Q875

The Q875 Mystery

On November 18th, 1978 over 900 members of Peoples Temple perished in the remote agricultural settlement known as Jonestown. Much has been written about the events leading up to the tragedy, but one aspect of the events has largely been ignored--the day after. Many believe, falsely, that by the 19th, Jonestown was a "ghost town"--no one survived. This is not true. Several people left for the Kaituma Airstrip on the afternoon of the 18th, and a handful of people managed to escape while the tragedy was unfolding. Hyacinth Thrash slept through the event and finally came out of her cabin on the morning of the 19th. However, there were others in Jonestown on the 19th and they left behind evidence to prove they were there. A cassette tape, Q875, was found in Jonestown and is part of the over 900 tapes that the FBI collected. It contains recording of news broadcast of the shooting of Leo Ryan and of the speculations of "mass suicide". We know the tape was made on the 19th because the reports speak of "last nights shooting".

The mystery of the tape is this:

Who made the tape? Some have speculated that it was made by members who had not yet died. Others speculate it could have been made by members of the Guyanese Defense Force or members of a MEDEVAC team. Still others speculate it was made by a Special Forces or CIA team.

Why was it made? It is thought by those that believe the tape was made by Temple members who had not yet died that the tape was made as a kind of final entry in the Temple history book.

Where was it made? Most people believe the tape was made either in Jonestown or Georgetown. However, if it was made in Georgetown, you have to decide how the tape could have made it all the way back to Jonestown, 250 miles, for the FBI to collect.

The news reports are not the stand-out parts of the tape. What has intrigued researchers are the voices heard on the tape. Many attempts have been made to decipher exactly what they are saying in hopes that their words will help answer the questions posed. With a high quality audio set up, it is possible to clean up the audio to help analyze these "mystery voices".

I have made several excerpts that have been digitally enhanced that do make the voices more clear, and can make them available here.

An online discussion forum has been created for discussion of Peoples Temple and Jonestown. It includes a forum for discussion of this tape.

Please email me at joeyjosef@yahoo.com with your questions or comments.

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