult members believed to have died last, after assisting the other 37. Heaven's Gate leader Marshall Applewhite had also ingested vicodin.
A final cause of death has not been determined, but Blackbourne said his office expects to announced that next Friday.
Some of the victims were found with plastic bags over their heads and may have died of asphyxiation.
"Even with massive amounts of phenobarbital you'd linger a long time," said Gordon McGuire, a pharmacy professor at the University of California, San Diego Medical Center. "Alcohol would help, but they were clearly using the loss of oxygen as the final capper."
Medical examiners also performed HIV tests at the request of family members and media inquiries. The results for all 39 were negative.
Correspondent Greg LaMotte contributed to this report.
Extended coverage of mass suicides
Related stories:
Note: Pages will open in a new browser window- What draws cults to California? - April 1, 1997
Related sites:
Note: Pages will open in a new browser window- "Cult's Members Enjoyed Many Earthly Pleasures" - from the Los Angeles Times
- Heaven's Gate Suicide - The San Diego Union-Tribune
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