[Editorial note: This document was released both as a State Department cable as part of its 1981 FOIA release, and as Serial 1936 of the FBI’s RYMUR release.
[The complete Guyana Inquest – from which this page was missing in its original release – is here.
[The text for this document was released in 2014 by the now-defunct Wikileaks website at https://wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/1979GEORGE01036_e.html. This URL may be available through the Wayback Machine.]
UNCLASSIFIED PAGE 01
GEORGE 01036 100722Z
ACTION OCS-06
INFO OCT-01 ARA-15 ISO-00 CA-01 JUSE-00 L-03 CIAE-00 INR-10 NSAE-00 TRSE-00 SY-05 SYE-00 USSS-00 H-02 SS-15 NSC-05 HA-05 /068 W
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R 081110Z MAR 79
FM AMEMBASSY GEORGETOWN
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 9141
INFO DIRECTOR FBI
AMEMBASSY CARACAS
UNCLAS GEORGETOWN 1036
FOR CARACAS (PASS LEGAT)
E.O. 12065: NA
TAGS: CDES, (PEOPLE’S TEMPLE)
SUJB: RYMUR, CORONER’S INQUEST INTO DEATHS OF JAMES W. JONES, ET AL.
REF: CARACAS 1790 (NOTAL)
FOLLOWING IS PAGE FOUR OF TRANSCRIPT OF CORONER’S INQUEST AS REQUESTED REFETEL:
QUOTE: POLES IN THE TENT CONTAIN SPEAKERS ATTACHED TO THEM. TRANSMITTING EQUIPMENT WAS FOUND. A VERY POWERFUL SET. FROM ENQUIRIES THE SAID ORGANIZATION AT JONESTOWN OWNED A TRAWLER NAMED “CUDJOE”. THIS VESSEL IS NOW IN POSSESSION OF THE POLICE. THERE WAS A V.H.F. SET ON THIS SHIP. I AM ALSO AWARE THAT MEMBERS OF THE SAID ORGANIZATION OPERATED ANOTHER SHIP NAMED THE “ALBATROSS”. IN COURSE OF THE CONTINUED INVESTIGATION 35 WEAPONS WERE FOUND IN A ROOM WITHIN PRECINTS OF THE BODIES OF THE TWO PERSONS WHO APPEARED TO HAVE GUN SHOTS WOUNDS WAS ANN ELIZABETH MOORE AND JAMES WARREN JONES. ONE OF THE SAID WEAPON WAS FOUND
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WHERE THE BODY OF ANN ELIZABETH MOORE WAS FOUND AND THE OTHER FOUND IN THE VICINITY OF THE BODY OF JAMES WARREN JONES. HIS BODY WAS FOUND ON A SMALL PLATFORM UNDER THE TENT. THERE WAS A LARGE OPEN SAFE EMPTY IN THE HOUSE OCCUPIED BY JAMES WARREN JONES. IT CARRIED A COMBINATION LOCK. IN COURSE OF FURTHER ENQUIRY A SUM OF MONEY IN EXCESS OF $550,000 U.S. DOLLARS AS WELL AS A LARGE SUM OF (G) [GUYANESE] DOLLARS WERE FOUND. THESE WERE FOUND IN JONESTOWN. THE BULK OF THIS AMOUNT WAS FOUND IN A CHICKEN FEED BAG WHICH WAS IN THE FEEDING ROOM OF THE CHICKEN FARM OWNED AND OPERATED BY THE SAID ORGANIZATION. THIS CHICKEN FARM IS ABOUT TWO MILES AWAY. THERE IS A ROADWAY WHICH LEADS FROM THE SETTLEMENT TO THE CHICKEN FARM. ANOTHER PORTION OF THE MONEY WAS FOUND BURIED IN A BANANA GROVE APPROXIMATE 600 YARDS FROM MAIN AREA. APPROXIMATE $4,800 (U.S.) WAS FOUND IN THE POSSESSION OF THREE MEN NAMELY MICHAEL PROKES, TIMOTHY CARTER AND MICHAEL CARTER. I WAS TAKEN TO BOTH PLACES BY MICHAEL CARTER. THESE SUMS ARE NOW IN THE POSSESSION OF THE POLICE. I ALSO FOUND A QUANTITY OF RINGS, GOLD AND DIAMOND WHICH ARE ALSO IN THE POSSESSION OF THE POLICE. THEY WERE FOUND IN A SMALL RED BOX. I THINK THEY WERE ABOUT 28 RINGS.
CROSS-EXAMINATION OF WITNESS:- NONE
QUESTION BY MEMBERS OF THE JURY:
ANSWER:- CARTERS AND PROKES ARE AMERICAN CITIZEN AND MEMBERS OF THE PEOPLE’S TEMPLE.
BY CORONER:- ON MY WAY TO JONESTOWN ON 20TH NOVEMBER, 1978 I HAD IN MY COMPANY ANOTHER AMERICAN CITIZEN BESIDES ODELL RHODES. HIS NAME IS MICHAEL CARTER.
WITNESS ASK LEAVE OF CORONER TO HAVE DELETED FROM EXHIBIT “A6” THE NAMES PATRICIA PARKS, LIANE HARRIS AND LINDA HARRIS ALIAS SHARON AMOS. AS THE DEATH. UNQUOTE
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BURKE [John Burke, U.S. Ambassador to Guyana]
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