The cremated remains of nine victims of a 1978 mass cult suicide-murder in Jonestown, Guyana, have turned up in a former funeral home in Delaware, officials said Thursday.
The state Division of Forensic Science has taken possession of the remains, discovered at the former Minus Funeral Home in Dover, and is working to make identifications and notify relatives, the agency and Dover police said in a statement.
On Nov. 18, 1978, gunmen from the Peoples Temple cult ambushed and killed U.S. Rep. Leo Ryan of California, three newsmen and a defector from the group at a remote jungle airstrip as they visited on a fact-finding mission to investigate reports of abuses of members.
Cult leader Jim Jones then orchestrated a ritual of mass murder and suicide at the temple's nearby agricultural commune, ordering followers to drink cyanide-laced grape punch. Most of them complied, although survivors described some people being shot, injected with poison, or forced to drink the deadly beverage when they tried to resist.
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6 comments:
Is there a moral to this story or some type of redeeming value?
In college (Wash DC) I worked at a funeral home part time as a greeter/hostess. I was shocked at the number of cremains (industry term for ashes left after cremation) that go unclaimed for one reason or another.
Anyone know the protocol for unclaimed cremains? Do they have to be stored for a certain period? When families say that they don't want them, are they disposed of in some way?
The owner of this funeral home died about 2 years ago. Evidently someone just purchased the property and contacted authorities about 29 urns that were left in the building. All except for 5 have been identified this including the 9 determined to be Jonestowns victims.
4:18-In recent years since cremations have gained in popularity which increased the unclaimed problem states have been passing laws regarding this problem. I believe in MD after a specified period of time disposal can occur, funeral homes can scatter the remains or some have purchased a single grave to place all of them in a single vault.
It was several years ago that a funeral director in MD was caught scatter cremains on a neighborhoods community beach in Anne Arundel County. There are laws regarding this and you have to be a certain distance off shore to scatter.
Thanks!
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