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Heaven's Gate redux: 1 dead, 1 ill
Cult members send CNN 'exit statements'
May 6, 1997
Web posted at: 10:00 p.m. EDT
ENCINITAS, California (CNN) -- Two members of the Heaven's Gate cult tried to kill themselves Tuesday in a hotel near San Diego, police said. One succeeded; one didn't.
In a letter and tape delivered to CNN, the men said they intended to join the 39 cult members who died in a mass suicide in March.
| Wayne Cooke, the man who died | |||
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"I am sane ..."The dead man was identified as Wayne Cooke of Las Vegas, who police say was found with a plastic bag over his head, secured with a rubber band.
The man who survived, Chuck Humphrey of Denver, was reported in serious condition in a San Diego area hospital. A plastic bag was found near Humphrey, police say.
Sent by Humphrey, the tape and letter were received by CNN's Los Angeles bureau Tuesday morning. He expressed a desire "to leave with my Older Member and the rest of the crew," an apparent reference to Heaven's Gate leader Marshall Applewhite and 38 other members of the group who committed suicide in March.
Cooke's daughter also received a package from her father which indicated he was planning suicide. She contacted CBS "60 Minutes" correspondent Lesley Stahl, who alerted San Diego police.
After the deaths of the other Heaven's Gate members in March, Cooke, in an interview with "60 Minutes," expressed regret that he had not taken part in the mass suicide. His wife, Sylvia, was one of those who died.
The two men were found in Room 222 of a Holiday Inn in Encinitas. Police said they were both wearing black clothing. Purple shrouds, similar to those found at the earlier suicide scene, were found on the floor. Police also believe the men ingested a combination of alcohol and phenobarbitol.
On March 26, the bodies of 39 members of Heaven's Gate were found in a cream-colored mansion in Rancho Santa Fe, an exclusive community north of San Diego. Medical examiners later determined they, too, had ingested phenobarbital and alcohol and that some had apparently been suffocated with plastic bags.
They also had been dressed alike in black clothing and covered by the shrouds.
Members of the group believed they were "exiting their vehicles," or their human bodies, to move onto a higher plane. They also believe a UFO hiding behind the Hale-Bopp comet had come to deliver them from their earthly existence.
| Chuck Humphrey, the man who survived | |||
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Police described Humphrey as "groggy," and said he made no statements when found.
In the tape received by CNN, each of the men made an "exit statement," similar to tapes made by the Heaven's Gate adherents who died in March.
"By now you should be aware that I ... too have exited my vehicle," said Humphrey. "I do not pretend to have accomplished my task of overcoming this human vehicle and gaining the degree of control I would have liked, but nonetheless, I know who I am and that I must go back with them whether I am ready or not."
"I'd rather gamble on missing the bus this time than staying on this planet and risk losing my soul."
In the letter accompanying the tape, he wrote, "I would like everyone to understand that I simply cannot stay here any longer and I am leaving because it is time for me to leave."
"There is no other reason, no matter how many tail feathers (degrees) follow the name of some psychologists who will undoubtedly insist he has all the answers."
Cooke said on the tape he wanted to "assure people, number one, that I'm sane and I'm happy. I want very much to join my classmates and my teachers ... I've never doubted my connection with them.
"...In all likelihood, I'll have lessons yet before I'll be a full-fledged member of the next level," he said. "That's OK."
He concluded his comments by saying "Goodbye" with a smile.
Extended coverage of mass suicides
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