Casefile True Crime - Case 60: Jonestown (Part 3)

Episode Date: September 23, 2017

[Part 3 of 3] On November 17 1978, Congressman Leo Ryan travelled to Guyana to inspect Jonestown for himself. When a number of Peoples Temple members expressed a desire to leave with him, Jim Jones was furious. What followed next would go down in history. --- Episode narrated by the Anonymous Host Researched and written by Milly Raso For all credits and sources please visit casefilepodcast.com/case-60-jonestown-part-3

Our episodes deal with serious and often distressing incidents. If you feel at any time you need support, please contact your local Crisis Centre. For suggested phone numbers for confidential support, please see the show notes for this episode on your app or on our website. This series on Jonestown deals with horrific events. The series deals with mass murder and suicide of men, women and children as well as other abuses. The episodes are graphic and distressing, especially episode 3. It will not be suitable for all listeners. Please use your discretion. At 10.30 am on November 18, 1978, Congressman Leo Ryan woke in Jonestown's guesthouse.

After quickly finishing his breakfast, Ryan and his staffer Jackie Spear immediately began interviewing more residents about their life in Jonestown. At 11 am, a flatbed truck arrived carrying the congressman's media entourage. Several journalists, a cameraman, soundman and producer. They had been refused accommodation in Jonestown, so instead spent the night in the nearby village of Port Kautuma. As Marceline Jones took them on their pre-planned tour of the commune, they walked past several seemingly harmless sites. A group of girls practising a dance routine, boys playing basketball and children crowded around a television set watching a movie. But something about the regimented perfection of each event seemed off. It felt as though these random moments

weren't organic or real, but meticulously scripted. It was clear to Ryan and his delegation that there was something sinister occurring beneath the cheery facade in Jonestown. The journalists peered into one of the residential cottages and saw the cramped layout of the bunk beds, noting that each bunk was personalised with a few spare belongings, photos, handcrafts and a book at most. As Congressman Ryan and his journalists wandered the grounds, they interviewed residents along the way. They asked candid questions about their happiness if they are free to leave and if they wanted to go back to America. Responses were always overwhelmingly positive. One woman told the reporters she's never been happier in her life. A teenage girl confidently explained if she wanted to leave, she was free to go.

Another girl said she would never be returning to America. She wanted to stay in Jonestown with her friends. Forever. After the tour, Congressman Ryan and his delegation met again with Jonestown's leader, Reverend Jim Jones. Jones sat adjacent to the journalists and their cameras, wearing the same clothes as he had the night before. Reporter Don Harris questioned Jones about the bleak rumours emanating from Jonestown about residents' mistreatment and imprisonment. Jones denied the rumours and assured the group his people were happy. To break the deception of positivity and happiness, Harris handed Jones the crumbled handwritten note he was given the

night before by Vernon Gosney. The message read, Dear Congressman, please help us get out of Jonestown. Jones read the note nonchalantly before handing it to one of his aides. He said, People play games, friend. They'll lie. They'll lie. What can I do about liars? Are you people gonna leave us? I just beg you, please leave us. We won't bother nobody. Anyone who wants to get out of here can get out of here. We have no problem about getting out of here. They come and go all the time. Edith Parks, an elderly Jonestown resident, watched Jones confidently smirk as liars poured from his mouth. Edith was a longtime People's Temple member and had been with Jones since its inception in the 1950s. She knew better than most how far People's

Temple had fallen into an organization of abuse, fear, and control. Edith, followed by her family of seven, marched up to Congressman Ryan's staffer Jackie Spear and said, We want to leave. Jones approached the Parks family and begged them to stay, offering them their passports and $5,000 if they remained in the settlement for another week or two. The Parks family considered the offer, but they were concerned it was a trap. They feared Jones would brutally punish them and possibly kill them the moment the congressman left Jonestown. Jerry Parks yelled at Jones. He held us here as slaves, and now we are getting out. Reporter Tim Riedemann, quote, As the potential defectors began gathering up their belongings, NBC conducted an interview

with Jim Jones in the Pavilion. As the interview went on, Jones grew more and more tense. I think it was sinking in, if it hadn't already, that this visit was not going to play well outside Jonestown. Jones was asked if it was true he had security guards armed with guns to control these followers. Jones replied, No, no. Nobody came to see people with guns. I've strictly prohibited guns. You don't have to shoot me because the media smear does it. I've given my life for people, serving people. As news of the Parks family defection spread throughout Jonestown, other residents peered out from behind doorways and huddled together exchanging looks of concern and anxious whispers. Reporter Tim Riedemann, quote, Within hours it became clear that more

people wanted to come out and the tension just radiated out from Jones and those groups of potential defectors. The whole place was paralyzed. As time went on, probably about a dozen people had stepped forward and they were insistent on leaving. By 3 p.m. 14 defectors indicated a desire to leave Jonestown. Defectors collected their few personal belongings and climbed on the back of the flatbed truck that would take them to the Port Cayuma airstrip. Other residents swore at them and threatened them. One of the defectors was handed a note from the crowd that read, Keep your damn mouth shut. Vernon Gosney, whose handwritten note to the congressman kicked off the events unfolding that day, approached his young son and told him he was leaving. Vernon Gosney, quote,

I thought my son is black and he is going to be subject to the racism of the United States government and I thought that Jonestown was the better place for him to be. I didn't know. I was confused. I met with my son briefly and I just hugged him. I said goodbye to him. Jim Jones approached Gosney and warned him not to say anything to the lying reporters. He also coolly told him that he was welcome back at Jonestown to visit his son any time he wanted. Due to the unanticipated number of defectors, Ryan's staff went to the radio room and requested a second plane to attend Port Cayuma airstrip. Congressman Ryan decided to stay in Jonestown one more night to continue interviewing residents to make sure no one else wanted to leave.

Vernon Gosney approached Ryan and warned him of the danger he was in, quote, Congressman Ryan had no idea what he had walked into at all and it was apparent that he couldn't really conceive the level of danger that he was in. Ryan assured Gosney that there was nothing to worry about, stating the United States congressional shield protected him. Don Sly was a broad-shouldered ex-Marine Jonestown resident. He wept as he slowly walked up behind Congressman Ryan, clutching a knife tightly in his hand. Sly wrapped his arm around Ryan's neck, pulled the Congressman back, pressed the knife to his throat and said, Motherfucker, you are going to die. Witnesses screamed in horror.

Congressman Ryan struggled with his attacker before others grabbed Sly and forced him to the ground. Ryan's shirt was torn and smeared with blood, but he was uninjured. Sly cut his own hand with a knife when being apprehended. Jim Jones barely reacted to the assault, simply saying, I wish I had been killed. Ryan ordered Jones to have Sly arrested. Jones said, Does this change things? Ryan assured Jones that he wouldn't let the attack influence his overall impression of Jonestown, which he maintained was still very much positive. However, the attacker convinced Ryan to leave immediately. Ryan collected his belongings and walked to the flatbed truck where his delegation and the Jonestown defectors were waiting. As the truck prepared to leave,

one more defector emerged from the crowd. Larry Layton, wearing a long poncho, ran to the truck and insisted he wanted to leave too. Ryan's delegation was suspicious. Layton had been a passionate advocate for Jones earlier that same day. Other defectors were also uncomfortable, as they knew Layton as one of Jones's most fanatical followers. Some had seen Jones speaking to Layton privately by the playground earlier that day. Their conversation ended with a hug. Defectors told Congressman Ryan that Layton might be a spy sent by Jones, but Ryan refused to deny passage to anyone who said they wanted to leave, so they took Layton with him. The truck pulled out of Jonestown and drove to Port Couture, Ms. Airstrip, arriving between

4.30 and 4.45pm. When the group reached the airstrip, the runway was empty. The two planes the group had radioed for were scheduled to be there, but they were nowhere in sight. While they waited, the cameraman had his camera rolling. Ryan explained to the camera how just prior to leaving Jonestown, several more residents approached him wanting to escape the commute. But it was at that moment that Ryan was attacked by Don Slye, so he wasn't able to take down the names of those others who wanted to leave. After an agonizingly long wait, the first plane arrived at 5.10pm, followed by the second plane minutes later. The group milled around the planes, loaded their belongings, and started the board.

Larry Layton sat on the runway by himself. His long poncho draped over his body. He stared at the group without expression. From the direction of Jonestown, a red farm tractor with a trailer attached rolled along the road and pulled up onto the side of the airstrip. It parked less than 200 metres from the planes. A few of Jonestown's guards emerged from the tractor. They slowly circled the planes and stared at the group. Reporter Don Harris said to the others, I think we got trouble. It soon became clear there wasn't enough seating on the two planes for all 30 people wanting to leave. Jonestown defectors were given priority, as were the government officials and staff. So the journalists had to argue amongst themselves as to who should

volunteer to remain in Port Clytuma to fly out the following day. Larry Layton, who was still sitting on the runway by himself, finally broke his trance and stood up. He insisted to be seated on the first plane. Congressman Ryan agreed, but first padded Layton down for weapons. After finding nothing, Ryan allowed Layton to board. Inside the plane were several other Jonestown defectors, including a 12-year-old girl. At 5.20pm, the second plane's engine rumbled to life. On cue, the tractor containing Jonestown's guards sped towards the planes, stopping only 10 meters away. Six armed men who were hiding in the tractor's trailer rose up and leapt out onto the airstrip. They lifted their guns and began

firing indiscriminately at the crowd and planes. As the bullets flew, the crowd dispersed in a panic. Some ducked for cover behind the plane's wheels. Those already in the planes attempted to shut the heavy doors as bullets flew inside. Others sprinted to the bordering jungle and dived into the thick shrubbery. When the firing began, Layton turned in his plane seat and pulled out a .38 revolver he had hidden in his clothing. He fired at three times at the other passengers around him. They leapt for the doorway to escape. Two were wounded. Layton then aimed the gun at his next target and pulled the trigger. But it jammed. The other passengers desperately wrestled the gun from Layton and punched him in the face. Out on the airstrip, Congressman Ryan yelled,

I've been shot. He grasped his neck and ducked down by the front wheel of one of the planes. During the ambush, NBC cameraman Bob Brown had his camera up and recording. He filmed the gunman as they emerged from the trailer and began firing at the crowd. Then the film turned to static. Bob was shot in the leg, causing him to fall to the ground and his camera to shatter. In the violent chaos, the pilot of the second smaller plane accelerated, gained quick speed and took off, leaving the others behind. The shooting lasted almost five minutes. Reporter Tim Reiderman was able to escape into the jungle. Quote, the gunfire died down and there were several deliberate shots over the space of maybe a half

minute. And then there was silence. After Ryan's delegation left Jamestown with the defectors, Temple Mother and Jim Jones' wife, Marceline Jones, made an announcement over the loudspeaker. In an attempt to defuse the tension festering in the settlement, Marceline told residents to rest in their cottages until dinner. Within minutes, a deep-grade cloud grew over Jamestown. The wind began to howl. Palm trees whipped back as torrential rain flooded the commune, turning the dirt paths into muddy rivers. Jamestown resident Mike Prokes, quote, I've seen a lot of storms here before but never like this one. It came out of nowhere. Congressman Ryan and his party had left a little while before. Suddenly, it got very,

very dark and the wind came up like I've never seen it here. It blew so hard that dust and stuff blew up in the pavilion so thick that you couldn't see. It rained very hard and then it was just over. The storm was followed by Jim Jones' commanding voice echoing over the loudspeaker. It was now 5 p.m. and his voice was eerily calm. White night, white night, everybody report to the pavilion immediately. As residents filed into the pavilion, they watched in solemn silence as a woman sang from the stage, a song about being a freedom fighter. 25 guards took position in a tight circle around the pavilion facing the crowd. Some carried loaded crossbows, others carried rifles.

Within 15 minutes, Jim Jones appeared and climbed on the main stage. He sat on his usual teal wooden slate chair. The singer stopped and left the stage. Jones reached to his side and grabbed the microphone and casually clicked on a tape recorder. How very much I've loved you. How very much I've tried my best to give you the good life. But in spite of all that I've tried, a handful of our people with their lives have made our life impossible. There's no way to detach ourselves from what's happened today. Not only we're in a compound situation, not only are there those who have left and committed the betrayal of the century. Some have stolen children from others and they're in pursuit

right now to kill them because they stole their children. And we are sitting here waiting on a powder cake. I don't think this is what we want to do with our babies. I don't think that's what we had in mind to do with our babies. It was fed by the greatest prophets from time immemorial. No man takes my life from me. I lay my life down. So to sit here and wait for the catastrophe that's going to happen on that airplane, it's going to be a catastrophe. It almost happened here. Almost happened. The congressman is nearly killed here. But you can't see people's children. You can't take off with people's children without expecting a violent reaction. And that's not so unfamiliar to us either. Even if we were Judeo-Christian, if we weren't

communists, the world, the kingdom suffers violence and the violence shall take it by force. If we can't live in peace, then let's die in peace. We've been so betrayed. We have been so terribly betrayed. But we tried and just Jack B. Moffin said, I don't know where he sat right this moment, where Jack, he said, if this only worked one day, it was worthwhile. I was wondering what's going to happen here in a matter of a few minutes is that one of those people on that plane is going to shoot the pilot. I know that. I didn't plan it, but I know it's going to happen. They're going to shoot that pilot and down comes that plane

into the jungle. And we had better not have any of our children left when it's over because they'll parachute in here almost. I'm going to just explain as I know how to tell you, I've never lied to you. I never have lied to you. I know that's what's going to happen. That's what he intends to do and he will do it. He'll do it. Fortunately, being so bewildered with many, many pressures on my brain seeing all these people behave so treasonous, it was just too much for me to put together. But I now know what he was telling me and it'll happen if the plane gets in the air. So my opinion is that we'll be kind to

children and be kind to seniors and take the portion like they used to take in ancient Greece and step over quietly because we are not committing suicide. It's a revolutionary act. We can't go back. They won't leave us alone. They're now going back to tell more lies, which means more congressmen and there's no way, no way we can survive. It was at this moment, Jones offered anyone with a dissenting opinion to step forward and speak up. Out of the crowd of hundreds that remained quiet, 60-year-old Christine Miller stood. Christine had been convinced to visit Jonestown after attending several people's temple services in Los Angeles. She had previously expressed her unhappiness at not finding peace in Jonestown,

saying she felt like a bird locked in a cage. Christine asked Jones if it was too late for them to escape to Russia. Jones often said he would move the settlement to the pro-communist country if their livelihoods in Guyana were ever threatened. Jones praised Christine for opposing him. He called her a good agitator, but he was quick to deny the possibility of escaping to Russia. The country wouldn't take them, he said. It was no use. They held no value to Russia. Suicide was their only option now. I'm getting money yet, didn't I? I like to choose my own kind of death for a change. I'm tired of being tormented to hell. That's what I'm tired of. Tired of it.

So I want people's lives in my hands and I certainly don't want your life in my hand, but I'm going to tell you, Christine, without me, life has no meaning. I'm the best friend you'll ever have. Once I have to pay, I'm standing with you, Jarrah. I'm standing with those people. They're part of me. I can detach myself. My journey says detach myself. No, no, no, no, no, no. I never detach myself from any of your troubles. I've always taken your troubles right on my shoulders and I'm not going to change that now. It's too late. I've been running too long. I'm not going to change now. I mean, the next time you get to go to Russia, the next time around. What I'm talking about now is in the dissertation

of judgment. This is a revolutionary suicide council. I'm not talking about self-destruction. I'm talking about what we have no other road. I will take your call. We will put it to the Russians and I can tell you the answer now because I'm a prophet. Call the Russians and tell them they'll take us. Bravely, Christine continued to fight Jones for her life. She compared the small number of people who defected that day to the larger population that remained and stayed loyal to Jones. Christine said, as long as there's life left, there's hope. That's my faith. But it wasn't enough to sway Jones. Christine then argued for the lives of Jones Town's babies. The crowd heckled her. One woman mopped her for being afraid to die. Jones told Christine that

she'd regret it if she didn't die that day. Desperate to have Jones see reason for them all to live, Christine asked him if he wanted to see John die. She was referring to John Stollen, the little boy Jones claimed to be the biological father of. The boy Jones kidnapped and rushed the Guyana before his ex-temple mother could reclaim custody. Jones replied, do you actually think I would put John's life above others? He's not different to me than any of these children here. I haven't tried to keep this thing from happening, but I know it's the will of Stalin being that this happened to us. That we lay down our lives in protest against what's been done. That we lay down our lives to protest in what's being done. The criminality of people,

the cruelly people who walked out of here today. Did you notice them walk down? Mostly white people. Most of white people walked. I'm so grateful for the ones that didn't, those who knew who they are. But there's no point, there's no point to this. We are born before our time. They won't accept us and I don't think we should sit here and take any more time for our children to be endangered. If they come after our children and we give them our children, then our children will suffer forever. Christine Miller's opposing voice of reason became lost amongst the re-embelling audience. Suddenly, the flatbed truck that took Congressman Ryan and his delegation to Port

Quaitumas sped down the road, followed by the red tractor and trailer carrying the six gunmen. One of the guards rushed towards Jones, leapt on stage and whispered in his ear. Jones turned to the crowd and announced flatly, the congressman has been murdered. What a legacy, what a legacy. Mark the Red Brigade, the only one never made any sense anyway, they invaded our privacy, they came into our home, they followed us 6,000 miles away. The Red Brigade showed them justice, the congressman's dead. Please get us the medication. It's simple, it's simple, there's no convulsions with it, it's just simple, just please get it. Before it's too late, the GDF will be here. I tell you,

get moving, get moving, get moving. Don't be afraid to die, if your 50 people land out here, they'll torture some of our children here, they'll torture our people, they'll torture our seniors, we cannot have this. Are you going to separate yourself from whoever shot the congressman? I don't know who shot him. A large steel drum was carried into the pavilion and placed on a table at the front. Hundreds of paper cups and syringes were piled next to the drum. As Jones started and slurred his way through his speech, the drum was filled with great flavoured, non-carbonated soft drink. Jonestown residents had drunk the liquid many times before under

the order of Jones, but in those past instances, the liquid was harmless. Jonestown's medical staff, fronted by Dr Larry Shark, began to measure out various liquid poisons and medications, pouring large amounts into the vat of grape juice. Potassium cyanide, valium, chloral hydrate, and potassium chloride were stirred in, turning the liquid brown. Even as it was mixed before their eyes, Jonestown's residents couldn't believe that the vat contained poison. They convinced themselves that this was just another test to prove their loyalty to Jones. They weren't really about to die. Nurses began tearing open syringe packets and dipping them into the vat,

drawing up the brown poison into their narrow tubes. One of Jim Jones' mistresses, Maria Katsuri's, helped prepare the poison drink. She climbed on stage and whispered in Jones' ear. Jones was overheard asking her if there was any way to make the drink taste less bitter. Katsuri's responded no. Jones then asked her if it was quick. Katsuri said yes. It was supposed to be quick. Katsuri's then turned to the crowd and ordered everyone to form orderly lines behind their table. Babies and children would be first, then the adults. Katsuri's instructed parents to keep children calm and told older children to reassure their

younger siblings. The first person to stand and approach the vat was a woman in her late 20s. Calmly and deliberately, she walked up to the drum of poison with her one-year-old baby in her arms. Taking a needle of syringe, she filled the tube with poison and squirted the liquid into her baby's mouth. She then consumed some for herself. The mother walked out of the pavilion to the grassy field next door and sat down. Holding her baby close, she rocked him gently as he began to scream. Hesitant mothers remained seated, holding their babies tight. Initially polite, nurses gently convinced mothers to hand over their babies. When that didn't work, they called over the armed guards, who pried babies from their frantic mother's arms and took them to the vat.

When the babies were poisoned, they screamed and cried in agonizing pain. Katsuri's reassured worried parents by lying to them. The crying wasn't from pain, she stated, but due to the bitterness of the drink. More mothers carried their babies to the vat, allowing poison to be shot down their throats. Once all the babies were done, the children were next. Older children were aware of the horror around them. They saw babies writhing in pain in their mother's arms, their little bodies convulsing unnaturally and their eyes rolling back before they flopped completely still. Shortly afterwards, their mothers would convulse, lose grip of their child and fall backwards dead. Residents made reassuring speeches.

All the while, the sound of children dying in pain droned on in the background of their optimistic words. As one crying child was pushed forward and forced to drink, Jones called out, don't be afraid to die. Jones then pleaded with the crowd to get on with it, before saying, this is a revolutionary suicide. This is not a self-destructive suicide, so they'll pay for this. They brought this upon us and they'll pay for that. I leave that destiny to them. If everybody will relax, the best thing you can do is to relax and you'll have no problems. You'll have no problems with this thing if you just relax. People's Temple member Tim Carter, quote,

As I walked up to the back of the pavilion, I saw a woman named Rosie on the ground, crying, holding her dead baby. There were maybe eight or nine other people who were dying or in the process of dying. Inside, I just wanted things to stop. Please, let me catch my breath. Let me figure out what's happening here. I looked to my right. Then I saw my wife with our son in her arms and poison being injected into his mouth. My son was dead and he was frothing at the mouth. You know, Si and I, it makes people froth at the mouth. My wife died in my arms and my dead baby son was in her arms. And I held her and said, I love you. I love you. Because it's all I could say. She died in my arms. Residents were in shock. Everything felt too unreal to be true.

As the bodies of poisoned friends and family were dragged out of the pavilion, those who remained struggled to rationalize the horror. When a poisoned 15 year old boy who was directed out of the pavilion ran back in, collapsed against a pole, wheezed and began convulsing. The remaining residents were left with no doubt that this wasn't a hoax. It was very real and people were dying. Jones barked orders to get the dying boy out of the pavilion. Two men picked him up and as they carried him to the field, his body went limp. A 12 year old girl kept spitting out the poison when it was forced into her mouth. Agitated nurses grabbed her hair and pulled it backwards roughly, forcing her head back. They poured the poison down her throat and covered

her mouth and nose, forcing her to swallow. When people started saying they're good buyers, Jones blasted the crowd again and told them to hurry up. Armed guards aimed their weapons at those who were slow moving. Of those who secretly wanted to escape, it seemed impossible now. Nurses approached people who were visibly suffering from shock and injected them with a syringe filled with the poison. Guards held down people who refused to get in line and nurses forcibly injected them. Christine Miller, the woman who stood up against Jones at the beginning of the meeting, had to be forcibly injected. Stanley Clayton quote, I ain't never used the term suicide and I ain't ever going to use the word suicide. That man was killing us.

My wife came up to me. She had no tears in her eyes. She was just in the days. My mother, my grandmother, my sister, my brother, all of them gone, she said. Just take me. Just take me and lay me down next to my grandmother. And she went up to the poison, to that death barrel. And she just didn't hesitate. She took it and drunk it and told me to hold her, to take her. And I did. And she died in my arms. Once I laid her down and she told me how she wanted to lay with her grandmother, I at that point knew that I had no reason to be here no more. Jones continued his speech over screams of people dying in agony. Lay down your life with dignity. Don't lay down with tears and agony.

It's nothing to death. Just like Max said, it's just stepping over into another plane. Don't be this way. Stop the hysterics. This is not the way for people who are socialistic communists to die. No way for us to die. We must die with some dignity. Tim Carter, quote. They were fucking slaughtered. There was nothing dignified about it. Had nothing to do with revolutionary suicide. Had nothing to do with making a fucking statement. It was just senseless waste. Senseless waste and death. Out in the grassy field, Jones's aides dragged the dead bodies into rows to create more space. Bodies were rolled onto their stomachs so others wouldn't see the contorted faces of the dead.

Parents were piled onto the bodies of their children. The aides positioned bodies to appear as though they were cradling each other and had died peacefully. Eventually, when there were too many bodies and too little space, the aides began piling bodies on top of one another. Dr. Sharkt, who had come up with the idea of killing everyone with cyanide, walked amongst the bodies pressing his stethoscope to their chest to confirm they were dead and not faking it. As the crowd in the pavilion diminished and as the last few people stepped forward in a trans-like state to consume the liquid they knew would kill them, Tim Jones pressed the microphone to his lips and recorded his final message.

We didn't commit suicide. We came in an act of revolutionary suicide protesting the conditions of an inhumane world. Jim Jones clicked off the cassette recorder. He stepped down from the stage and ushered the last remaining adults to the fad of poison. By now, the sun had set on Jonestown. Approximately 40 minutes had passed since the final White Knight started. The compound was shadowed in complete darkness except for blazing lights emanating from the pavilion. Jones returned to his seat on the pavilion stage. Surrounding his wooden throne were piles of dead bodies. In total, 909 people had been poisoned to death. 304 of those were children. When Jones' final White Knight started,

one of his aides sent a message to People's Temple headquarters in Guyana's capital, Georgetown. She gave instructions to headquarters through a heavily coded message. Enact the last stand. Murder the temple's enemies and then kill yourselves. She typed in Morse code K N I F E. The People's Temple member based in the Georgetown headquarters at the time was Sharon Amos. She was known as a fanatical Jim Jones follower. When the order to die came over the radio, the thought of refusal never crossed her mind. She informed her 21-year-old daughter, Leanne, of the order. Together, they went into the kitchen and collected several large knives.

Sharon summoned her youngest children, Krista aged 11 and Martin aged 10. Sharon and Leanne led the young children into a bathroom, where all four of them were later found dead. Elsewhere in Georgetown, a small military airport received several disjointed panicked radio messages. About 6pm, a small plane swooped into land. The military was confused. No flights had been scheduled to arrive at that time. Emerging from the plane were two Guyanaese pilots and an American woman with two gunshot wounds in her back. Her name was Monica Bagby, a Georgetown defector. Her speech was rushed and frightened. She spoke of a gunfight at the Port Kautuma airstrip. People were dead. Day had become night as Jackie Spear lay on the airstrip.

Her aching body cooled up behind the flattened wheel of the plane. The gunfighter had stopped long ago. She recalled how after the initial hail of bullets, the gunman walked casually and precisely through the injured bodies on the airstrip, shooting each one at close range. She recalled the sound of the shooters cheering after the attack as they drove away from the scene. Jackie Spear, quote, I looked around and saw bodies, including that of my boss and mentor, Congressman Leo Ryan. Was he too pretending to be dead? I called his name, but he didn't respond. Looking down, I saw what appeared to be bone. It was my own, and it was sticking out of my shattered right arm. Reporter Tim Reidemann emerged from the jungle and approached the plane,

quote, I saw several bodies on the ground. Don Harris of NBC, Congressman Ryan, Greg Robinson, the photographer with me, Bob Brown of NBC, Patricia Parks, one of the defectors. All of them were dead. Amongst the five dead on the airstrip were several wounded delegates and defectors. It took until 10 a.m. the following day, November 19th, before a Guineese rescue aircraft descended on Port Kautuma to investigate. They didn't buy the carrying medical supplies or personnel, as they suspected there would be no survivors. When they found there were actually many survivors, some gravely wounded. They airlifted them out to Georgetown, where they were transferred to a

waiting US Air Force medical evacuation aircraft. Five Jonestown defectors had run into the jungle when the airfield shootings began, and they kept running. Some suffered gunshot wounds. They lost themselves in the overgrown jungle for three days. By the time they were discovered, they were delirious from blood loss, and their wounds were infested with maggots, but they had survived. Survivors of the Jonestown massacre began to emerge from the depths of the jungle, with harrowing stories of what horrors remained behind them. The morning of Congressman Ryan's visit, 11 Jonestown residents took advantage of the distraction and put their escape plans

into action. They told others that they were going on a picnic, when in reality they walked into the jungle and didn't return. Some of the escapees included a mother and her three-year-old son, as well as a couple when they're three daughters. Survivor Tim Carter was a member of Jonestown's leadership. He had been tasked, along with two others, to take a briefcase carrying $550,000 in US currency, $130,000 in Guineas currency, an envelope, and gold to the Russian embassy in Georgetown. But the group left for their mission later than expected, which meant Tim Carter walked past the pavilion at the very moment his baby's son was being poisoned. He watched in despair as his wife then took the poison. Carter had an emotional breakdown,

his two companions dragged him away, and the group ran into the jungle. Prior to the massacre, two of Jim Jones' lawyers were escorted to the guest house in Jonestown. They overheard others mentioning the revolutionary suicide occurring in the pavilion. The lawyers talked their way past the guards and escaped into the jungle. Odell Rhodes watched in horror as the children he had taught in school were dying all around him. He noticed only medical staff were able to move freely in and out of the pavilion. When Dr. Larry Shark asked for a stethoscope, Rhodes followed a nurse to the medical officers to retrieve the item. The guards stopped Rhodes on the way, but the nurse confirmed they were

going to the medical office and would return. Rhodes considered the possibility of killing the nurse to escape, but she ordered him to search a separate building, which gave Rhodes the chance he needed. When Stanley Clayton attempted to leave the pavilion, a guard pointed across bow at him. Stanley managed to get past the guard by stating he wanted to say goodbye to dying friends out in the field. When no one had eyes on him, he ran into the jungle. 79-year-old Grover Davis, who was hearing impaired, missed the announcement for the White Knight. When the massacre was underway, he saw people dying around the pavilion, and he lulled himself into a deep ditch and acted dead.

Elderly resident Hyacinth Thrash staunchly remained in her cottage when Jim Jones announced the final White Knight. She was nursing an injured leg and was sick and tired of the White Knights. When her sister and roommates didn't return from the meeting, she thought Jamestown had been invaded by enemy mercenaries, so she hid under the bed. Guy and these soldiers later discovered Hyacinth hiding in her cottage. They coaxed her out and led her to the pavilion, where she saw firsthand the immense and horrific loss of life. They tried to get her to help identify bodies, but she got as far as noticing a familiar red sweater and stopped. It was her sister.

Approximately 80 Jamestown residents were away running various errands at the time of the final White Knight. Their absence that afternoon ensured their survival. Three of those people were Jim Jones' sons. After news of the massacre and airstrip, Ample shrieked Guy and these authorities. They sent approximately 100 soldiers to investigate. From a distance, they saw a sea of hundreds of brightly coloured dots surrounding a large, open main building. Photographer Tim Chapman, quote, The first body I saw was off to the side alone. Five more steps and I saw another and another

hundreds of bodies. It was overwhelming, bizarre. There were colours everywhere, raincoats and shirts and pants in reds and greens and blues. Bright, happy colours. I started moving to my left and I was battered by the smell. It hit me, went right into my chest. There were piles upon piles of bodies. What do you call it? There's no definition. Nothing to compare it to. Inside the pavilion was a pile of crossbows and firearms. An abundance of brown stained cups were scattered around the altar where the near empty vat of poison remained. Many syringes were also scattered about. Some of the needles were bent or snapped,

suggesting they had been shoved into people with a lot of force. There were also piles of medications, empty packets of grape flavour aid and children's shoes. At Jim Jones' house, they found books and magazines about conspiracies, spies and politics, a locker containing health foods and vitamins, hundreds of valium tablets, other pills and syringes, and vials of morphine. Stacks of letters addressed to dad were also located. These were letters written by people's temple members to Jim Jones. Each letter began with, I feel guilty because. The pages were then scrawled with handwritten personal reflections, confessions and self-analysis. The letters were

filled with self-hate, overwhelming guilt and fear and repressed bitterness. The letters were an absolute submission to Jim Jones, whether their writers intended it or not. The candid content gave Jones absolute power of people's most personal thoughts and feelings. He knew all. And knew how to take advantage of their vulnerabilities. When the FBI investigated Jones Town, they found a massive collection of audio cassette tapes that had hours and hours of recorded sermons, healings, phone conversations, radio communications, speeches, meetings, punishments, daily news, and hundreds of other events that allowed an authentic story of Jones Town to form. Within the collection was a near 50 minute cassette tape

that the FBI labelled number Q042. It became known as the debt tape, snippets of which you heard during this episode. It was initially believed that upwards of 400 Jones Town residents might have escaped into the jungle prior to or during the massacre. Search parties swept the jungle to look for them. Relatives in America waited anxiously to hear if their loved ones had survived. But as the bodies around the pavilion were looked at more closely, a horrible discovery was made. Bodies had been haphazardly piled on one another, layer on layer, and soon the missing 400 were accounted for. On November 20th, two days after the massacre, three of Jones Town survivors were taken back into the compound and were made to walk amongst the bodies to identify as many as

they could. Guy and Ease authorities refused a request from the United States to bury the bodies in Jones Town, so the American Army sent its grave registration unit to Guyana to retrieve them. Forensic examiners began the massive effort of identifying the hundreds of unknown bodies that couldn't be identified by survivors. Only 631 people were positively identified, leaving close to 300 people who weren't. Many bodies had visible puncture marks from where a syringe had been pushed in. Some still had a syringe protruding from the area where they were injected. However, the precise number of victims forcibly injected has never been confirmed. Various issues make it impossible to know. The decomposition of bodies, the lack of

detailed photographs, and the fact that many bodies weren't medically examined and didn't receive an autopsy. It took eight days for the American soldiers to place all of the victims into body bags. Barely half of the 631 identified bodies were claimed by relatives. Some relatives were too poor. Others were too ashamed to collect the remains of their loved ones. The bodies of 412 victims were buried in a mass grave at Evergreen Cemetery in Oakland, California. Four plaques hold the names of all the victims of Jonestown, and a memorial service is held there every year on November 18th. Controversy surrounds the plaques, as many people feel one name is featured that doesn't belong.

Jim Jones What exactly happened to Jim Jones after the massacre is unclear. What is certain is that he didn't consume the poison he had forced into the mouths of those laying dead around him. Jones died from a single gunshot wound to the head. It's unknown if he took his own life, ordered someone else to commit the act, or if he was murdered. The gun that fired the bullet was located close to his body. Jones' body was the only one specified by the American government to receive an autopsy, but the results provided no answers. Regardless, one fact is certain. After witnessing hundreds of others convulse, froth at the mouth, scream out in agony,

suffocate and die, Jim Jones decided it was not the death he wanted for himself. Instead, he died instantly, without pain. Directly after the massacre, 13 members of Jim Jones' inner circle cheered at what they achieved and marched away from the pavilion. Together, they went to Jones' residential cabin, Westhouse. All 13 consumed poison inside the cabin and died. Amongst them were Jones' mistresses, Maria Katsaris and Caroline Layton. With Caroline was the body of her son she bore with Jones. Also inside the house was the body of six-year-old John Stone,

the child who Jones kidnapped from his mother in America and relocated to Guyana. For years, his mother, Grace Stone, had been fighting Jones to get her son back. She had even won custody of John in an American court, but keeping John in his possession was important for Jones. He needed to maintain the perception that he was above the law and possessed power and control over all things. He was God. And in the end, as Jones admitted during his final White Night speech, John Stone truly meant nothing special to him and the boy was not granted a reprieve from death. The words from Jones said it all. Do you actually think I would put John's life above others?

He's not different to me than any of these children here. The body of Annie Moore was also inside Jones' house. Annie was Jones' personal nurse and she had been both poisoned and shot in the head. Her and Jones were the only people shot inside the Jones' town commune. The gun used to kill Annie and her suicide note lay beside her body. The last sentence of her note read, We died because you would not let us live in peace. It's evident that Jones' paranoia had infected them all and that was the catalyst for many people agreeing to die. However, that sentence could also apply to the torment Jones ruled his people with. The only way they could escape him was through death.

The remains of Jim Jones and his wife, Marceline, were cremated. Their ashes were scattered over the Atlantic Ocean by their surviving children. On more than one occasion leading up to his trip to Jones' town, Congressman Leo Ryan was warned of the probability of violence that may occur. But Ryan refused to be influenced or intimidated by fear. It wasn't in his character. He knew of the volatile nature of people's temple and Jim Jones towards outsiders, but he boarded a plane to Guyana anyway. Jackie Spear, quote, There are those who question his motives or the wisdom of his actions,

but criticism was just fine with Leo. Leo Ryan never did anything because he thought it would make him popular. He was more interested in doing what he knew was right. No one could have expected the degree of violence that Ryan suffered that day. The 53-year-old congressman had upwards of 20 bullet wounds throughout his entire body. His assassination changed how congressional delegations travel. They now must do so with a military escort. The only person apprehended and convicted for the events that transpired in Jones' town was Larry Layton, the man who posed as a defector and then shot at the genuine defectors in the plane.

Afterwards, he was apprehended by Guyane's locals. Layton was acquitted of attempted murder in a Guyane's court, but he was then extradited to the United States where he was convicted in federal court. He was sentenced to 18 years in prison. He completed his prison term in early 2002, two years before he scheduled release date. He now lives and works in Northern California. Blame for Jones' town's violent end has been passed between various groups. Temple members who knew of Jones' suicidal inclination but didn't stop him. The visitors to the commune prior to Congressman Ryan who lacked skepticism when confronted with

stage performances and scripted responses. Congressman Ryan himself are taking in a media entourage to antagonize the paranoid Jones. The massacre's survivors who didn't stop Jones the moment he ordered for the babies to die. Even the massacre victims themselves were blamed. But the responsibility of what occurred is solely on one man, Reverend Jim Jones. After the massacre, impoverished Port Kitesuma locals looted Jones' town and took the victim's personal possessions and community supplies. The Guyane's government maintained the site as a training camp for their defense force, but eventually withdrew. They used the farming equipment in Jones' town to tear down its buildings. Jones' town as it once was no longer

exists. For a long time it was just a flat area of empty field before the jungle overgrew the site. Considerations to memorialize the site have gone nowhere. The people's temple full gospel church declared bankruptcy at the end of 1978. Temple members who remained in the United States burned boxes of incriminating documents and erased tape recordings before merging back into society. 13 million dollars worth of property, assets, and interests belonging to the temple were located after the massacre. The estate was divided and given to various claimants including the US government as payment for the retrieval and burying of the bodies, survivors and victims' families from the airstrip

attack, and bill collectors and attorneys. Jones' town survivors shared what little remained. For years after the massacre, the media and public stigmatized people's temple members, defectors, and survivors. They were called baby killers and murderers. As years passed, some survivors successfully moved on. Others struggled. Some people's stories were told. Others were forgotten. Some died. Yet each year on November 18th, Jones' town survivors trekked to Evergreen Cemetery to mourn the massive loss of their community. Vernon Gosney is haunted by his decision to give Congressman Ryan the note asking for help. He never anticipated such a small action would have such violent consequences,

including the death of his young son. Quote, The loss of my son has been the most difficult thing in my life to deal with. My sense of remorse, my sense of guilt, my going back to that moment a million times and making a different decision. To find some level of peace and some level of forgiveness has been the most challenging thing for me. Reporter Tim Reiderman quote, I don't think a day passes that I don't think of it. It has become part of me. People ask if you knew then what you know now about Jones' early life, about the decline of his personality, about the depravity and madness later. Would you have gone to Jones' town? If you'd known your visit would trigger the deaths of

900 people, would you still have gone? Of course not. I would turn back the clock if I could. Jones' town was the single largest loss of American civilian life in a non-natural disaster up until the September 11 terrorist attacks in 2001. Nowadays, almost 40 years later, Jones' town still lingers in modern society. The popular phrase drinking the Kool-Aid used comically towards people who easily give in to peer pressure or persuasion is a direct reference to Jones' town. To survivors, it's an insult. For them, those who died in Jones' town on November 18, 1978 weren't simply a group of willing fanatical cult members as they've since been labelled. No one will ever truly know what went through the minds of each individual as they

stood before the vat of poison, but it's clear that a large percentage didn't want to die and were either forced to drink or were forcibly injected. Tim Jones' son, Stephen Jones, wasn't in Jones' town at the time of the massacre. He was in Georgetown on a trip as a member of Jones' town's basketball team. Stephen Jones, quote, asked yourself, what would someone have to tell you or what would someone have to do to you to get you to do something that you couldn't possibly believe you were capable of? Examine that. Learn from it. Don't judge it. Don't stand separate from it. Be willing to stand in the shoes of the people you're judging. And I hope that the 900-plus people that they died and the way they died might offer us something

so that their lives won't be in vain. you