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Cult Murders, Part 2

Jonestown
The first reports out of Guyana on November 18, 1978 were that Congressman Leo J. Ryan and four other members of his party were shot and killed. Then came the shocking announcement that 408 American citizens had killed themselves at a communal village they had built in the jungle, known as "Jonestown." The dead were all members of a group known as "The People's Temple" which was led by the Reverend Jim Jones. Nine hundred and thirteen of the 1100 people believed to have been at "Jonestown" at the time had died in a mass suicide.


Zebra Killers
An elite corps of young Black Muslims set out to exterminate the white people of San Francisco, so called "blue eyed devils," to earn themselves a special place in heaven.


The Aum Supreme Truth
A fascinating study of the religious terrorist cult that attracted some of Japan's brightest young people and created a billion dollars in assets, much of which was used to fund development of anthrax and other weapons of mass destruction.


Order of the Solar Temple
An international secret society based on the belief that the Knights Templar, the medieval order of warrior monks founded after the First Crusade, still exists. This Christian cult was quite different from other cults because the members were mostly affluent, accomplished and middle aged. Some were high-level executives in important companies. The Solar Temple's apocalyptic tendencies burst into public consciousness when murder and mass suicide suddenly became the practice of a few leaders.



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