On November 19, 1978, more than 900 members of the Peoples Temple were found dead in Jonestown by the Guyanese Defense Force. A few witnesses said that most of these people, some willingly and others unwillingly, had ingested cyanide mixed with Flavor Aid. The mass suicide had been orchestrated by Reverend Jim Jones, the charismatic leader of the cult.
The victims of the Jonestown Massacre were rapidly putrefying in the hot and humid tropical climate of Guyana. It was decided to transport them back to the United States where their autopsies were conducted in an Air Force military base.
Chase Mehan runs an oddities parlor in Northern Colorado. At one estate sale, Chase stumbled across a few filing cabinets of 35mm slides labeled “graphic”. Upon closer inspection, he realized they had come from a former United States Air Force Forensic photographer. Some of the slides were labeled “Guyana Nov. 78”. There were over two hundred and fifty 35mm slides from the Jonestown Massacre. These precious historical documents retrace the arrival of the US air force in the Jonestown compound, the recovery of the victims and their identification, as well as their postmortem examination. Understanding the historical nature as well as the very macabre yet intriguing side of these, Chase knew that the slides needed to be published in book form.
Jonestown: The Forensic Photos is a one-of-a-kind visual account showcasing never-before-seen photographs of the aftermath of the world’s largest mass suicide, including the autopsy of Jim Jones himself. Due to the very graphic nature of these photos, viewer discretion is advised.