'Star Trek' Obsessed Cult Leader Convinced Followers To Kill Themselves For Holiness
Marshall Applewhite's cult members put on identical black track suits and Nike tennis shoes. On their sleeves were customized patches that read "Heaven's Gate Away Team."
"The patches were yet another callback to Star Trek," says Murder Me Famous' Steve Helling, in REELZ's Murder Made Me Famous: Heaven's Gate show teaser.
"In Star Trek: The Next Generation, the Away Team was used to signify the group of people who beamed down to another world," adds Helling.
To prepare for their deaths, members of the cult then mixed a barbiturate called Phenobarbital, with apple sauce.
As RadarOnline.com has learned, the drug is a powerful sedative that suppresses the central nervous system and slowly stops the lungs from breathing.
The cult then began their so-called "graduation," which started in three shifts in late March of 1987. The first shift of members consumed the laced apple sauce.
- Johnny Depp's Longtime Pal, Legendary Rock N' Roll Guitarist Jeff Beck Dead At 78
- Prince Harry & Meghan Markle’s Tell-All Netflix Series Delayed To 2023 After Attacks On ‘The Crown’
- Dianne Feinstein Refuses To Retire Before Her Senate Term Ends In 2024 Despite Colleagues Arguing She Is 'Mentally Unfit To Serve'
Murder Made Me Famous: Heaven's Gate airs Saturday, April 21 at 8:00 ET/ PT on REELZ.
We pay for juicy info! Do you have a story for RadarOnline.com? Email us at tips@radaronline.com, or call us at (866) ON-RADAR (667-2327) any time, day or night.