ACTRESS NICHOLS' BROTHER AMONG DEAD AT MANSION.Byline: Jaxon Van Derbeken Daily News Staff Writer Among the Heaven's Gate Heaven's Gate U.S. religious group that committed mass suicide in 1997 and that had been founded on a belief in unidentified flying objects. Established by Marshall H. members who killed themselves to get to the stars was the youngest brother of the Woodland Hills woman who portrayed Lt. Uhura on the TV show ``Star Trek  Editing of this page by unregistered or newly registered users is currently disabled due to vandalism. .''
Actress Nichelle Nichols Nichelle Nichols (born Grace Nichols on December 28 1932) is an American singer, actress, and voice actress. She sang with Duke Ellington and Lionel Hampton before turning to acting. said Thomas ``Tommy'' Nichols stayed away from his family nearly two decades before he came to her about two years ago, asking how to publicize the Heaven's Gate religious order he had joined. ``We had not heard from him for almost 20 years, until several years ago, just before my mother died, and he let us know that he was well and that he was happy where he was,'' she said during an interview on CNN's ``Larry King Larry King (born November 19, 1933) is an award-winning American writer, journalist and broadcaster. He currently hosts a nightly interview program on CNN called Larry King Live, one of the longest running talk shows on American air. Live'' on Friday. ``He came to visit me with some members, which was unprecedented, to let me know what they were about,'' she said. ``They talked about the great comet A Great Comet is a comet which becomes particularly bright and is very spectacular to a casual observer on Earth. Great comets appear, on average, once every decade. that would come someday, and they would know it.'' Nichols called her brother a ``highly intelligent and a beautifully gentle man - he made his choices and we respect those choices.'' The ties between Heaven's Gate and ``Star Trek'' went deeper than just Nichols' enrollment in the group. In fact, Heaven's Gate members spoke glowingly of both ``Star Trek'' and ``Star Wars.'' Tampa free-lance writer Michael Upledger told the Associated Press Associated Press: see news agency. Associated Press (AP) Cooperative news agency, the oldest and largest in the U.S. and long the largest in the world. that he had interviewed some Heaven's Gate members in 1994, and they were soft-spoken and polite, but would become excited when talking about science fiction television. ``They loved `X-Files' and `Star Trek.' It was their one charming vice,'' he said. The 58-year-old Thomas Nichols was among the 39 members of the group whose bodies were discovered in the rambling Rancho Santa Fe Santa Fe, city, Argentina Santa Fe, city (1991 pop. 341,000), capital of Santa Fe prov., NE Argentina, a river port near the Paraná, with which it is connected by canal. mansion. On Friday, authorities released the identities of 30 members and said they would name the remainder as soon as they can notify the next of kin The blood relatives entitled by law to inherit the property of a person who dies without leaving a valid will, although the term is sometimes interpreted to include a relationship existing by reason of marriage. Cross-references Descent and Distribution. . Of the 39 who committed suicide, six had California driver's licenses. Thomas Nichols had an Arizona driver's license, authorities said. David Geoffery Moore, 40, whose parents are from Pacific Grove Pacific Grove, residential and resort city (1990 pop. 16,117), Monterey co., W central Calif., on a point where Monterey Bay meets the Pacific Ocean; inc. 1889. and Carmel, Calif., was among those with a California driver's license. In some cases, authorities identified several people, but would not be specific about their addresses. They included Margaret Ella Richter, 46, of California - described as being 5-foot-8 and 125 pounds, with brown hair and green eyes - and David Cabot Van Sinderen, 48, of California, who was 5-foot-8 and 125 pounds, with brown hair and gray eyes. Authorities were still seeking to identify a 44-year-old man born in Michigan who had a passport issued in Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. as well as a 47-year-old Lake Forest man whose family was just reached Friday. Coroner's officials identified other individuals with California driver's licenses as Erika Ernst, 40, a blond, blue-eyed woman, described as 5-foot-6, 118 pounds. Ernst, whose family is from Calgary, Alberta, had a Canadian passport Canadian passports are issued to citizens of Canada for the purpose of international travel. Besides serving as proof of Canadian citizenship, they facilitate the process of securing assistance from Canadian consular officials abroad, if needed. . Officials say that her parents had been vacationing at Disneyland when they heard the news that their daughter had killed herself. NAMES OF THE DEAD Thirty-nine people, 21 women and 18 men, found dead after a mass suicide in California's San Diego County were 26 to 72 years old with driver's licenses from nine states. Relatives seeking information can contact the San Diego County coroner's office at 800-600-0646. Names of dead whose families have been notified: Marshall Herff Applewhite (aka Elder Jonathan), 66, no license Nancy Dianne Nelson, 45, Arizona Thomas Alva Nichols, 59, Arizona Margaret Ella Richter, 46, California Erika Ernst, 40, California David Geoffery Moore, 41, California David Cabot Van Sinderen, 48, California Dana Tracey Abreo, 35, (female) Colorado Ladonna Ann Brugato, 40, Colorado Jacqueline Opal Leonard, 72, Colorado Raymond Alan Bowers, 45, Florida Suzanne Sylvia Cooke, 54, Minnesota John M. Craig (aka Logan Lahson), 63, New Mexico Margaret June Bull, 53, New Mexico Susan Elizabeth Nora Paup, 54, New Mexico Brian Alan Schaaf, 40, New Mexico Joyce Angela Skalla, 58, New Mexico Gary Jordan St. Louis, 44, New Mexico Yvonne McCurdy-Hill, 39, Ohio Robert John Arancio, 46, Texas Cheryl Elaine Butcher, 43, Texas Michael Howard Carrier, 48, Texas Betty Eldrie Deal, 64, Texas Jeffrey Howard Lewis, 41, Texas Norma Jeane Nelson, 59, Texas Susan Frances Strom, 44, Texas Denise June Thurman, 44, Texas Darwin Lee Johnson, 42, Utah Gail Renee Maeder, 28, Utah Joel Peter McCormick, 29, Utah Gender, age and state issuing driver's license of the others whose names have not been released: Male, 50, Arizona license, born in New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of , passport issued in Los Angeles. Male, 47, Lake Forest, California Lake Forest is a city in Orange County, California, United States. The population was 78,243 as of 2007. [1] With 6,274 people per square mile, it is the densest-populated city in South County to this day. Male, 26, Boulder, Colo.; born in Virginia, passport issued in Washington, D.C. Female, 63, Albuquerque, N.M. Male, 41, Albuquerque, N.M. Female, 45, Las Cruces, N.M., born in Massachusetts, passport issued in Los Angeles. Male, 44, Minnesota, born in Michigan, passport issued Los Angeles Female, 50, Dallas and Albuquerque, N.M., licenses. Female, 41, state license unknown, born in Texas, passport issued in Seattle. PROFILES OF CULT MEMBERS Thumbnail sketches of some suicide cult members: JACKIE LEONARD At 72, Leonard was the oldest among the dead. She left her Iowa home in the early 1970s, according to her son-in-law, Angelo Bellizzi of Seattle. Leonard grew up in Des Moines and raised two daughters and a son there with her late husband, Bellizzi said. The son-in-law said Leonard ``was always groping grope v. groped, grop·ing, gropes v.intr. 1. To reach about uncertainly; feel one's way: groped for the telephone. 2. and looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. something that interested her.'' In the early 1970s, she moved to Colorado, where she met members of the UFO UFO: see unidentified flying objects. (United Functions and Objects) A programming language developed by John Sargeant at Manchester University, U.K. cult, Bellizzi said. A few years later she joined the group in San Francisco, he said. YVONNE McCURDY-HILL McCurdy-Hill, 39, learned about the cult over the Internet and left her five children in Cincinnati last September to join the group, the family's minister said. She had been a postal worker for 10 years, sorting magazines and operating a mail machine at the main processing center in Cincinnati, said Bonni Maines, a U.S. Postal Service The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) processes and delivers mail to individuals and businesses within the United States. The service seeks to improve its performance through the development of efficient mail-handling systems and operates its own planning and engineering programs. spokeswoman. McCurdy-Hill quit in August, citing ``circumstances beyond my control.'' Her mother-in-law said she and her husband came to the family and said the cult leader had told them to leave their children behind. The three boys and two girls ranging in age from 7 months to 19, are now being cared for by family members. Her husband moved with her to join the cult but later returned to the East, and the family said his whereabouts weren't known. DAVID GEOFFERY MOORE Moore, 40, grew up in Los Gatos, Calif., near San Jose. He hooked up with the cult in the mid-1970s and had contacted his family only twice since then, said his mother, Nancie Brown. Brown described her son as an emotional, often angry teen-ager who attended his first cult meeting in a neighborhood park at the age of 19, Brown said. After the cult moved to San Diego County, Moore and two female cult members worked as freelance employees for Arrowhead General Insurance Agency, an employee there said. DAVID CABOT VAN SINDEREN Van Sinderen, 48, who was found with a California's driver license, was the son of Alfred White Van Sinderen, 72, of Woodbridge, Conn., said David's sister, Sylvia Van Sinderen Abbate of Cheshire, Conn. Alfred White Van Sinderen is the former chairman and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of South New England Telephone Verizon New England, Inc., formerly New England Telephone & Telegraph Co., is a Bell Operating Company that serves the majority of New England. It is an operating unit of Verizon Communications. New England Telephone & Telegraph Co. Co., the oldest local telephone company in the nation. An alumnus ALUMNUS, civil law. A child which one has nursed; a foster child. Dig. 40, 2, 14. of Yale University and of Harvard University's business school, he also served as a faculty fellow at the Yale School of Management The Yale School of Management (also known as Yale SOM) is the graduate business school of Yale University and is located on Hillhouse Avenue in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. The School offers M.B.A. and Ph.D. degree programs. from 1985-1989, according to Who's Who in America. In addition to David and Sylvia, Alfred Van Sinderen has three other children - Alexander, Jean White and Katherine, according to Who's Who. The family will issue a statement in the next few days, Abbate said Friday evening. CAPTION(S): 4 Photos, 2 Boxes Photo: In a 1957 photo from actress Nichelle Nichols' autobiography, her brother Thomas stands third from right. (2) YVONNE McCURDY-HILL (3) DAVID GEOFFERY MOORE (4) DAVID CABOT VAN SINDEREN Box: (1) NAMES OF THE DEAD (See Text) (2) PROFILES OF CULT MEMBERS (See Text) |
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