Jonestown Audiotape Primary Project : Summaries
Summary prepared by Fielding M. McGehee, III. If you use this material, please credit The Jonestown Institute. Thank you.

Tape Number : Q 039

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FBI Catalogue: Identified Individuals Speaking
Date cues on tape: Fall 1977 to 1978 (Children in Jonestown)

People named:

Family members, full name unknown:

    Patrick
    Scott
Jonestown residents, full name unknown:
    Carol
    Judy (speaks)
    Patty (speaks)

Bible verses cited: None

Summary:

In this audio postcard from Jonestown, two young teenage girls describe their lives in Jonestown for relatives back home. Patty and Judy talk about the things they learn in school, the sports they participate in, and the beauty of the surrounding jungle.

Both girls end their comments with a note of regret that their grandfather couldnąt come, but it is unclear whether the choice not to come was his or that of the adult members of the Jonestown community.

FBI Summary:

Date of transcription: 2/9/79

Cassette tape identified as FBI Labatory [sic]; Number 81205068-Q39 was reviewed and determined to be approximately three minutes personal conversation of two persons believed to be PATRICIA and JUDY HOUSTON.

Differences with FBI Summary:

There are two differences. First, the description of the tape as "personal conversation" connotes unstructured or random snippets of conversation that have no import beyond the moment. To the contrary, the audio postcards from Jonestown were a crucial part of the strategy to either entice Peoples Temple members to emigrate from California to Jonestown, or to placate relatives who had not been invited to come but who were concerned about the safety and well-being of their loved ones.

The second difference is that of identification. It could be that the two girls speaking are, in fact, Patty and Judy Houston. The sisters were 15 and 14, respectively, at the time of their deaths in Jonestown, and are the only two sisters with those names. Who, then, is Carol, the woman of whom both girls speak and who is obviously the link between the girls and their grandfather?

The alternative is the McCoy family. Patty McCoy was 14 when she died; her mother is Carol McCoy. Who, then, would Judy be?

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