Al and Jeannie Mills were some of the most famous defectors from the Peoples Temple. They thought they were safe from Jim Jones — until death arrived at their door in Berkeley.
Reverend Jim Jones and his wife, Marceline, are seen in a photograph taken from a pink photo album left behind in Jonestown, Guyana.After Al and Jeannie Mills defected from the Peoples Temple, Jeannie wrote a memoir about their life in the cult. She called it “Six Years With God.”
A photograph of the Mills family taken around 1973, when they still were members of the Peoples Temple. The top row shows Al, Diana and Jeannie. The bottom row shows Daphene and Eddie.In late 1969, a friend told them about a fascinating preacher named Jim Jones who was leading a congregation in Mendocino County. In “Six Years With God,” Deanna wrote that her ears pricked up when the friend mentioned Jones had “helped thirty young people kick the drug habit.
The Mertles were powerful allies as Jones expanded his empire. They were also ruthless and paranoid. In “Road to Jonestown,” crime writer Jeff Guinn recounted the story of a 19-year-old girl who hitchhiked her way to Mendocino County. The Mertles, who often cared for temple children, took her in. The teen wrote letters to her family back home, but no one ever replied. Heartbroken, she stopped writing.
It was finally too much for the Mertles. In the fall of 1975, they defected. Guinn called them “the worst sort of enemies that Jones could have imagined.” “Eddie and Daphene didn’t want to go to school alone, so I started driving them to and from,” Jeannie wrote. “Each time we went out in our car, another car followed us. We were now living under Jim’s reign of terror.”Matthew NAYTHONS/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images
Peoples Temple follower Larry Layton stands with police following his arrest on Nov. 18, 1978, on a remote Guyana airstrip near Jonestown.The news was devastating — and terrifying — for former Peoples Temple members in the Bay Area. Berkeley police put the Human Freedom Center under 24-hour surveillance amid rumors that assassins were roaming the streets, sent by Jones to eliminate defectors.
Around 9 p.m., Berkeley police received a frantic call from Al’s mother, who had left her room for a quick visit to the cottage. When police arrived at the scene, a bloodbath awaited them.
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Overnight fire near I-80 in Berkeley causes closure of ramps at University AvenueOvernight fire near I-80 in Berkeley causes closure of on-ramps at University Avenue
Read more »
California police arrest serial sex assault suspect on University of California Berkeley campusCalifornia authorities have arrested a suspect tied to a string of sexual assaults around the University of California Berkeley campus and in Palo Alto.
Read more »
Review: 18th-century ‘Triumph’ revived onstage in BerkeleyShotgun Players revives ‘Triumph of Love,’ an 18th-century comedy about a Machiavellian love plot that seemingly everyone knows is doomed.
Read more »
Update: Police release image of sex assault suspect following arrest in Palo Alto, UC Berkeley attacksPolice on Thursday released an image of the suspect arrested Tuesday for a series of sexual assault and battery cases in both Palo Alto and at the University of California, Berkeley campus.
Read more »
Falcon chicks in nests at Alcatraz, UC Berkeley part of same family treePeregrine falcon chicks recently hatched in nests on Alcatraz Island and at a famous University of California at Berkeley landmark are part of the same family tree.
Read more »
Opinion | Alvin Bragg is done playing nice with Jim JordanThe Manhattan district attorney's federal lawsuit means House Republicans will have to defend their interference in court.
Read more »