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<v Speaker 1>Everybody, it's Emily. You know how sometimes you finish an

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<v Speaker 1>episode and you're left craving more of those spine tingling

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<v Speaker 1>moments that make you question everything. Well, I've discovered something

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<v Speaker 1>that's going to scratch that itch. There's this incredible new

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<v Speaker 1>podcast from Crime House called Conspiracy Theories, Cults and Crimes,

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<v Speaker 1>and honestly, it's everything we true crime lovers have been

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<v Speaker 1>waiting for. Vanessa Richardson takes you on these mind banding

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<v Speaker 1>journeys into the absolute darkest corners of human behavior. We're

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<v Speaker 1>talking mass suicides, political assassinations, secret government experiments, and u

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<v Speaker 1>FO cults that will leave you staring at the ceiling

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<v Speaker 1>at three am. If you're like me and you live

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<v Speaker 1>for those stories that seem too twisted to be real

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<v Speaker 1>but absolutely are, this show is about to become your

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<v Speaker 1>new obsession. Coming up. I've got a preview from their

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<v Speaker 1>debut episode, diving into the Heaven's Gate Cult, and trust me,

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<v Speaker 1>it's Matt. Make sure you follow Conspiracy Theories, Cults and

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<v Speaker 1>Crimes on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, or wherever you

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<v Speaker 1>get your podcasts.

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<v Speaker 2>Sometimes the most shocking stories have the most ordinary beginnings.

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<v Speaker 2>That was certainly the case for Heavensgate and its leader.

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<v Speaker 2>Marshall Applewhite born in nineteen thirty two in the small

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<v Speaker 2>city of spur, Texas. Marshall had a typical All American upbringing,

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<v Speaker 2>and religion was a very important part of his childhood.

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<v Speaker 2>His father was a well known Presbyterian minister in the area,

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<v Speaker 2>and he encouraged Marshall to live a life of virtue,

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<v Speaker 2>one that his family and God would be proud of.

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<v Speaker 2>Marshall was eager to please growing up. He attended church

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<v Speaker 2>regularly and wanted to become a minister just like his father.

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<v Speaker 2>But while Marshall was a staunch Christian, he was also

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<v Speaker 2>interested in looking elsewhere for the answers to life's biggest questions.

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<v Speaker 2>So when it was time for him to go to

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<v Speaker 2>college in the late nineteen forties or early fifties, Marshall

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<v Speaker 2>decided to study philosophy at Austin College in Sherman, Texas,

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<v Speaker 2>and he made a splash on campus right away. Classmates

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<v Speaker 2>remembered Marshall as an extrovert with a magnetic personality. Along

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<v Speaker 2>with joining the Association of Prospective Presbyterian Ministers, Marshall was

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<v Speaker 2>a talented singer who led the school's a cappella group.

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<v Speaker 2>It seemed like whatever Marshall set his mind to, he

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<v Speaker 2>would achieve it, and when it came time to graduate

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<v Speaker 2>in nineteen fifty two, the twenty year old decided to

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<v Speaker 2>follow in his father's footsteps. That year, he enrolled at

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<v Speaker 2>Virginia's Union Theological Seminary, but even though he enjoyed diving

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<v Speaker 2>deeper into Presbyterian theology, he still felt like something was missing,

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<v Speaker 2>so after two years he decided to change course. He

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<v Speaker 2>dropped out and studied music and voice instead. Marshall had

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<v Speaker 2>an undeniable gift. For a while, he even dreamed of

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<v Speaker 2>a career in opera or acting, but life had other plans.

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<v Speaker 2>Ever since high school, Marshall had been dating a woman

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<v Speaker 2>named Anne Pierce. She was a fellow Texan who shared

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<v Speaker 2>Marshall's religious beliefs, and despite being long distance while Marshall

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<v Speaker 2>was at seminary school, they both stayed loyal. In nineteen

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<v Speaker 2>fifty two, around the same time Marshall dropped out and

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<v Speaker 2>studied music, he and Anne got married. Before long, they'd

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<v Speaker 2>settled down in suburban Houston and had two children. At

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<v Speaker 2>this point, Marshall knew he'd never be a big star,

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<v Speaker 2>but he could use his voice to support his family.

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<v Speaker 2>Soon he became the choral director at Houston's Saint Mark's

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<v Speaker 2>Episcopal Church, as well as a music professor at the

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<v Speaker 2>University of Saint Thomas, also in Houston. He was good

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<v Speaker 2>at what he did, but deep down, Marshall was restless

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<v Speaker 2>and unhappy because there was one thing he'd never told anyone.

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<v Speaker 2>He was bisexual. From a young age, Marshall had been

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<v Speaker 2>taught to hide who he was or face the wrath

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<v Speaker 2>of people like his father. For decades. He'd succeeded, but

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<v Speaker 2>it had put a wall between him and those around him.

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<v Speaker 2>By the mid sixties, Marshall felt alienated from his wife

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<v Speaker 2>and kids and resentful of his quiet, suburban life. Eventually,

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<v Speaker 2>he couldn't repress those feelings any longer, and it would

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<v Speaker 2>cost him everything. Sometime in nineteen sixty five, when Marshall

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<v Speaker 2>was thirty three years old, he allegedly began an affair

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<v Speaker 2>with a male student at the University of Saint Thomas.

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<v Speaker 2>The details are murky, but eventually Ann found out. She

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<v Speaker 2>was furious and immediately separated from Marshall. Three years later,

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<v Speaker 2>in nineteen sixty eight, the couple officially divorced and got

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<v Speaker 2>custody of their two children. Not long after that, in

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<v Speaker 2>nineteen seventy, the university learned about Marshall's rumored relationship with

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<v Speaker 2>the student, and he was fired. Feeling lost and alone,

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<v Speaker 2>spent two years drifting around the country searching for his purpose.

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<v Speaker 2>Because of the Presbyterian Church's stance on sexuality, Marshall no

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<v Speaker 2>longer felt welcome there. It was a huge blow to

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<v Speaker 2>his sense of self. For his whole life, Marshall had

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<v Speaker 2>found meaning and community through his congregation, and he still

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<v Speaker 2>yearned for that feeling of belonging, but now he'd have

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<v Speaker 2>to find it outside of conventional religion. Soon, he found

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<v Speaker 2>a new sense of spirituality in the form of more

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<v Speaker 2>eccentric subjects, including astrology, science fiction, ancient mysticism, and UFOs.

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<v Speaker 2>While exploring these ideas, Marshall supported himself by dabbling in

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<v Speaker 2>small ventures. At some point, he even ran a sandwich

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<v Speaker 2>shop in New Mexico, but nothing seemed to stick. So

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<v Speaker 2>in nineteen seventy two, forty year old Marshall returned to Houston.

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<v Speaker 2>He was looking for a fresh start, for someone to

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<v Speaker 2>build his life with, because despite his newfound interests, he

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<v Speaker 2>was still very much alone. He had no partner and

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<v Speaker 2>no relationship with his two children, fifteen year old Mark

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<v Speaker 2>and thirteen year old Lane. It seemed like Marshall would

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<v Speaker 2>never feel whole again, and then he met Bonnie lu Nettles.

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<v Speaker 2>On the surface, Bonnie was just as ordinary as Marshall.

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<v Speaker 2>Born in Houston in nineteen twenty seven, she was the

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<v Speaker 2>second of three children in a working class Baptist family.

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<v Speaker 2>She married young, built a life as a nurse, and

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<v Speaker 2>raised four children in the suburbs. But as the years

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<v Speaker 2>went by, she felt increasingly out of place in the

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<v Speaker 2>tidy routines of family life. Like Marshall, Bonnie felt like

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<v Speaker 2>an outsider. Her daughter described her as someone who never

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<v Speaker 2>really fit into society. She was a dreamer who liked

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<v Speaker 2>to stare at the night sky and pretend a UFO

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<v Speaker 2>would take her away. So it wasn't a surprise that

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<v Speaker 2>Bonnie turned to New Age spirituality for answers. She explored astrology, theosophy,

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<v Speaker 2>and fringe ideas about life and the universe. Her nights

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<v Speaker 2>were filled with study groups and seances, which often left

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<v Speaker 2>her straight laced husband bewildered for perspective. She once told

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<v Speaker 2>him that she was getting life advice from a dead

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<v Speaker 2>monk named Brother Francis. By nineteen seventy two, it was

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<v Speaker 2>clear that forty four year old Bonnie and her husband

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<v Speaker 2>weren't a good fit. It was a difficult moment for Bonnie.

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<v Speaker 2>Her marriage was failing and her future felt uncertain. All

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<v Speaker 2>she knew was that a fortune teller had predicted a tall,

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<v Speaker 2>fair skinned man would one day change her life. That

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<v Speaker 2>person came in the form of Marshall Applewhite.

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<v Speaker 1>It was just a taste of what Vanessa and the

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<v Speaker 1>team have in store for you. If that left you

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<v Speaker 1>wanting more, and I know it did, go hunt on

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<v Speaker 1>conspiracy theories, cults and crimes wherever you listen to podcasts.

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<v Speaker 1>We've got the link waiting for you in the show notes,

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<v Speaker 1>because honestly, you're gonna wanna binge this immediately.