The Jonestown massacre – a sister’s story

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Rebecca Moore grew up in a loving Christian family in California with her two sisters, Carolyn and Annie. In the late 1960s, Carolyn joined Peoples Temple, a movement led by the charismatic preacher Jim Jones. Annie soon followed, and Carolyn ended up becoming one of Jim Jones' closest associates and had a son with him. Both sisters urged Rebecca to join, but she never did. As allegations of abuse and misconduct around Jim Jones grew, he and hundreds of his followers moved to a remote agricultural settlement in the rainforests of Guyana that became known as Jonestown. On 18 November 1978, after a visiting US Congressman and four others were murdered, more than 900 people died there, including Carolyn, Annie and Carolyn's young son, Kimo. For Rebecca, life became divided into "before Jonestown" and "after Jonestown." Determined to understand what had happened, she spent decades researching Peoples Temple, filing Freedom of Information requests, writing books and becoming a leading scholar of new religious movements. Along the way, she uncovered painful truths about her sisters' involvement in the events leading up to the tragedy. This programme contains references to mass murder and mass suicide. Presenter: Jo Fidgen Producer: Florian Bohr Get in touch: outlook@bbc.com or WhatsApp +44 330 678 2707 (Photo: A childhood photograph of Rebecca Moore with her younger sister Annie and her older sister Carolyn. They stand together in front of dense green shrubs. Rebecca and Annie both wear white dresses and Carolyn a red dress. Credit: Rebecca Moore)