The Final Step: Suicide
On 26th of March, 1997 San Diego Sheriff Deputies received an anonymous tip of a potential mass suicide involving 39 people in a hillside mansion, Rancho Santa Fe.
As Urrea describes, the cult members decided to take their own lives by ingesting vodka, applesauce or some kind of pudding and a strong sedative called phenobarbital. The cult members were wearing black uniform, new purple Nike shoes with a white ‘swoosh’, and compiled their possessions next to their bodies in black duffel bags. At first, the authorities thought that all cult members were men, but later discovered that 21 out of 39 were women.
Investigations revealed that they died in groups in several days, with bodies neatly arranged on individual beds and matrasses. Authorities later determined that a former Heaven's Gate cult member, had received a videotape and letter from the cult members indicating that by the time he got the package, they would be dead. The aforementioned member returned to the Rancho Santa Fe home and was the first to discover the bodies, phoning the police (Urrea).
Youtube.com: CNN: Heaven's Gate suicides remembered