Murdaugh Murders Podcast - Introducing: CONSPIRACY THEORIES, CULTS, AND CRIMES

Episode Date: August 18, 2025

From Jonestown to Heaven’s Gate, to the Octopus Murders and the Waco Siege, the world is full of deception, manipulation, and destruction. Listen to Conspiracy Theories, Cults, and Crimes every Wednesday as we explore the real people at the center of the world’s most shocking secrets and nefarious organizations. Conspiracy Theories, Cults, and Crimes is a Crime House Original powered by PAVE Studios. Follow the show now so you don’t miss a single story. Listen and follow here: https://link.podtrac.com/c71j9p0t Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey y'all, it's Mandy. If you're enjoying our show and looking for your next listen, I've got just the thing. It's a brand new podcast from Crime House called Conspiracy Theory's Colts and Crimes. Each week, Vanessa Richardson will uncover the true stories behind the world's most shocking crimes, deadly ideologies, and secret plots, from mass suicides and political assassinations to secret government experiments in UFO cults. If you love mystery, madness, and diving deep into the world. world's most unbelievable true stories, you won't want to miss this show. We have a clip here

from the first episode about the Heaven's Gate Colt, which is out now. If you like what you hear, don't forget to follow conspiracy theories, cults, and crimes on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon music, or wherever you listen. Sometimes the most shocking stories have the most ordinary beginnings. That was certainly the for Heaven's Gate and its leader Marshall Applewhite. Born in 1932, in the small city of Spur, Texas, Marshall had a typical All-American upbringing, and religion was a very important part of his childhood. His father was a well-known Presbyterian minister in the area, and he encouraged Marshall to live a life of virtue, one that his family and God would be proud of.

Marshall was eager to please. Growing up, he attended church regularly. and wanted to become a minister just like his father. But while Marshall was a staunch Christian, he was also interested in looking elsewhere for the answers to life's biggest questions. So when it was time for him to go to college in the late 1940s or early 50s, Marshall decided to study philosophy

at Austin College in Sherman, Texas. And he made a splash on campus right away. Classmates remembered Marshall as an extrovert with a magnetic personality. Along with joining the Association of Prospective Presbyterian Ministers, Marshall was a talented singer who led the school's acapella group. It seemed like whatever Marshall set his mind to, he would achieve it. And when it came time to graduate in 1952,

the 20-year-old decided to follow in his father's footsteps. That year, he enrolled at Virginia's Union Theological Seminary, but even though he enjoyed diving deeper into Presbyterian theology, he still felt like something was missing. So after two years, he decided to change course. He dropped out and studied music and voice instead. Marshall had an undeniable gift. For a while, he even dreamed of a career in opera or acting.

But life had other plans. Ever since high school, Marshall had been dating a woman named Anne Pierce. She was a fellow Texan who shared Marshall's religious beliefs. And despite being long-distance while Marshall was at seminary school, they both stayed loyal. In 1952, around the same time Marshall dropped out and studied music, he and Anne got married. Before long, they'd settled down in suburban Houston and had two children. At this point, Marshall knew he'd never be a big star, but he could use his voice to support his family. soon he became the choral director at Houston's St. Mark's Episcopal Church, as well as a music professor at the University of St. Thomas, also in Houston. He was good at what he did. But deep down, Marshall was restless and unhappy, because there was one thing he'd never told anyone. He was bisexual. From a young age, Marshall had been taught to hide who he was, or face the wrath of people like his father. For decades,

he'd succeeded, but it had put a wall between him and those around him. By the mid-60s, Marshall felt alienated from his wife and kids and resentful of his quiet suburban life. Eventually, he couldn't repress those feelings any longer, and it would cost him everything. Sometime in 1965, when Marshall was 33 years old, he allegedly began an affair with a male student at the University of St. Thomas. The details are murky, but eventually Anne found out. She was furious and immediately separated from Marshall. Three years later, in 1968, the couple officially divorced and Anne got custody of their two children. Not long after that, in 1970, the university learned about Marshall's rumored relationship with the student, and he was

fired. Feeling lost and alone, Marshall spent two years. drifting around the country, searching for his purpose. Because of the Presbyterian Church's stance on sexuality, Marshall no longer felt welcome there. It was a huge blow to his sense of self. For his whole life, Marshall had found meaning and community through his congregation, and he still yearned for that feeling of belonging. But now, he'd have to find it outside of conventional religion. Soon, he found a new sense of spirituality in the form of more eccentric subjects, including

astrology, science fiction, ancient mysticism, and UFOs. While exploring these ideas, Marshall supported himself by dabbling in small ventures. At some point, he even ran a sandwich shop in New Mexico, but nothing seemed to stick. So in 1972, 40-year-old Marshall returned to Houston. He was looking for a fresh start, for someone to build his life with, because despite his newfound interests, he was still very much alone. He had no partner and no relationship with his two children, 15-year-old Mark and 13-year-old Lane.

It seemed like Marshall would never feel whole again. And then he met Bonnie Lou Nettles. On the surface, Bonnie was just as ordinary as Marshall, Born in Houston in 1927, she was the second of three children in a working-class Baptist family. She married young, built a life as a nurse, and raised four children in the suburbs. But as the years went by, she felt increasingly out of place in the tidy routines of family life. Like Marshall, Bonnie felt like an outsider. Her daughter described her as someone who never really fit into society.

She was a dreamer who liked to stare at the night sky and pretend a UFO would take her away. So it wasn't a surprise that Bonnie turned to New Age spirituality for answers. She explored astrology, theosophy, and fringe ideas about life and the universe. Her nights were filled with study groups and seances, which often left her straight-laced husband bewildered. For perspective, she once told them that she was getting life advice from my life. a dead monk named Brother Francis. By 1972, it was clear that 44-year-old Bonnie and her husband weren't a good fit. It was a difficult moment for Bonnie. Her marriage was failing and her future felt uncertain. All she knew was that a fortune teller had predicted a tall, fair-skinned man

would one day change her life. That person came in the form of Marshall Applewhite. Thank you so much for listening. To catch the rest of this episode and so much more, search for conspiracy theories, cults, and crimes, wherever you get your podcast. We'll also drop a link in the show notes.