1985 Rajneeshee assassination plot
Encyclopedia
The 1985 Rajneeshee assassination plot was a conspiracy
by a group of high-ranking followers of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh
(now known as Osho) to assassinate
Charles Turner
, the then-United States Attorney
for the District of Oregon
. Rajneesh's personal secretary and second-in-command, Ma Anand Sheela
, assembled the group after Turner was appointed to investigate illegal activity at Rajneeshpuram
. Turner investigated charges of immigration fraud
and sham marriage
s, and later headed the federal prosecution of the 1984 Rajneeshee bioterror attack
in The Dalles, Oregon
.
The conspirators included: Ma Anand Sheela, Sally-Anne Croft, Chief Financial Officer
of Rajneeshpuram; Susan Hagan, head of security at Rajneeshpuram, Catherine Jane Stork, who bought weapons and silencers and volunteered to be the actual murderer; Ann Phyllis McCarthy, fourth-in-command of Rajneeshpuram; and co-conspirators Alma Potter, Carol Matthews, Phyllis Caldwell and Richard Kevin Langford. The conspirators obtained false identification to purchase handguns out-of-state, stalked Turner, and planned to murder him near his workplace in Portland, Oregon
. The assassination plot was never carried out and was only discovered later, as a result of the investigation by federal law enforcement into the bioterror
attack in The Dalles and other illegal acts by the Rajneeshpuram leadership.
Prosecution of the conspirators began in 1990, when a federal grand jury brought indictments against several of the key players. Some had fled the country, and extradition
proceedings against the perpetrators and subsequent prosecution and conviction was not completed for sixteen years. The final conspirator was convicted in 2006, when Catherine Jane Stork agreed to return to the United States from Germany in order to be allowed to visit her ill son in Australia. Eight perpetrators received sentences ranging from five years probation to five years in federal prison
and an additional member of the Rajneesh commune pled guilty to murder conspiracy. Rajneesh was never prosecuted in relation to the conspiracy, and left the United States after pleading guilty to immigration fraud and agreeing not to reenter the country without permission from the U.S. Attorney General
.
Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh
(now known as Osho), were convicted of a 1985 conspiracy
to assassinate
Charles Turner
, and an additional unindicted eighth member of the Rajneesh commune pled guilty to murder conspiracy. The perpetrators were high-ranking followers within the Rajneeshee organization. Prosecutors in the case stated that the perpetrators had planned to murder
Turner after he was appointed to head an investigation into the group's activities in Rajneeshpuram
, Oregon. Turner's investigation focused on sham marriage
s organized by the group, as well as other illegal activities including immigration fraud
, and he later headed the federal prosecution relating to the 1984 Rajneeshee bioterror attack
in The Dalles, Oregon
. Oregon Attorney General
Dave Frohnmayer was also involved in investigations of the group, working alongside Turner.
In May 1985, Rajneesh's personal secretary and second-in-command, Sheela Silverman
(Ma Anand Sheela), gathered the leader's key followers and formed a group of conspirators in order to plan the assassination of Turner, as well as several dissidents among their organization. Sheela stated that Turner's grand jury
investigation "threatened the existence of the commune", and exposed Rajneesh and several of his disciples to criminal prosecution. Sheela hoped that by murdering Turner they would be able to thwart the federal immigration investigation which could have resulted in deportation of Rajneeshee leaders. Three former leaders of the commune including Ma Anand Sheela, Dianne Yvonne Onang (Ma Anand Puja), a registered nurse
from the Philippines
who managed the Rajneeshee medical corporation, and former treasurer of Rajneesh Foundation International and Catherine Jane Stork (Ma Shanti Bhadra) of Australia
, put together a hit list which included U.S. Attorney Charles Turner and Oregon Attorney General David Frohnmayer.
Susan Hagan (Ma Anand Su), a top official in the Rajneeshpuram hierarchy, was also a participant in the assassination conspiracy. Hagan was in charge of the security force at Rajneeshpuram, ran the Rajneesh Investment Corporation, and supervised construction on the commune. Other conspirators in the assassination plot included Ann Phyllis McCarthy (Ma Yoga Vidya), president of the Rajneesh commune, and Alma Potter (Ma Dhyan Yogini), Ma Anand Sheela's bodyguard and traveling companion. Potter was manager of the Hotel Rajneesh in Portland, Oregon, and a member of the commune's security force. The Oregonian
reported that nine people were on the hit list, including: Turner, Frohnmayer, former assistant attorney general Karen H. Green, Wasco County planning director Daniel C. Durow, Wasco County commissioner James L. Comini, investigative journalist
for The Oregonian Leslie L. Zaitz, Helen C. Byron, who had been awarded US$
1.7 million in a lawsuit against Rajneesh Foundation International
, her daughter Barbara J. Byron, and Rajneesh's former secretary Laxmi Thakarsi Kuruwa (Ma Yoga Laxmi).
s. Stork was known to fellow followers as Ma Shanti Bhadra, and was also one of the three "Big Mammas" in Rajneeshpuram. Sally-Anne Croft (known by followers as Ma Prem Savita), an accountant
and the group's Chief Financial Officer
, provided money for the purchase of weapons related to the plot. Phyllis Caldwell (Ma Deva Ritka) described in a federal affidavit how members of the murder conspiracy obtained handguns, referring to Catherine Jane Stork and Sally-Anne Croft: "Shanti B went down to Jesus Grove, and Savita gave us several thousand dollars to use to buy guns." Jesus Grove referred to a group of trailers where all the leaders of the Rajneesh commune resided, except for Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh.
Ma Anand Sheela and three other Rajneesh followers traveled to New York in the spring of 1985 to acquire false identification. According to a federal indictment, the perpetrators of the assassination plot used a false birth certificate
to purchase guns. Two members of the group then traveled to Texas
to purchase handgun
s. Caldwell stated she and Catherine Jane Stork flew to Texas to purchase guns there. They purchased five guns in Texas, but encountered difficulty purchasing handguns in Texas with out-of-state identification and traveled to New Mexico
instead. Caldwell said they called back to the commune but the women were instructed "not to come back without the guns".
In New Mexico, they obtained false identification, and purchased several pistols. Their intention was to purchase guns which were difficult to trace. Caldwell said it was easy to obtain guns in New Mexico: "we found it was pretty easy to buy guns. All you had to do was show some identification and it was easy to get." Caldwell said she and Stork went to a university library to find the identity "of someone dying very young", next went "to public records and asked for a copy of a birth certificate" and described how "we got a rent receipt book and just made up a rent receipt". "And then we were able to go to several different gun shops in Albuquerque with those two bits of identification and buy five different guns and bullets," said Caldwell. They were able to obtain one Colt .38-caliber revolver, and four Ruger .357-caliber Security Six Magnum
revolvers. The conspirators smuggled the guns into Oregon by packing them in luggage and putting the luggage on a Greyhound Lines
bus. Caldwell said that she and Stork traveled by bus back to the Rajneesh commune so as to avoid airport metal detectors.
during an investigation of the Rajneesh commune, and verified after being shown to Turner.
Members of the group of conspirators watched Turner's office, home and car, and discussed methods to assassinate him, hoping that his death would hinder the efforts of the federal investigation into Rajneeshpuram. Their plan was to shoot Turner in the garage of the federal office building where he worked, in Portland, Oregon
, but the conspirators also debated whether to murder Turner in downtown Portland or closer to his home. After spending multiple nights watching Turner's house, the conspirators decided on the parking garage because they felt it would be too risky to murder him on the drive to or from work, or in front of his home. Turner had a reserved parking spot in a federal garage underneath Terry Schrunk Plaza
in Portland, Oregon. In an affidavit given to the Federal Bureau of Investigation
, conspirator Alma Peralta described how the perpetrators decided on the federal parking garage as the location: "Shanti Bhadra [Catherine Jane Stork] said this seems like a good place to bump this fellow off."
The conspirators practiced different ways of murdering Turner. According to informant statements to law enforcement, one of the conspirators was to pretend there was car trouble, and the others would then approach Turner with their guns. Informants later told law enforcment officials that the conspirators intended to hide out at an international network of Rajneesh communes if the plan was successful. According to The Oregonian the assassinations were not carried out because Ma Anand Sheela became distracted by political power plays within the Rajneesh commune and other members of the organization who were trying to remove her from her position within the group.
gave a speech in the United States House of Representatives
in which he asserted that the Rajneeshees were involved in the bioterror attack in Oregon. At a series of press conferences in September 1985, Rajneesh accused several of his recently departed lieutenants of involvement in this and other crimes, including the poisoning of Mike Sullivan, a Jefferson County
district attorney, and asked state and federal authorities to investigate his allegations. The assassination plot was uncovered by federal law enforcement as a result of the ensuing investigation into activities at Rajneeshpuram. Turner was never physically harmed, and had retired by 1995.
The Oregonian
was informed in October 1985 by federal law enforcement officials that Leslie L. Zaitz, an investigative journalist
who had written a 20-part series on the Rajneesh movement in Oregon, was on a "hit list" which also included Turner and Oregon Attorney General David Frohnmayer. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Weaver prosecuted the case; the charges were first detailed at an October 1985 bond hearing in North Carolina
after Rajneesh and his followers were arrested at an airport in Charlotte
. Weaver said in court that followers of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh had plotted to assassinate Turner and Frohnmayer. He said these allegations were reasons why releasing Rajneesh and his followers from jail would be "a clear and present danger to public officials". The guns purchased by the Rajneesh followers for the assassination plot had reportedly been dumped in a lake at Rancho Rajneesh; the lake was searched by U.S. Navy divers. Scuba divers searched the lake for two days but did not find the guns.
Joseph Greene, a U.S. immigration agent, testified in court that Federal Bureau of Investigation
agents had learned of the assassination plot from a member of the organization who was in a witness protection program. Greene said that members involved in the assassination plot included Ma Anand Sheela, Dianne Yvonne Onang, and Alma Peralta. The assassination plot was investigated by the FBI and the Oregon State Police
. Informants told law enforcement that Ma Anand Sheela hoped Turner's death would prevent an Immigration and Naturalization Service investigation which she thought could lead to Rajneesh's arrest and deportation from the United States. Weaver stated "These attempts to assassinate public officials were because they were presenting an immigration case that might result in imprisonment" of Rajneesh. "There were not simply plans, but at least one (assassination) attempt," said Weaver at the hearing.
A grand jury
investigation led by Turner brought charges of "widespread immigration fraud" against members of Rajneeshpuram. Wiretapping crimes were discovered after Ma Anand Sheela had fled the commune in September 1985. In December 1985, twenty-one followers of Rajneesh were indicted on wiretapping charges.
The 1985 Rajneeshee assassination plot was a conspiracy
by a group of high-ranking followers of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh
(now known as Osho) to assassinate
Charles Turner
, the then-United States Attorney
for the District of Oregon
. Rajneesh's personal secretary and second-in-command, Ma Anand Sheela
, assembled the group after Turner was appointed to investigate illegal activity at Rajneeshpuram
. Turner investigated charges of immigration fraud
and sham marriage
s, and later headed the federal prosecution of the 1984 Rajneeshee bioterror attack
in The Dalles, Oregon
.
The conspirators included: Ma Anand Sheela, Sally-Anne Croft, Chief Financial Officer
of Rajneeshpuram; Susan Hagan, head of security at Rajneeshpuram, Catherine Jane Stork, who bought weapons and silencers and volunteered to be the actual murderer; Ann Phyllis McCarthy, fourth-in-command of Rajneeshpuram; and co-conspirators Alma Potter, Carol Matthews, Phyllis Caldwell and Richard Kevin Langford. The conspirators obtained false identification to purchase handguns out-of-state, stalked Turner, and planned to murder him near his workplace in Portland, Oregon
. The assassination plot was never carried out and was only discovered later, as a result of the investigation by federal law enforcement into the bioterror
attack in The Dalles and other illegal acts by the Rajneeshpuram leadership.
Prosecution of the conspirators began in 1990, when a federal grand jury brought indictments against several of the key players. Some had fled the country, and extradition
proceedings against the perpetrators and subsequent prosecution and conviction was not completed for sixteen years. The final conspirator was convicted in 2006, when Catherine Jane Stork agreed to return to the United States from Germany in order to be allowed to visit her ill son in Australia. Eight perpetrators received sentences ranging from five years probation to five years in federal prison
and an additional member of the Rajneesh commune pled guilty to murder conspiracy. Rajneesh was never prosecuted in relation to the conspiracy, and left the United States after pleading guilty to immigration fraud and agreeing not to reenter the country without permission from the U.S. Attorney General
.
Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh
(now known as Osho), were convicted of a 1985 conspiracy
to assassinate
Charles Turner
, and an additional unindicted eighth member of the Rajneesh commune pled guilty to murder conspiracy. The perpetrators were high-ranking followers within the Rajneeshee organization. Prosecutors in the case stated that the perpetrators had planned to murder
Turner after he was appointed to head an investigation into the group's activities in Rajneeshpuram
, Oregon. Turner's investigation focused on sham marriage
s organized by the group, as well as other illegal activities including immigration fraud
, and he later headed the federal prosecution relating to the 1984 Rajneeshee bioterror attack
in The Dalles, Oregon
. Oregon Attorney General
Dave Frohnmayer was also involved in investigations of the group, working alongside Turner.
In May 1985, Rajneesh's personal secretary and second-in-command, Sheela Silverman
(Ma Anand Sheela), gathered the leader's key followers and formed a group of conspirators in order to plan the assassination of Turner, as well as several dissidents among their organization. Sheela stated that Turner's grand jury
investigation "threatened the existence of the commune", and exposed Rajneesh and several of his disciples to criminal prosecution. Sheela hoped that by murdering Turner they would be able to thwart the federal immigration investigation which could have resulted in deportation of Rajneeshee leaders. Three former leaders of the commune including Ma Anand Sheela, Dianne Yvonne Onang (Ma Anand Puja), a registered nurse
from the Philippines
who managed the Rajneeshee medical corporation, and former treasurer of Rajneesh Foundation International and Catherine Jane Stork (Ma Shanti Bhadra) of Australia
, put together a hit list which included U.S. Attorney Charles Turner and Oregon Attorney General David Frohnmayer.
Susan Hagan (Ma Anand Su), a top official in the Rajneeshpuram hierarchy, was also a participant in the assassination conspiracy. Hagan was in charge of the security force at Rajneeshpuram, ran the Rajneesh Investment Corporation, and supervised construction on the commune.U.S. v. Croft, 124 F.3d 1109 (C.A.9 (Or.), 1997), United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
, Decided September 5, 1997 Other conspirators in the assassination plot included Ann Phyllis McCarthy (Ma Yoga Vidya), president of the Rajneesh commune, and Alma Potter (Ma Dhyan Yogini), Ma Anand Sheela's bodyguard and traveling companion. Potter was manager of the Hotel Rajneesh in Portland, Oregon, and a member of the commune's security force. The Oregonian
reported that nine people were on the hit list, including: Turner, Frohnmayer, former assistant attorney general Karen H. Green, Wasco County planning director Daniel C. Durow, Wasco County commissioner James L. Comini, investigative journalist
for The Oregonian Leslie L. Zaitz, Helen C. Byron, who had been awarded US$
1.7 million in a lawsuit against Rajneesh Foundation International
, her daughter Barbara J. Byron, and Rajneesh's former secretary Laxmi Thakarsi Kuruwa (Ma Yoga Laxmi).
s. Stork was known to fellow followers as Ma Shanti Bhadra, and was also one of the three "Big Mammas" in Rajneeshpuram. Sally-Anne Croft (known by followers as Ma Prem Savita), an accountant
and the group's Chief Financial Officer
, provided money for the purchase of weapons related to the plot. Phyllis Caldwell (Ma Deva Ritka) described in a federal affidavit how members of the murder conspiracy obtained handguns, referring to Catherine Jane Stork and Sally-Anne Croft: "Shanti B went down to Jesus Grove, and Savita gave us several thousand dollars to use to buy guns." Jesus Grove referred to a group of trailers where all the leaders of the Rajneesh commune resided, except for Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh.
Ma Anand Sheela and three other Rajneesh followers traveled to New York in the spring of 1985 to acquire false identification. According to a federal indictment, the perpetrators of the assassination plot used a false birth certificate
to purchase guns. Two members of the group then traveled to Texas
to purchase handgun
s. Caldwell stated she and Catherine Jane Stork flew to Texas to purchase guns there. They purchased five guns in Texas, but encountered difficulty purchasing handguns in Texas with out-of-state identification and traveled to New Mexico
instead. Caldwell said they called back to the commune but the women were instructed "not to come back without the guns".
In New Mexico, they obtained false identification, and purchased several pistols. Their intention was to purchase guns which were difficult to trace. Caldwell said it was easy to obtain guns in New Mexico: "we found it was pretty easy to buy guns. All you had to do was show some identification and it was easy to get." Caldwell said she and Stork went to a university library to find the identity "of someone dying very young", next went "to public records and asked for a copy of a birth certificate" and described how "we got a rent receipt book and just made up a rent receipt". "And then we were able to go to several different gun shops in Albuquerque with those two bits of identification and buy five different guns and bullets," said Caldwell. They were able to obtain one Colt .38-caliber revolver, and four Ruger .357-caliber Security Six Magnum
revolvers. The conspirators smuggled the guns into Oregon by packing them in luggage and putting the luggage on a Greyhound Lines
bus. Caldwell said that she and Stork traveled by bus back to the Rajneesh commune so as to avoid airport metal detectors.
during an investigation of the Rajneesh commune, and verified after being shown to Turner.
Members of the group of conspirators watched Turner's office, home and car, and discussed methods to assassinate him, hoping that his death would hinder the efforts of the federal investigation into Rajneeshpuram. Their plan was to shoot Turner in the garage of the federal office building where he worked, in Portland, Oregon
, but the conspirators also debated whether to murder Turner in downtown Portland or closer to his home. After spending multiple nights watching Turner's house, the conspirators decided on the parking garage because they felt it would be too risky to murder him on the drive to or from work, or in front of his home. Turner had a reserved parking spot in a federal garage underneath Terry Schrunk Plaza
in Portland, Oregon. In an affidavit given to the Federal Bureau of Investigation
, conspirator Alma Peralta described how the perpetrators decided on the federal parking garage as the location: "Shanti Bhadra [Catherine Jane Stork] said this seems like a good place to bump this fellow off."
The conspirators practiced different ways of murdering Turner. According to informant statements to law enforcement, one of the conspirators was to pretend there was car trouble, and the others would then approach Turner with their guns. Informants later told law enforcment officials that the conspirators intended to hide out at an international network of Rajneesh communes if the plan was successful. According to The Oregonian the assassinations were not carried out because Ma Anand Sheela became distracted by political power plays within the Rajneesh commune and other members of the organization who were trying to remove her from her position within the group.
gave a speech in the United States House of Representatives
in which he asserted that the Rajneeshees were involved in the bioterror attack in Oregon. At a series of press conferences in September 1985, Rajneesh accused several of his recently departed lieutenants of involvement in this and other crimes, including the poisoning of Mike Sullivan, a Jefferson County
district attorney, and asked state and federal authorities to investigate his allegations. The assassination plot was uncovered by federal law enforcement as a result of the ensuing investigation into activities at Rajneeshpuram. Turner was never physically harmed, and had retired by 1995.
The Oregonian
was informed in October 1985 by federal law enforcement officials that Leslie L. Zaitz, an investigative journalist
who had written a 20-part series on the Rajneesh movement in Oregon, was on a "hit list" which also included Turner and Oregon Attorney General David Frohnmayer. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Weaver prosecuted the case; the charges were first detailed at an October 1985 bond hearing in North Carolina
after Rajneesh and his followers were arrested at an airport in Charlotte
. Weaver said in court that followers of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh had plotted to assassinate Turner and Frohnmayer. He said these allegations were reasons why releasing Rajneesh and his followers from jail would be "a clear and present danger to public officials". The guns purchased by the Rajneesh followers for the assassination plot had reportedly been dumped in a lake at Rancho Rajneesh; the lake was searched by U.S. Navy divers. Scuba divers searched the lake for two days but did not find the guns.
Joseph Greene, a U.S. immigration agent, testified in court that Federal Bureau of Investigation
agents had learned of the assassination plot from a member of the organization who was in a witness protection program. Greene said that members involved in the assassination plot included Ma Anand Sheela, Dianne Yvonne Onang, and Alma Peralta. The assassination plot was investigated by the FBI and the Oregon State Police
. Informants told law enforcement that Ma Anand Sheela hoped Turner's death would prevent an Immigration and Naturalization Service investigation which she thought could lead to Rajneesh's arrest and deportation from the United States. Weaver stated "These attempts to assassinate public officials were because they were presenting an immigration case that might result in imprisonment" of Rajneesh. "There were not simply plans, but at least one (assassination) attempt," said Weaver at the hearing.
A grand jury
investigation led by Turner brought charges of "widespread immigration fraud" against members of Rajneeshpuram. Wiretapping crimes were discovered after Ma Anand Sheela had fled the commune in September 1985. In December 1985, twenty-one followers of Rajneesh were indicted on wiretapping charges.
The 1985 Rajneeshee assassination plot was a conspiracy
by a group of high-ranking followers of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh
(now known as Osho) to assassinate
Charles Turner
, the then-United States Attorney
for the District of Oregon
. Rajneesh's personal secretary and second-in-command, Ma Anand Sheela
, assembled the group after Turner was appointed to investigate illegal activity at Rajneeshpuram
. Turner investigated charges of immigration fraud
and sham marriage
s, and later headed the federal prosecution of the 1984 Rajneeshee bioterror attack
in The Dalles, Oregon
.
The conspirators included: Ma Anand Sheela, Sally-Anne Croft, Chief Financial Officer
of Rajneeshpuram; Susan Hagan, head of security at Rajneeshpuram, Catherine Jane Stork, who bought weapons and silencers and volunteered to be the actual murderer; Ann Phyllis McCarthy, fourth-in-command of Rajneeshpuram; and co-conspirators Alma Potter, Carol Matthews, Phyllis Caldwell and Richard Kevin Langford. The conspirators obtained false identification to purchase handguns out-of-state, stalked Turner, and planned to murder him near his workplace in Portland, Oregon
. The assassination plot was never carried out and was only discovered later, as a result of the investigation by federal law enforcement into the bioterror
attack in The Dalles and other illegal acts by the Rajneeshpuram leadership.
Prosecution of the conspirators began in 1990, when a federal grand jury brought indictments against several of the key players. Some had fled the country, and extradition
proceedings against the perpetrators and subsequent prosecution and conviction was not completed for sixteen years. The final conspirator was convicted in 2006, when Catherine Jane Stork agreed to return to the United States from Germany in order to be allowed to visit her ill son in Australia. Eight perpetrators received sentences ranging from five years probation to five years in federal prison
and an additional member of the Rajneesh commune pled guilty to murder conspiracy. Rajneesh was never prosecuted in relation to the conspiracy, and left the United States after pleading guilty to immigration fraud and agreeing not to reenter the country without permission from the U.S. Attorney General
.
Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh
(now known as Osho), were convicted of a 1985 conspiracy
to assassinate
Charles Turner
, and an additional unindicted eighth member of the Rajneesh commune pled guilty to murder conspiracy. The perpetrators were high-ranking followers within the Rajneeshee organization. Prosecutors in the case stated that the perpetrators had planned to murder
Turner after he was appointed to head an investigation into the group's activities in Rajneeshpuram
, Oregon. Turner's investigation focused on sham marriage
s organized by the group, as well as other illegal activities including immigration fraud
, and he later headed the federal prosecution relating to the 1984 Rajneeshee bioterror attack
in The Dalles, Oregon
. Oregon Attorney General
Dave Frohnmayer was also involved in investigations of the group, working alongside Turner.
In May 1985, Rajneesh's personal secretary and second-in-command, Sheela Silverman
(Ma Anand Sheela), gathered the leader's key followers and formed a group of conspirators in order to plan the assassination of Turner, as well as several dissidents among their organization. Sheela stated that Turner's grand jury
investigation "threatened the existence of the commune", and exposed Rajneesh and several of his disciples to criminal prosecution. Sheela hoped that by murdering Turner they would be able to thwart the federal immigration investigation which could have resulted in deportation of Rajneeshee leaders. Three former leaders of the commune including Ma Anand Sheela, Dianne Yvonne Onang (Ma Anand Puja), a registered nurse
from the Philippines
who managed the Rajneeshee medical corporation, and former treasurer of Rajneesh Foundation International and Catherine Jane Stork (Ma Shanti Bhadra) of Australia
, put together a hit list which included U.S. Attorney Charles Turner and Oregon Attorney General David Frohnmayer.
Susan Hagan (Ma Anand Su), a top official in the Rajneeshpuram hierarchy, was also a participant in the assassination conspiracy. Hagan was in charge of the security force at Rajneeshpuram, ran the Rajneesh Investment Corporation, and supervised construction on the commune.U.S. v. Croft, 124 F.3d 1109 (C.A.9 (Or.), 1997), United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
, Decided September 5, 1997 Other conspirators in the assassination plot included Ann Phyllis McCarthy (Ma Yoga Vidya), president of the Rajneesh commune, and Alma Potter (Ma Dhyan Yogini), Ma Anand Sheela's bodyguard and traveling companion. Potter was manager of the Hotel Rajneesh in Portland, Oregon, and a member of the commune's security force. The Oregonian
reported that nine people were on the hit list, including: Turner, Frohnmayer, former assistant attorney general Karen H. Green, Wasco County planning director Daniel C. Durow, Wasco County commissioner James L. Comini, investigative journalist
for The Oregonian Leslie L. Zaitz, Helen C. Byron, who had been awarded US$
1.7 million in a lawsuit against Rajneesh Foundation International
, her daughter Barbara J. Byron, and Rajneesh's former secretary Laxmi Thakarsi Kuruwa (Ma Yoga Laxmi).
s. Stork was known to fellow followers as Ma Shanti Bhadra, and was also one of the three "Big Mammas" in Rajneeshpuram. Sally-Anne Croft (known by followers as Ma Prem Savita), an accountant
and the group's Chief Financial Officer
, provided money for the purchase of weapons related to the plot. Phyllis Caldwell (Ma Deva Ritka) described in a federal affidavit how members of the murder conspiracy obtained handguns, referring to Catherine Jane Stork and Sally-Anne Croft: "Shanti B went down to Jesus Grove, and Savita gave us several thousand dollars to use to buy guns." Jesus Grove referred to a group of trailers where all the leaders of the Rajneesh commune resided, except for Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh.
Ma Anand Sheela and three other Rajneesh followers traveled to New York in the spring of 1985 to acquire false identification. According to a federal indictment, the perpetrators of the assassination plot used a false birth certificate
to purchase guns. Two members of the group then traveled to Texas
to purchase handgun
s. Caldwell stated she and Catherine Jane Stork flew to Texas to purchase guns there. They purchased five guns in Texas, but encountered difficulty purchasing handguns in Texas with out-of-state identification and traveled to New Mexico
instead. Caldwell said they called back to the commune but the women were instructed "not to come back without the guns".
In New Mexico, they obtained false identification, and purchased several pistols. Their intention was to purchase guns which were difficult to trace. Caldwell said it was easy to obtain guns in New Mexico: "we found it was pretty easy to buy guns. All you had to do was show some identification and it was easy to get." Caldwell said she and Stork went to a university library to find the identity "of someone dying very young", next went "to public records and asked for a copy of a birth certificate" and described how "we got a rent receipt book and just made up a rent receipt". "And then we were able to go to several different gun shops in Albuquerque with those two bits of identification and buy five different guns and bullets," said Caldwell. They were able to obtain one Colt .38-caliber revolver, and four Ruger .357-caliber Security Six Magnum
revolvers. The conspirators smuggled the guns into Oregon by packing them in luggage and putting the luggage on a Greyhound Lines
bus. Caldwell said that she and Stork traveled by bus back to the Rajneesh commune so as to avoid airport metal detectors.
during an investigation of the Rajneesh commune, and verified after being shown to Turner.
Members of the group of conspirators watched Turner's office, home and car, and discussed methods to assassinate him, hoping that his death would hinder the efforts of the federal investigation into Rajneeshpuram. Their plan was to shoot Turner in the garage of the federal office building where he worked, in Portland, Oregon
, but the conspirators also debated whether to murder Turner in downtown Portland or closer to his home. After spending multiple nights watching Turner's house, the conspirators decided on the parking garage because they felt it would be too risky to murder him on the drive to or from work, or in front of his home. Turner had a reserved parking spot in a federal garage underneath Terry Schrunk Plaza
in Portland, Oregon. In an affidavit given to the Federal Bureau of Investigation
, conspirator Alma Peralta described how the perpetrators decided on the federal parking garage as the location: "Shanti Bhadra [Catherine Jane Stork] said this seems like a good place to bump this fellow off."
The conspirators practiced different ways of murdering Turner. According to informant statements to law enforcement, one of the conspirators was to pretend there was car trouble, and the others would then approach Turner with their guns. Informants later told law enforcment officials that the conspirators intended to hide out at an international network of Rajneesh communes if the plan was successful. According to The Oregonian the assassinations were not carried out because Ma Anand Sheela became distracted by political power plays within the Rajneesh commune and other members of the organization who were trying to remove her from her position within the group.
gave a speech in the United States House of Representatives
in which he asserted that the Rajneeshees were involved in the bioterror attack in Oregon. At a series of press conferences in September 1985, Rajneesh accused several of his recently departed lieutenants of involvement in this and other crimes, including the poisoning of Mike Sullivan, a Jefferson County
district attorney, and asked state and federal authorities to investigate his allegations. The assassination plot was uncovered by federal law enforcement as a result of the ensuing investigation into activities at Rajneeshpuram. Turner was never physically harmed, and had retired by 1995.
The Oregonian
was informed in October 1985 by federal law enforcement officials that Leslie L. Zaitz, an investigative journalist
who had written a 20-part series on the Rajneesh movement in Oregon, was on a "hit list" which also included Turner and Oregon Attorney General David Frohnmayer. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Weaver prosecuted the case; the charges were first detailed at an October 1985 bond hearing in North Carolina
after Rajneesh and his followers were arrested at an airport in Charlotte
. Weaver said in court that followers of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh had plotted to assassinate Turner and Frohnmayer. He said these allegations were reasons why releasing Rajneesh and his followers from jail would be "a clear and present danger to public officials". The guns purchased by the Rajneesh followers for the assassination plot had reportedly been dumped in a lake at Rancho Rajneesh; the lake was searched by U.S. Navy divers. Scuba divers searched the lake for two days but did not find the guns.
Joseph Greene, a U.S. immigration agent, testified in court that Federal Bureau of Investigation
agents had learned of the assassination plot from a member of the organization who was in a witness protection program. Greene said that members involved in the assassination plot included Ma Anand Sheela, Dianne Yvonne Onang, and Alma Peralta. The assassination plot was investigated by the FBI and the Oregon State Police
. Informants told law enforcement that Ma Anand Sheela hoped Turner's death would prevent an Immigration and Naturalization Service investigation which she thought could lead to Rajneesh's arrest and deportation from the United States. Weaver stated "These attempts to assassinate public officials were because they were presenting an immigration case that might result in imprisonment" of Rajneesh. "There were not simply plans, but at least one (assassination) attempt," said Weaver at the hearing.
A grand jury
investigation led by Turner brought charges of "widespread immigration fraud" against members of Rajneeshpuram. Wiretapping crimes were discovered after Ma Anand Sheela had fled the commune in September 1985. In December 1985, twenty-one followers of Rajneesh were indicted on wiretapping charges.
Criminal Division was tasked with prosecuting the murder conspiracy charges. Four of the perpetrators were arrested in September 1990. Catherine Jane Stork and Richard Kevin Langford were arrested in West Germany
, Ann Phyllis McCarthy was arrested in South Africa
, and Susan Hagan was arrested in England
. In September 1990, Alma Peralta pled guilty to conspiracy to commit murder. Peralta, who had served as Ma Anand Sheela's bodyguard and confidante, agreed to testify against the other defendants in the murder conspiracy. Under the terms of Peralta's plea agreement she received a sentence of two years in federal prison. Carol Matthews was arrested in Baden-Baden
, Germany in October 1990 on charges of wiretapping and conspiracy to murder Turner, where she was held along with three other Rajneeshees. At the time of her arrest, Matthews was found in possession of a false British passport, and had been traveling under the fake name of "Daphene Fosberry". Indictments were brought against Ma Anand Sheela and six other co-conspirators by a federal grand jury in November 1990.
In April 1991, Carol Matthews and Richard Kevin Langford (Swami Anugiten) were extradited from Germany to the United States in order to appear in federal court in Portland, Oregon. Law enforcement officials from the United States Marshals Service
traveled to Frankfurt, Germany and took custody of the Matthews and Langford at Rhine Main Airport. On April 15, 1991, Matthews and Langford appeared in federal court in Oregon, and both pleaded innocent to charges of conspiracy to commit murder and carrying out wiretapping. On April 25, 1991, Richard Kevin Langford pleaded guilty in federal court to participating in the murder conspiracy plot against Turner, and in exchange he received a sentence of five years in federal prison and the dismissal of other charges against him relating to firearms and wiretapping. Langford agreed to testify against the other members of the murder conspiracy. Langford wrote on his plea agreement form: "In 1985, meetings were held at the Rancho Rajneesh ... at which time the possible killing of the United States Attorney for Oregon was discussed. I participated in a number of these meetings and agreed with others to work toward that object." Prosecutor Timothy J. Reardon III stated that Langford had been a member of the Rajneesh commune in Oregon since it began in 1981, and that the government was able to prove he joined the murder conspiracy at a point in time after May 25, 1985. Reardon said that Langford was a member of a group called the "Circle of 38", which was the personal security force that guarded Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, and that he had served as a weapons instructor and policeman at the commune. Langford told U.S. District Judge Malcom F. Marsh that he had suggested that guns for the murder conspiracy could be bought in Texas, instructed the conspiractors about silencers, took responsibility for the weapons while they were in the commune, and disposed of them when members of the murder conspiracy decided to flee the U.S. for Europe. In July 1991, Carol Matthews entered a guilty plea and was convicted in federal court, she was sentenced to five years in prison.
Catherine Jane Stork was convicted of the attempted murder
of Rajneesh's physician Dr. George Meredith (Swami Devaraj) in 1986, and served almost three years in jail. After her release, agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation
uncovered the plot to assassinate Turner, but Stork had already fled to Germany. She was indicted by a federal grand jury in 1990. In 1991, the German government refused to extradite
Stork back to the United States. In June 1991, U.S. prosecutors filed affidavits in the murder conspiracy case with the Higher Regional Court in Karlsruhe, Germany, as part of an attempt to extradite Catherin Jane Stork from Germany to the U.S. The affidavits stated that all of the members in the murder conspiracy plot also belonged to a group of Rajneesh followers at the Oregon commune known as "the 38", and were trained in "commando tactics using Uzi semiautomatic rifles and handguns". David Berry Knapp (known to Rajneesh followers as Swami Krishna Deva) stated in an FBI
affidavit that the murder conspiracy was motivated by Ma Anand Sheela's "tremendous anger" towards Turner.
Ma Anand Sheela served twenty-nine months in a minimum security federal prison
for charges related to assault, attempted murder, arson, wiretapping and the 1984 bioterror attack in The Dalles, and moved to Switzerland
after her release from prison in 1988. The assassination conspiracy was discovered after Sheela had left the United States, and as of 1999 she was still wanted by federal law enforcement for her role in the plot, and risked extradition if she crossed the Swiss border. Switzerland declined an extradition request from the United States, and instead tried her in a Swiss court. Sheela was found guilty of "criminal acts preparatory to the commission of murder" in 1999, and sentenced to time already served.
Sally-Anne Croft and Susan Hagan were extradited from Britain
in 1994, and were convicted by a jury decision on July 28, 1995 for their roles in the assassination plot. They had unsuccessfully attempted to appeal their extradition from Britain to Home Secretary
Michael Howard
. During their trial the prosecution presented twenty-nine witnesses, including former followers of Rajneesh who placed both women in planning meetings where they discussed murdering Turner. David Berry Knapp, the former mayor of Rajneeshpuram, testified for the government in the case and implicated Croft and Hagan in the assassination conspiracy. Ava Kay Avalos (Ma Ava), a Rajneesh disciple, testified in the Croft case and stated that she had been part of the conspirators that plotted to assassinate Turner. In addition to Knapp and Avalos, co-conspirators Richard Kevin Langford, Phyllis Caldwell, and Alma Peralta testified in the case pursuant to conditional plea or immunity agreements. Both women were sentenced to five years in prison. Croft and Hagan did not testify during their trial. "We hashed over everything – evidence, notes, evidence, notes. I think we did an absolutely fabulous job," said one of the jurors. At the sentencing for Croft and Hagan, the federal Judge Malcolm Marsh described them as "people of obvious goodwill who had committed an extremely serious offense against the criminal justice system." Prosecutor Tim Reardon called the conspiracy to commit assassination "a deadly serious crime aimed at the heart of the criminal justice system." Croft and Hagan were released from imprisonment at FCI Dublin, California
in April 1998, and returned to Britain.
In December 2002, Ann Phyllis McCarthy pled guilty to conspiracy to commit murder, and was sentenced to one year in jail and a fine of USD$10,000. McCarthy had served as fourth-in-command of Rajneeshpuram, and was known by Rajneesh's followers as Ma Yoga Vidya. Turner called the one-year prison sentence "laughable." In court statements, McCarthy stated "I cannot forgive myself for not being tougher at the time," and called her time with the group "psychological torture."
In February 2006, Stork became the last perpetrator sentenced in the political assassination plot, after ten months of negotiations with Oregon prosecutors. Stork offered to turn herself in and return to the United States after learning of her son's terminal brain tumor
. Prior to sentencing, the court allowed her to travel to Australia to visit her son. In addition to charges of conspiracy to commit murder, Stork also pled guilty to the purchase of weapons in violation of federal firearms law. An Oregon judge sentenced her to five years probation, and three months time already served in a German jail. Turner thought she should have received a harsher sentence, and commented "This was a lying-in-wait conspiracy to murder me, a presidential appointee, and for a long time I slept with a loaded gun beside my bed." Though Stork could have faced life in prison, U.S. District Judge Judge Malcolm F. Marsh
thought she had "seen the error of her ways." A federal prosecutor in the case described Stork as the "MVP" of the conspiracy, and said she was the designated assassin that was set to murder Turner. After her sentencing, Stork stated: "I actually conspired to kill Mr. Turner, it is up to me alone to face this terrible truth ... No person has the right to do what I did. I'm truly sorry." Stork returned to Germany after her sentencing.
In an affidavit, Timothy J. Reardon III, lead prosecutor for the United States Department of Justice
in the case, stated Ma Anand Sheela had told members of the murder conspiracy that Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh had personally authorized the "necessary" murder of specific enemies of the Rajneesh commune. Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh paid a fine of US$
400,000, agreed to plead guilty to immigration fraud, and was deported from the United States. He agreed to leave the United States and not return unless given permission first from the United States Attorney General
. Joseph T. McCann writes in Terrorism on American Soil "Nevertheless, he was never prosecuted for any of the more serious crimes perpetrated by cult members, including the salmonella poisoning."
Wiretapping, and other charges, testified in assassination case
Conspiracy (crime)
In the criminal law, a conspiracy is an agreement between two or more persons to break the law at some time in the future, and, in some cases, with at least one overt act in furtherance of that agreement...
by a group of high-ranking followers of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh
Osho (Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh)
Osho , born Chandra Mohan Jain , and also known as Acharya Rajneesh from the 1960s onwards, as Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh during the 1970s and 1980s and as Osho from 1989, was an Indian mystic, guru, and spiritual teacher who garnered an international following.A professor of philosophy, he travelled...
(now known as Osho) to assassinate
Assassination
To carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be...
Charles Turner
Charles H. Turner (attorney)
Charles H. Turner is a former United States Attorney for the District of Oregon. Prior to his presidential appointment as U.S. Attorney, Turner worked under his predecessor, Sidney I. Lezak, for 14 years. He was appointed as Lezak's replacement by President Ronald Reagan.As U.S...
, the then-United States Attorney
United States Attorney
United States Attorneys represent the United States federal government in United States district court and United States court of appeals. There are 93 U.S. Attorneys stationed throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands...
for the District of Oregon
United States District Court for the District of Oregon
The United States District Court for the District of Oregon is the Federal district court whose jurisdiction comprises the state of Oregon. It was created in 1859 when the state was admitted to the Union...
. Rajneesh's personal secretary and second-in-command, Ma Anand Sheela
Ma Anand Sheela
Ma Anand Sheela is a former follower, secretary and spokeswoman for the Indian mystic and spiritual teacher Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, now commonly known as Osho...
, assembled the group after Turner was appointed to investigate illegal activity at Rajneeshpuram
Rajneeshpuram
Rajneeshpuram, Oregon was an intentional community in Wasco County, Oregon, briefly incorporated as a city in the 1980s, which was populated with followers of the spiritual teacher Osho, then known as Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh.- History :...
. Turner investigated charges of immigration fraud
Illegal immigration
Illegal immigration is the migration into a nation in violation of the immigration laws of that jurisdiction. Illegal immigration raises many political, economical and social issues and has become a source of major controversy in developed countries and the more successful developing countries.In...
and sham marriage
Sham marriage
A sham marriage or fake marriage is a marriage of convenience entered into with the intent of deceiving public officials or society about its purpose. Arranging or entering into such a marriage to deceive public officials is itself a separate violation of the law of some countries...
s, and later headed the federal prosecution of the 1984 Rajneeshee bioterror attack
1984 Rajneeshee bioterror attack
The 1984 Rajneeshee bioterror attack was the food poisoning of 751 individuals in The Dalles, Oregon, United States, through the deliberate contamination of salad bars at ten local restaurants with salmonella...
in The Dalles, Oregon
The Dalles, Oregon
The Dalles is the largest city and county seat of Wasco County, Oregon, United States. The name of the city comes from the French word dalle The Dalles is the largest city and county seat of Wasco County, Oregon, United States. The name of the city comes from the French word dalle The Dalles is...
.
The conspirators included: Ma Anand Sheela, Sally-Anne Croft, Chief Financial Officer
Chief financial officer
The chief financial officer or Chief financial and operating officer is a corporate officer primarily responsible for managing the financial risks of the corporation. This officer is also responsible for financial planning and record-keeping, as well as financial reporting to higher management...
of Rajneeshpuram; Susan Hagan, head of security at Rajneeshpuram, Catherine Jane Stork, who bought weapons and silencers and volunteered to be the actual murderer; Ann Phyllis McCarthy, fourth-in-command of Rajneeshpuram; and co-conspirators Alma Potter, Carol Matthews, Phyllis Caldwell and Richard Kevin Langford. The conspirators obtained false identification to purchase handguns out-of-state, stalked Turner, and planned to murder him near his workplace in Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
. The assassination plot was never carried out and was only discovered later, as a result of the investigation by federal law enforcement into the bioterror
Bioterrorism
Bioterrorism is terrorism involving the intentional release or dissemination of biological agents. These agents are bacteria, viruses, or toxins, and may be in a naturally occurring or a human-modified form. For the use of this method in warfare, see biological warfare.-Definition:According to the...
attack in The Dalles and other illegal acts by the Rajneeshpuram leadership.
Prosecution of the conspirators began in 1990, when a federal grand jury brought indictments against several of the key players. Some had fled the country, and extradition
Extradition
Extradition is the official process whereby one nation or state surrenders a suspected or convicted criminal to another nation or state. Between nation states, extradition is regulated by treaties...
proceedings against the perpetrators and subsequent prosecution and conviction was not completed for sixteen years. The final conspirator was convicted in 2006, when Catherine Jane Stork agreed to return to the United States from Germany in order to be allowed to visit her ill son in Australia. Eight perpetrators received sentences ranging from five years probation to five years in federal prison
Federal prison
Federal prisons are run by national governments in countries where subdivisions of the country also operate prisons.In the United States federal prisons are operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons. In Canada the Correctional Service of Canada operates federal prisons. Prison sentences in these...
and an additional member of the Rajneesh commune pled guilty to murder conspiracy. Rajneesh was never prosecuted in relation to the conspiracy, and left the United States after pleading guilty to immigration fraud and agreeing not to reenter the country without permission from the U.S. Attorney General
United States Attorney General
The United States Attorney General is the head of the United States Department of Justice concerned with legal affairs and is the chief law enforcement officer of the United States government. The attorney general is considered to be the chief lawyer of the U.S. government...
.
Hit list
Seven followers (called Rajneeshees) of charismatic leaderCharismatic authority
The sociologist Max Weber defined charismatic authority as "resting on devotion to the exceptional sanctity, heroism or exemplary character of an individual person, and of the normative patterns or order revealed or ordained by him." Charismatic authority is one of three forms of authority laid out...
Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh
Osho (Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh)
Osho , born Chandra Mohan Jain , and also known as Acharya Rajneesh from the 1960s onwards, as Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh during the 1970s and 1980s and as Osho from 1989, was an Indian mystic, guru, and spiritual teacher who garnered an international following.A professor of philosophy, he travelled...
(now known as Osho), were convicted of a 1985 conspiracy
Conspiracy (crime)
In the criminal law, a conspiracy is an agreement between two or more persons to break the law at some time in the future, and, in some cases, with at least one overt act in furtherance of that agreement...
to assassinate
Assassination
To carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be...
Charles Turner
Charles H. Turner (attorney)
Charles H. Turner is a former United States Attorney for the District of Oregon. Prior to his presidential appointment as U.S. Attorney, Turner worked under his predecessor, Sidney I. Lezak, for 14 years. He was appointed as Lezak's replacement by President Ronald Reagan.As U.S...
, and an additional unindicted eighth member of the Rajneesh commune pled guilty to murder conspiracy. The perpetrators were high-ranking followers within the Rajneeshee organization. Prosecutors in the case stated that the perpetrators had planned to murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
Turner after he was appointed to head an investigation into the group's activities in Rajneeshpuram
Rajneeshpuram
Rajneeshpuram, Oregon was an intentional community in Wasco County, Oregon, briefly incorporated as a city in the 1980s, which was populated with followers of the spiritual teacher Osho, then known as Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh.- History :...
, Oregon. Turner's investigation focused on sham marriage
Sham marriage
A sham marriage or fake marriage is a marriage of convenience entered into with the intent of deceiving public officials or society about its purpose. Arranging or entering into such a marriage to deceive public officials is itself a separate violation of the law of some countries...
s organized by the group, as well as other illegal activities including immigration fraud
Illegal immigration
Illegal immigration is the migration into a nation in violation of the immigration laws of that jurisdiction. Illegal immigration raises many political, economical and social issues and has become a source of major controversy in developed countries and the more successful developing countries.In...
, and he later headed the federal prosecution relating to the 1984 Rajneeshee bioterror attack
1984 Rajneeshee bioterror attack
The 1984 Rajneeshee bioterror attack was the food poisoning of 751 individuals in The Dalles, Oregon, United States, through the deliberate contamination of salad bars at ten local restaurants with salmonella...
in The Dalles, Oregon
The Dalles, Oregon
The Dalles is the largest city and county seat of Wasco County, Oregon, United States. The name of the city comes from the French word dalle The Dalles is the largest city and county seat of Wasco County, Oregon, United States. The name of the city comes from the French word dalle The Dalles is...
. Oregon Attorney General
Oregon Attorney General
The Oregon Attorney General is a statutory office within the executive branch of the state of Oregon, and serves as the chief legal officer of the state, heading its Department of Justice with its six operating divisions. The Attorney General is chosen by statewide partisan election to serve a term...
Dave Frohnmayer was also involved in investigations of the group, working alongside Turner.
In May 1985, Rajneesh's personal secretary and second-in-command, Sheela Silverman
Ma Anand Sheela
Ma Anand Sheela is a former follower, secretary and spokeswoman for the Indian mystic and spiritual teacher Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, now commonly known as Osho...
(Ma Anand Sheela), gathered the leader's key followers and formed a group of conspirators in order to plan the assassination of Turner, as well as several dissidents among their organization. Sheela stated that Turner's grand jury
Grand jury
A grand jury is a type of jury that determines whether a criminal indictment will issue. Currently, only the United States retains grand juries, although some other common law jurisdictions formerly employed them, and most other jurisdictions employ some other type of preliminary hearing...
investigation "threatened the existence of the commune", and exposed Rajneesh and several of his disciples to criminal prosecution. Sheela hoped that by murdering Turner they would be able to thwart the federal immigration investigation which could have resulted in deportation of Rajneeshee leaders. Three former leaders of the commune including Ma Anand Sheela, Dianne Yvonne Onang (Ma Anand Puja), a registered nurse
Registered nurse
A registered nurse is a nurse who has graduated from a nursing program at a university or college and has passed a national licensing exam. A registered nurse helps individuals, families, and groups to achieve health and prevent disease...
from the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
who managed the Rajneeshee medical corporation, and former treasurer of Rajneesh Foundation International and Catherine Jane Stork (Ma Shanti Bhadra) of Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, put together a hit list which included U.S. Attorney Charles Turner and Oregon Attorney General David Frohnmayer.
Susan Hagan (Ma Anand Su), a top official in the Rajneeshpuram hierarchy, was also a participant in the assassination conspiracy. Hagan was in charge of the security force at Rajneeshpuram, ran the Rajneesh Investment Corporation, and supervised construction on the commune. Other conspirators in the assassination plot included Ann Phyllis McCarthy (Ma Yoga Vidya), president of the Rajneesh commune, and Alma Potter (Ma Dhyan Yogini), Ma Anand Sheela's bodyguard and traveling companion. Potter was manager of the Hotel Rajneesh in Portland, Oregon, and a member of the commune's security force. The Oregonian
The Oregonian
The Oregonian is the major daily newspaper in Portland, Oregon, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the U.S. west coast, founded as a weekly by Thomas J. Dryer on December 4, 1850...
reported that nine people were on the hit list, including: Turner, Frohnmayer, former assistant attorney general Karen H. Green, Wasco County planning director Daniel C. Durow, Wasco County commissioner James L. Comini, investigative journalist
Investigative journalism
Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, often involving crime, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend months or years researching and preparing a report. Investigative journalism...
for The Oregonian Leslie L. Zaitz, Helen C. Byron, who had been awarded US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
1.7 million in a lawsuit against Rajneesh Foundation International
Byron v. Rajneesh Foundation International
Byron v. Rajneesh Foundation International was a 1985 lawsuit filed by Helen Byron in Portland, Oregon against Rajneesh Foundation International, the organization of Indian guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh . Byron had been recruited to join the Rajneesh movement by her daughter, Barbara. She traveled to...
, her daughter Barbara J. Byron, and Rajneesh's former secretary Laxmi Thakarsi Kuruwa (Ma Yoga Laxmi).
Weapons
Catherine Jane Stork volunteered to be the follower who would actually murder Turner, and bought guns and silencerSuppressor
A suppressor, sound suppressor, sound moderator, or silencer, is a device attached to or part of the barrel of a firearm which reduces the amount of noise and flash generated by firing the weapon....
s. Stork was known to fellow followers as Ma Shanti Bhadra, and was also one of the three "Big Mammas" in Rajneeshpuram. Sally-Anne Croft (known by followers as Ma Prem Savita), an accountant
Accountant
An accountant is a practitioner of accountancy or accounting , which is the measurement, disclosure or provision of assurance about financial information that helps managers, investors, tax authorities and others make decisions about allocating resources.The Big Four auditors are the largest...
and the group's Chief Financial Officer
Chief financial officer
The chief financial officer or Chief financial and operating officer is a corporate officer primarily responsible for managing the financial risks of the corporation. This officer is also responsible for financial planning and record-keeping, as well as financial reporting to higher management...
, provided money for the purchase of weapons related to the plot. Phyllis Caldwell (Ma Deva Ritka) described in a federal affidavit how members of the murder conspiracy obtained handguns, referring to Catherine Jane Stork and Sally-Anne Croft: "Shanti B went down to Jesus Grove, and Savita gave us several thousand dollars to use to buy guns." Jesus Grove referred to a group of trailers where all the leaders of the Rajneesh commune resided, except for Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh.
Ma Anand Sheela and three other Rajneesh followers traveled to New York in the spring of 1985 to acquire false identification. According to a federal indictment, the perpetrators of the assassination plot used a false birth certificate
Birth certificate
A birth certificate is a vital record that documents the birth of a child. The term "birth certificate" can refer to either the original document certifying the circumstances of the birth or to a certified copy of or representation of the ensuing registration of that birth...
to purchase guns. Two members of the group then traveled to Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
to purchase handgun
Handgun
A handgun is a firearm designed to be held and operated by one hand. This characteristic differentiates handguns as a general class of firearms from long guns such as rifles and shotguns ....
s. Caldwell stated she and Catherine Jane Stork flew to Texas to purchase guns there. They purchased five guns in Texas, but encountered difficulty purchasing handguns in Texas with out-of-state identification and traveled to New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
instead. Caldwell said they called back to the commune but the women were instructed "not to come back without the guns".
In New Mexico, they obtained false identification, and purchased several pistols. Their intention was to purchase guns which were difficult to trace. Caldwell said it was easy to obtain guns in New Mexico: "we found it was pretty easy to buy guns. All you had to do was show some identification and it was easy to get." Caldwell said she and Stork went to a university library to find the identity "of someone dying very young", next went "to public records and asked for a copy of a birth certificate" and described how "we got a rent receipt book and just made up a rent receipt". "And then we were able to go to several different gun shops in Albuquerque with those two bits of identification and buy five different guns and bullets," said Caldwell. They were able to obtain one Colt .38-caliber revolver, and four Ruger .357-caliber Security Six Magnum
Ruger Security Six
The Ruger Security Six and its variants, the Service Six and Speed Six are a product line of double action revolvers introduced in 1971 and manufactured by Sturm, Ruger & Company...
revolvers. The conspirators smuggled the guns into Oregon by packing them in luggage and putting the luggage on a Greyhound Lines
Greyhound Lines
Greyhound Lines, Inc., based in Dallas, Texas, is an intercity common carrier of passengers by bus serving over 3,700 destinations in the United States, Canada and Mexico, operating under the well-known logo of a leaping greyhound. It was founded in Hibbing, Minnesota, USA, in 1914 and...
bus. Caldwell said that she and Stork traveled by bus back to the Rajneesh commune so as to avoid airport metal detectors.
Surveillance
After obtaining guns the conspirators returned to Portland, Oregon. They rented out an apartment in Portland to serve as their base of operations for the assassination of Turner. Rajneesh follower Carol Matthews (Ma Prem Samadhi) used a fake name during the planning of the assassination plot, in an attempt to obtain the home address of Charles Turner. According to federal prosecutors Matthews obtained a college yearbook of Turner's, and learned his car's license plate number and his parking location. Court records state that Matthews and an unindicted co-conspirator gave voter registration officials fake identities and told officials they were conducting "a voter survey on President Reagan's economic plan", in order to obtain Turner's route number and post office box number. The two tried repeating the story with members of the U.S. Postal Service, but the postal officials did not give them Turner's address. They then drove around Turner's neighborhood and were able to find his home by locating a sign in front of his residence that said "Turner". Matthews had pictures of Turner's residence developed; these were later obtained by the Federal Bureau of InvestigationFederal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
during an investigation of the Rajneesh commune, and verified after being shown to Turner.
Members of the group of conspirators watched Turner's office, home and car, and discussed methods to assassinate him, hoping that his death would hinder the efforts of the federal investigation into Rajneeshpuram. Their plan was to shoot Turner in the garage of the federal office building where he worked, in Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, but the conspirators also debated whether to murder Turner in downtown Portland or closer to his home. After spending multiple nights watching Turner's house, the conspirators decided on the parking garage because they felt it would be too risky to murder him on the drive to or from work, or in front of his home. Turner had a reserved parking spot in a federal garage underneath Terry Schrunk Plaza
Terry Schrunk Plaza
Terry Schrunk Plaza is a park located in downtown Portland, Oregon. Located across from City Hall, the park is named after former Portland mayor Terry Schrunk and neighbors the Plaza Blocks consisting of Chapman Square and Lownsdale Square....
in Portland, Oregon. In an affidavit given to the Federal Bureau of Investigation
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
, conspirator Alma Peralta described how the perpetrators decided on the federal parking garage as the location: "Shanti Bhadra [Catherine Jane Stork] said this seems like a good place to bump this fellow off."
The conspirators practiced different ways of murdering Turner. According to informant statements to law enforcement, one of the conspirators was to pretend there was car trouble, and the others would then approach Turner with their guns. Informants later told law enforcment officials that the conspirators intended to hide out at an international network of Rajneesh communes if the plan was successful. According to The Oregonian the assassinations were not carried out because Ma Anand Sheela became distracted by political power plays within the Rajneesh commune and other members of the organization who were trying to remove her from her position within the group.
Investigation
On February 28, 1985, Congressman James H. WeaverJames H. Weaver
James Howard "Jim" Weaver is a former Democratic U.S. congressman from Oregon.-Early life:Weaver enlisted in the United States Navy at the age of seventeen and served in World War II on an aircraft carrier in the Pacific...
gave a speech in the United States House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
in which he asserted that the Rajneeshees were involved in the bioterror attack in Oregon. At a series of press conferences in September 1985, Rajneesh accused several of his recently departed lieutenants of involvement in this and other crimes, including the poisoning of Mike Sullivan, a Jefferson County
Jefferson County, Oregon
Jefferson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oregon. In 2010, its population was 21,720. It is named after Mount Jefferson. The seat of the county is Madras.-History:...
district attorney, and asked state and federal authorities to investigate his allegations. The assassination plot was uncovered by federal law enforcement as a result of the ensuing investigation into activities at Rajneeshpuram. Turner was never physically harmed, and had retired by 1995.
The Oregonian
The Oregonian
The Oregonian is the major daily newspaper in Portland, Oregon, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the U.S. west coast, founded as a weekly by Thomas J. Dryer on December 4, 1850...
was informed in October 1985 by federal law enforcement officials that Leslie L. Zaitz, an investigative journalist
Investigative journalism
Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, often involving crime, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend months or years researching and preparing a report. Investigative journalism...
who had written a 20-part series on the Rajneesh movement in Oregon, was on a "hit list" which also included Turner and Oregon Attorney General David Frohnmayer. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Weaver prosecuted the case; the charges were first detailed at an October 1985 bond hearing in North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
after Rajneesh and his followers were arrested at an airport in Charlotte
Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the seat of Mecklenburg County. In 2010, Charlotte's population according to the US Census Bureau was 731,424, making it the 17th largest city in the United States based on population. The Charlotte metropolitan area had a 2009...
. Weaver said in court that followers of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh had plotted to assassinate Turner and Frohnmayer. He said these allegations were reasons why releasing Rajneesh and his followers from jail would be "a clear and present danger to public officials". The guns purchased by the Rajneesh followers for the assassination plot had reportedly been dumped in a lake at Rancho Rajneesh; the lake was searched by U.S. Navy divers. Scuba divers searched the lake for two days but did not find the guns.
Joseph Greene, a U.S. immigration agent, testified in court that Federal Bureau of Investigation
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
agents had learned of the assassination plot from a member of the organization who was in a witness protection program. Greene said that members involved in the assassination plot included Ma Anand Sheela, Dianne Yvonne Onang, and Alma Peralta. The assassination plot was investigated by the FBI and the Oregon State Police
Oregon State Police
The Oregon State Police is the main state law enforcement agency of the U.S. state of Oregon. They have been charged to enforce all of Oregon's criminal laws and to help local law enforcement agencies with their duties...
. Informants told law enforcement that Ma Anand Sheela hoped Turner's death would prevent an Immigration and Naturalization Service investigation which she thought could lead to Rajneesh's arrest and deportation from the United States. Weaver stated "These attempts to assassinate public officials were because they were presenting an immigration case that might result in imprisonment" of Rajneesh. "There were not simply plans, but at least one (assassination) attempt," said Weaver at the hearing.
A grand jury
Grand jury
A grand jury is a type of jury that determines whether a criminal indictment will issue. Currently, only the United States retains grand juries, although some other common law jurisdictions formerly employed them, and most other jurisdictions employ some other type of preliminary hearing...
investigation led by Turner brought charges of "widespread immigration fraud" against members of Rajneeshpuram. Wiretapping crimes were discovered after Ma Anand Sheela had fled the commune in September 1985. In December 1985, twenty-one followers of Rajneesh were indicted on wiretapping charges.
The 1985 Rajneeshee assassination plot was a conspiracy
Conspiracy (crime)
In the criminal law, a conspiracy is an agreement between two or more persons to break the law at some time in the future, and, in some cases, with at least one overt act in furtherance of that agreement...
by a group of high-ranking followers of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh
Osho (Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh)
Osho , born Chandra Mohan Jain , and also known as Acharya Rajneesh from the 1960s onwards, as Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh during the 1970s and 1980s and as Osho from 1989, was an Indian mystic, guru, and spiritual teacher who garnered an international following.A professor of philosophy, he travelled...
(now known as Osho) to assassinate
Assassination
To carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be...
Charles Turner
Charles H. Turner (attorney)
Charles H. Turner is a former United States Attorney for the District of Oregon. Prior to his presidential appointment as U.S. Attorney, Turner worked under his predecessor, Sidney I. Lezak, for 14 years. He was appointed as Lezak's replacement by President Ronald Reagan.As U.S...
, the then-United States Attorney
United States Attorney
United States Attorneys represent the United States federal government in United States district court and United States court of appeals. There are 93 U.S. Attorneys stationed throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands...
for the District of Oregon
United States District Court for the District of Oregon
The United States District Court for the District of Oregon is the Federal district court whose jurisdiction comprises the state of Oregon. It was created in 1859 when the state was admitted to the Union...
. Rajneesh's personal secretary and second-in-command, Ma Anand Sheela
Ma Anand Sheela
Ma Anand Sheela is a former follower, secretary and spokeswoman for the Indian mystic and spiritual teacher Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, now commonly known as Osho...
, assembled the group after Turner was appointed to investigate illegal activity at Rajneeshpuram
Rajneeshpuram
Rajneeshpuram, Oregon was an intentional community in Wasco County, Oregon, briefly incorporated as a city in the 1980s, which was populated with followers of the spiritual teacher Osho, then known as Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh.- History :...
. Turner investigated charges of immigration fraud
Illegal immigration
Illegal immigration is the migration into a nation in violation of the immigration laws of that jurisdiction. Illegal immigration raises many political, economical and social issues and has become a source of major controversy in developed countries and the more successful developing countries.In...
and sham marriage
Sham marriage
A sham marriage or fake marriage is a marriage of convenience entered into with the intent of deceiving public officials or society about its purpose. Arranging or entering into such a marriage to deceive public officials is itself a separate violation of the law of some countries...
s, and later headed the federal prosecution of the 1984 Rajneeshee bioterror attack
1984 Rajneeshee bioterror attack
The 1984 Rajneeshee bioterror attack was the food poisoning of 751 individuals in The Dalles, Oregon, United States, through the deliberate contamination of salad bars at ten local restaurants with salmonella...
in The Dalles, Oregon
The Dalles, Oregon
The Dalles is the largest city and county seat of Wasco County, Oregon, United States. The name of the city comes from the French word dalle The Dalles is the largest city and county seat of Wasco County, Oregon, United States. The name of the city comes from the French word dalle The Dalles is...
.
The conspirators included: Ma Anand Sheela, Sally-Anne Croft, Chief Financial Officer
Chief financial officer
The chief financial officer or Chief financial and operating officer is a corporate officer primarily responsible for managing the financial risks of the corporation. This officer is also responsible for financial planning and record-keeping, as well as financial reporting to higher management...
of Rajneeshpuram; Susan Hagan, head of security at Rajneeshpuram, Catherine Jane Stork, who bought weapons and silencers and volunteered to be the actual murderer; Ann Phyllis McCarthy, fourth-in-command of Rajneeshpuram; and co-conspirators Alma Potter, Carol Matthews, Phyllis Caldwell and Richard Kevin Langford. The conspirators obtained false identification to purchase handguns out-of-state, stalked Turner, and planned to murder him near his workplace in Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
. The assassination plot was never carried out and was only discovered later, as a result of the investigation by federal law enforcement into the bioterror
Bioterrorism
Bioterrorism is terrorism involving the intentional release or dissemination of biological agents. These agents are bacteria, viruses, or toxins, and may be in a naturally occurring or a human-modified form. For the use of this method in warfare, see biological warfare.-Definition:According to the...
attack in The Dalles and other illegal acts by the Rajneeshpuram leadership.
Prosecution of the conspirators began in 1990, when a federal grand jury brought indictments against several of the key players. Some had fled the country, and extradition
Extradition
Extradition is the official process whereby one nation or state surrenders a suspected or convicted criminal to another nation or state. Between nation states, extradition is regulated by treaties...
proceedings against the perpetrators and subsequent prosecution and conviction was not completed for sixteen years. The final conspirator was convicted in 2006, when Catherine Jane Stork agreed to return to the United States from Germany in order to be allowed to visit her ill son in Australia. Eight perpetrators received sentences ranging from five years probation to five years in federal prison
Federal prison
Federal prisons are run by national governments in countries where subdivisions of the country also operate prisons.In the United States federal prisons are operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons. In Canada the Correctional Service of Canada operates federal prisons. Prison sentences in these...
and an additional member of the Rajneesh commune pled guilty to murder conspiracy. Rajneesh was never prosecuted in relation to the conspiracy, and left the United States after pleading guilty to immigration fraud and agreeing not to reenter the country without permission from the U.S. Attorney General
United States Attorney General
The United States Attorney General is the head of the United States Department of Justice concerned with legal affairs and is the chief law enforcement officer of the United States government. The attorney general is considered to be the chief lawyer of the U.S. government...
.
Hit list
Seven followers (called Rajneeshees) of charismatic leaderCharismatic authority
The sociologist Max Weber defined charismatic authority as "resting on devotion to the exceptional sanctity, heroism or exemplary character of an individual person, and of the normative patterns or order revealed or ordained by him." Charismatic authority is one of three forms of authority laid out...
Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh
Osho (Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh)
Osho , born Chandra Mohan Jain , and also known as Acharya Rajneesh from the 1960s onwards, as Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh during the 1970s and 1980s and as Osho from 1989, was an Indian mystic, guru, and spiritual teacher who garnered an international following.A professor of philosophy, he travelled...
(now known as Osho), were convicted of a 1985 conspiracy
Conspiracy (crime)
In the criminal law, a conspiracy is an agreement between two or more persons to break the law at some time in the future, and, in some cases, with at least one overt act in furtherance of that agreement...
to assassinate
Assassination
To carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be...
Charles Turner
Charles H. Turner (attorney)
Charles H. Turner is a former United States Attorney for the District of Oregon. Prior to his presidential appointment as U.S. Attorney, Turner worked under his predecessor, Sidney I. Lezak, for 14 years. He was appointed as Lezak's replacement by President Ronald Reagan.As U.S...
, and an additional unindicted eighth member of the Rajneesh commune pled guilty to murder conspiracy. The perpetrators were high-ranking followers within the Rajneeshee organization. Prosecutors in the case stated that the perpetrators had planned to murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
Turner after he was appointed to head an investigation into the group's activities in Rajneeshpuram
Rajneeshpuram
Rajneeshpuram, Oregon was an intentional community in Wasco County, Oregon, briefly incorporated as a city in the 1980s, which was populated with followers of the spiritual teacher Osho, then known as Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh.- History :...
, Oregon. Turner's investigation focused on sham marriage
Sham marriage
A sham marriage or fake marriage is a marriage of convenience entered into with the intent of deceiving public officials or society about its purpose. Arranging or entering into such a marriage to deceive public officials is itself a separate violation of the law of some countries...
s organized by the group, as well as other illegal activities including immigration fraud
Illegal immigration
Illegal immigration is the migration into a nation in violation of the immigration laws of that jurisdiction. Illegal immigration raises many political, economical and social issues and has become a source of major controversy in developed countries and the more successful developing countries.In...
, and he later headed the federal prosecution relating to the 1984 Rajneeshee bioterror attack
1984 Rajneeshee bioterror attack
The 1984 Rajneeshee bioterror attack was the food poisoning of 751 individuals in The Dalles, Oregon, United States, through the deliberate contamination of salad bars at ten local restaurants with salmonella...
in The Dalles, Oregon
The Dalles, Oregon
The Dalles is the largest city and county seat of Wasco County, Oregon, United States. The name of the city comes from the French word dalle The Dalles is the largest city and county seat of Wasco County, Oregon, United States. The name of the city comes from the French word dalle The Dalles is...
. Oregon Attorney General
Oregon Attorney General
The Oregon Attorney General is a statutory office within the executive branch of the state of Oregon, and serves as the chief legal officer of the state, heading its Department of Justice with its six operating divisions. The Attorney General is chosen by statewide partisan election to serve a term...
Dave Frohnmayer was also involved in investigations of the group, working alongside Turner.
In May 1985, Rajneesh's personal secretary and second-in-command, Sheela Silverman
Ma Anand Sheela
Ma Anand Sheela is a former follower, secretary and spokeswoman for the Indian mystic and spiritual teacher Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, now commonly known as Osho...
(Ma Anand Sheela), gathered the leader's key followers and formed a group of conspirators in order to plan the assassination of Turner, as well as several dissidents among their organization. Sheela stated that Turner's grand jury
Grand jury
A grand jury is a type of jury that determines whether a criminal indictment will issue. Currently, only the United States retains grand juries, although some other common law jurisdictions formerly employed them, and most other jurisdictions employ some other type of preliminary hearing...
investigation "threatened the existence of the commune", and exposed Rajneesh and several of his disciples to criminal prosecution. Sheela hoped that by murdering Turner they would be able to thwart the federal immigration investigation which could have resulted in deportation of Rajneeshee leaders. Three former leaders of the commune including Ma Anand Sheela, Dianne Yvonne Onang (Ma Anand Puja), a registered nurse
Registered nurse
A registered nurse is a nurse who has graduated from a nursing program at a university or college and has passed a national licensing exam. A registered nurse helps individuals, families, and groups to achieve health and prevent disease...
from the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
who managed the Rajneeshee medical corporation, and former treasurer of Rajneesh Foundation International and Catherine Jane Stork (Ma Shanti Bhadra) of Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, put together a hit list which included U.S. Attorney Charles Turner and Oregon Attorney General David Frohnmayer.
Susan Hagan (Ma Anand Su), a top official in the Rajneeshpuram hierarchy, was also a participant in the assassination conspiracy. Hagan was in charge of the security force at Rajneeshpuram, ran the Rajneesh Investment Corporation, and supervised construction on the commune.U.S. v. Croft, 124 F.3d 1109 (C.A.9 (Or.), 1997), United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit is a U.S. federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:* District of Alaska* District of Arizona...
, Decided September 5, 1997 Other conspirators in the assassination plot included Ann Phyllis McCarthy (Ma Yoga Vidya), president of the Rajneesh commune, and Alma Potter (Ma Dhyan Yogini), Ma Anand Sheela's bodyguard and traveling companion. Potter was manager of the Hotel Rajneesh in Portland, Oregon, and a member of the commune's security force. The Oregonian
The Oregonian
The Oregonian is the major daily newspaper in Portland, Oregon, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the U.S. west coast, founded as a weekly by Thomas J. Dryer on December 4, 1850...
reported that nine people were on the hit list, including: Turner, Frohnmayer, former assistant attorney general Karen H. Green, Wasco County planning director Daniel C. Durow, Wasco County commissioner James L. Comini, investigative journalist
Investigative journalism
Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, often involving crime, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend months or years researching and preparing a report. Investigative journalism...
for The Oregonian Leslie L. Zaitz, Helen C. Byron, who had been awarded US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
1.7 million in a lawsuit against Rajneesh Foundation International
Byron v. Rajneesh Foundation International
Byron v. Rajneesh Foundation International was a 1985 lawsuit filed by Helen Byron in Portland, Oregon against Rajneesh Foundation International, the organization of Indian guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh . Byron had been recruited to join the Rajneesh movement by her daughter, Barbara. She traveled to...
, her daughter Barbara J. Byron, and Rajneesh's former secretary Laxmi Thakarsi Kuruwa (Ma Yoga Laxmi).
Weapons
Catherine Jane Stork volunteered to be the follower who would actually murder Turner, and bought guns and silencerSuppressor
A suppressor, sound suppressor, sound moderator, or silencer, is a device attached to or part of the barrel of a firearm which reduces the amount of noise and flash generated by firing the weapon....
s. Stork was known to fellow followers as Ma Shanti Bhadra, and was also one of the three "Big Mammas" in Rajneeshpuram. Sally-Anne Croft (known by followers as Ma Prem Savita), an accountant
Accountant
An accountant is a practitioner of accountancy or accounting , which is the measurement, disclosure or provision of assurance about financial information that helps managers, investors, tax authorities and others make decisions about allocating resources.The Big Four auditors are the largest...
and the group's Chief Financial Officer
Chief financial officer
The chief financial officer or Chief financial and operating officer is a corporate officer primarily responsible for managing the financial risks of the corporation. This officer is also responsible for financial planning and record-keeping, as well as financial reporting to higher management...
, provided money for the purchase of weapons related to the plot. Phyllis Caldwell (Ma Deva Ritka) described in a federal affidavit how members of the murder conspiracy obtained handguns, referring to Catherine Jane Stork and Sally-Anne Croft: "Shanti B went down to Jesus Grove, and Savita gave us several thousand dollars to use to buy guns." Jesus Grove referred to a group of trailers where all the leaders of the Rajneesh commune resided, except for Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh.
Ma Anand Sheela and three other Rajneesh followers traveled to New York in the spring of 1985 to acquire false identification. According to a federal indictment, the perpetrators of the assassination plot used a false birth certificate
Birth certificate
A birth certificate is a vital record that documents the birth of a child. The term "birth certificate" can refer to either the original document certifying the circumstances of the birth or to a certified copy of or representation of the ensuing registration of that birth...
to purchase guns. Two members of the group then traveled to Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
to purchase handgun
Handgun
A handgun is a firearm designed to be held and operated by one hand. This characteristic differentiates handguns as a general class of firearms from long guns such as rifles and shotguns ....
s. Caldwell stated she and Catherine Jane Stork flew to Texas to purchase guns there. They purchased five guns in Texas, but encountered difficulty purchasing handguns in Texas with out-of-state identification and traveled to New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
instead. Caldwell said they called back to the commune but the women were instructed "not to come back without the guns".
In New Mexico, they obtained false identification, and purchased several pistols. Their intention was to purchase guns which were difficult to trace. Caldwell said it was easy to obtain guns in New Mexico: "we found it was pretty easy to buy guns. All you had to do was show some identification and it was easy to get." Caldwell said she and Stork went to a university library to find the identity "of someone dying very young", next went "to public records and asked for a copy of a birth certificate" and described how "we got a rent receipt book and just made up a rent receipt". "And then we were able to go to several different gun shops in Albuquerque with those two bits of identification and buy five different guns and bullets," said Caldwell. They were able to obtain one Colt .38-caliber revolver, and four Ruger .357-caliber Security Six Magnum
Ruger Security Six
The Ruger Security Six and its variants, the Service Six and Speed Six are a product line of double action revolvers introduced in 1971 and manufactured by Sturm, Ruger & Company...
revolvers. The conspirators smuggled the guns into Oregon by packing them in luggage and putting the luggage on a Greyhound Lines
Greyhound Lines
Greyhound Lines, Inc., based in Dallas, Texas, is an intercity common carrier of passengers by bus serving over 3,700 destinations in the United States, Canada and Mexico, operating under the well-known logo of a leaping greyhound. It was founded in Hibbing, Minnesota, USA, in 1914 and...
bus. Caldwell said that she and Stork traveled by bus back to the Rajneesh commune so as to avoid airport metal detectors.
Surveillance
After obtaining guns the conspirators returned to Portland, Oregon. They rented out an apartment in Portland to serve as their base of operations for the assassination of Turner. Rajneesh follower Carol Matthews (Ma Prem Samadhi) used a fake name during the planning of the assassination plot, in an attempt to obtain the home address of Charles Turner. According to federal prosecutors Matthews obtained a college yearbook of Turner's, and learned his car's license plate number and his parking location. Court records state that Matthews and an unindicted co-conspirator gave voter registration officials fake identities and told officials they were conducting "a voter survey on President Reagan's economic plan", in order to obtain Turner's route number and post office box number. The two tried repeating the story with members of the U.S. Postal Service, but the postal officials did not give them Turner's address. They then drove around Turner's neighborhood and were able to find his home by locating a sign in front of his residence that said "Turner". Matthews had pictures of Turner's residence developed; these were later obtained by the Federal Bureau of InvestigationFederal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
during an investigation of the Rajneesh commune, and verified after being shown to Turner.
Members of the group of conspirators watched Turner's office, home and car, and discussed methods to assassinate him, hoping that his death would hinder the efforts of the federal investigation into Rajneeshpuram. Their plan was to shoot Turner in the garage of the federal office building where he worked, in Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, but the conspirators also debated whether to murder Turner in downtown Portland or closer to his home. After spending multiple nights watching Turner's house, the conspirators decided on the parking garage because they felt it would be too risky to murder him on the drive to or from work, or in front of his home. Turner had a reserved parking spot in a federal garage underneath Terry Schrunk Plaza
Terry Schrunk Plaza
Terry Schrunk Plaza is a park located in downtown Portland, Oregon. Located across from City Hall, the park is named after former Portland mayor Terry Schrunk and neighbors the Plaza Blocks consisting of Chapman Square and Lownsdale Square....
in Portland, Oregon. In an affidavit given to the Federal Bureau of Investigation
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
, conspirator Alma Peralta described how the perpetrators decided on the federal parking garage as the location: "Shanti Bhadra [Catherine Jane Stork] said this seems like a good place to bump this fellow off."
The conspirators practiced different ways of murdering Turner. According to informant statements to law enforcement, one of the conspirators was to pretend there was car trouble, and the others would then approach Turner with their guns. Informants later told law enforcment officials that the conspirators intended to hide out at an international network of Rajneesh communes if the plan was successful. According to The Oregonian the assassinations were not carried out because Ma Anand Sheela became distracted by political power plays within the Rajneesh commune and other members of the organization who were trying to remove her from her position within the group.
Investigation
On February 28, 1985, Congressman James H. WeaverJames H. Weaver
James Howard "Jim" Weaver is a former Democratic U.S. congressman from Oregon.-Early life:Weaver enlisted in the United States Navy at the age of seventeen and served in World War II on an aircraft carrier in the Pacific...
gave a speech in the United States House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
in which he asserted that the Rajneeshees were involved in the bioterror attack in Oregon. At a series of press conferences in September 1985, Rajneesh accused several of his recently departed lieutenants of involvement in this and other crimes, including the poisoning of Mike Sullivan, a Jefferson County
Jefferson County, Oregon
Jefferson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oregon. In 2010, its population was 21,720. It is named after Mount Jefferson. The seat of the county is Madras.-History:...
district attorney, and asked state and federal authorities to investigate his allegations. The assassination plot was uncovered by federal law enforcement as a result of the ensuing investigation into activities at Rajneeshpuram. Turner was never physically harmed, and had retired by 1995.
The Oregonian
The Oregonian
The Oregonian is the major daily newspaper in Portland, Oregon, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the U.S. west coast, founded as a weekly by Thomas J. Dryer on December 4, 1850...
was informed in October 1985 by federal law enforcement officials that Leslie L. Zaitz, an investigative journalist
Investigative journalism
Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, often involving crime, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend months or years researching and preparing a report. Investigative journalism...
who had written a 20-part series on the Rajneesh movement in Oregon, was on a "hit list" which also included Turner and Oregon Attorney General David Frohnmayer. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Weaver prosecuted the case; the charges were first detailed at an October 1985 bond hearing in North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
after Rajneesh and his followers were arrested at an airport in Charlotte
Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the seat of Mecklenburg County. In 2010, Charlotte's population according to the US Census Bureau was 731,424, making it the 17th largest city in the United States based on population. The Charlotte metropolitan area had a 2009...
. Weaver said in court that followers of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh had plotted to assassinate Turner and Frohnmayer. He said these allegations were reasons why releasing Rajneesh and his followers from jail would be "a clear and present danger to public officials". The guns purchased by the Rajneesh followers for the assassination plot had reportedly been dumped in a lake at Rancho Rajneesh; the lake was searched by U.S. Navy divers. Scuba divers searched the lake for two days but did not find the guns.
Joseph Greene, a U.S. immigration agent, testified in court that Federal Bureau of Investigation
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
agents had learned of the assassination plot from a member of the organization who was in a witness protection program. Greene said that members involved in the assassination plot included Ma Anand Sheela, Dianne Yvonne Onang, and Alma Peralta. The assassination plot was investigated by the FBI and the Oregon State Police
Oregon State Police
The Oregon State Police is the main state law enforcement agency of the U.S. state of Oregon. They have been charged to enforce all of Oregon's criminal laws and to help local law enforcement agencies with their duties...
. Informants told law enforcement that Ma Anand Sheela hoped Turner's death would prevent an Immigration and Naturalization Service investigation which she thought could lead to Rajneesh's arrest and deportation from the United States. Weaver stated "These attempts to assassinate public officials were because they were presenting an immigration case that might result in imprisonment" of Rajneesh. "There were not simply plans, but at least one (assassination) attempt," said Weaver at the hearing.
A grand jury
Grand jury
A grand jury is a type of jury that determines whether a criminal indictment will issue. Currently, only the United States retains grand juries, although some other common law jurisdictions formerly employed them, and most other jurisdictions employ some other type of preliminary hearing...
investigation led by Turner brought charges of "widespread immigration fraud" against members of Rajneeshpuram. Wiretapping crimes were discovered after Ma Anand Sheela had fled the commune in September 1985. In December 1985, twenty-one followers of Rajneesh were indicted on wiretapping charges.
The 1985 Rajneeshee assassination plot was a conspiracy
Conspiracy (crime)
In the criminal law, a conspiracy is an agreement between two or more persons to break the law at some time in the future, and, in some cases, with at least one overt act in furtherance of that agreement...
by a group of high-ranking followers of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh
Osho (Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh)
Osho , born Chandra Mohan Jain , and also known as Acharya Rajneesh from the 1960s onwards, as Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh during the 1970s and 1980s and as Osho from 1989, was an Indian mystic, guru, and spiritual teacher who garnered an international following.A professor of philosophy, he travelled...
(now known as Osho) to assassinate
Assassination
To carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be...
Charles Turner
Charles H. Turner (attorney)
Charles H. Turner is a former United States Attorney for the District of Oregon. Prior to his presidential appointment as U.S. Attorney, Turner worked under his predecessor, Sidney I. Lezak, for 14 years. He was appointed as Lezak's replacement by President Ronald Reagan.As U.S...
, the then-United States Attorney
United States Attorney
United States Attorneys represent the United States federal government in United States district court and United States court of appeals. There are 93 U.S. Attorneys stationed throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands...
for the District of Oregon
United States District Court for the District of Oregon
The United States District Court for the District of Oregon is the Federal district court whose jurisdiction comprises the state of Oregon. It was created in 1859 when the state was admitted to the Union...
. Rajneesh's personal secretary and second-in-command, Ma Anand Sheela
Ma Anand Sheela
Ma Anand Sheela is a former follower, secretary and spokeswoman for the Indian mystic and spiritual teacher Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, now commonly known as Osho...
, assembled the group after Turner was appointed to investigate illegal activity at Rajneeshpuram
Rajneeshpuram
Rajneeshpuram, Oregon was an intentional community in Wasco County, Oregon, briefly incorporated as a city in the 1980s, which was populated with followers of the spiritual teacher Osho, then known as Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh.- History :...
. Turner investigated charges of immigration fraud
Illegal immigration
Illegal immigration is the migration into a nation in violation of the immigration laws of that jurisdiction. Illegal immigration raises many political, economical and social issues and has become a source of major controversy in developed countries and the more successful developing countries.In...
and sham marriage
Sham marriage
A sham marriage or fake marriage is a marriage of convenience entered into with the intent of deceiving public officials or society about its purpose. Arranging or entering into such a marriage to deceive public officials is itself a separate violation of the law of some countries...
s, and later headed the federal prosecution of the 1984 Rajneeshee bioterror attack
1984 Rajneeshee bioterror attack
The 1984 Rajneeshee bioterror attack was the food poisoning of 751 individuals in The Dalles, Oregon, United States, through the deliberate contamination of salad bars at ten local restaurants with salmonella...
in The Dalles, Oregon
The Dalles, Oregon
The Dalles is the largest city and county seat of Wasco County, Oregon, United States. The name of the city comes from the French word dalle The Dalles is the largest city and county seat of Wasco County, Oregon, United States. The name of the city comes from the French word dalle The Dalles is...
.
The conspirators included: Ma Anand Sheela, Sally-Anne Croft, Chief Financial Officer
Chief financial officer
The chief financial officer or Chief financial and operating officer is a corporate officer primarily responsible for managing the financial risks of the corporation. This officer is also responsible for financial planning and record-keeping, as well as financial reporting to higher management...
of Rajneeshpuram; Susan Hagan, head of security at Rajneeshpuram, Catherine Jane Stork, who bought weapons and silencers and volunteered to be the actual murderer; Ann Phyllis McCarthy, fourth-in-command of Rajneeshpuram; and co-conspirators Alma Potter, Carol Matthews, Phyllis Caldwell and Richard Kevin Langford. The conspirators obtained false identification to purchase handguns out-of-state, stalked Turner, and planned to murder him near his workplace in Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
. The assassination plot was never carried out and was only discovered later, as a result of the investigation by federal law enforcement into the bioterror
Bioterrorism
Bioterrorism is terrorism involving the intentional release or dissemination of biological agents. These agents are bacteria, viruses, or toxins, and may be in a naturally occurring or a human-modified form. For the use of this method in warfare, see biological warfare.-Definition:According to the...
attack in The Dalles and other illegal acts by the Rajneeshpuram leadership.
Prosecution of the conspirators began in 1990, when a federal grand jury brought indictments against several of the key players. Some had fled the country, and extradition
Extradition
Extradition is the official process whereby one nation or state surrenders a suspected or convicted criminal to another nation or state. Between nation states, extradition is regulated by treaties...
proceedings against the perpetrators and subsequent prosecution and conviction was not completed for sixteen years. The final conspirator was convicted in 2006, when Catherine Jane Stork agreed to return to the United States from Germany in order to be allowed to visit her ill son in Australia. Eight perpetrators received sentences ranging from five years probation to five years in federal prison
Federal prison
Federal prisons are run by national governments in countries where subdivisions of the country also operate prisons.In the United States federal prisons are operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons. In Canada the Correctional Service of Canada operates federal prisons. Prison sentences in these...
and an additional member of the Rajneesh commune pled guilty to murder conspiracy. Rajneesh was never prosecuted in relation to the conspiracy, and left the United States after pleading guilty to immigration fraud and agreeing not to reenter the country without permission from the U.S. Attorney General
United States Attorney General
The United States Attorney General is the head of the United States Department of Justice concerned with legal affairs and is the chief law enforcement officer of the United States government. The attorney general is considered to be the chief lawyer of the U.S. government...
.
Hit list
Seven followers (called Rajneeshees) of charismatic leaderCharismatic authority
The sociologist Max Weber defined charismatic authority as "resting on devotion to the exceptional sanctity, heroism or exemplary character of an individual person, and of the normative patterns or order revealed or ordained by him." Charismatic authority is one of three forms of authority laid out...
Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh
Osho (Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh)
Osho , born Chandra Mohan Jain , and also known as Acharya Rajneesh from the 1960s onwards, as Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh during the 1970s and 1980s and as Osho from 1989, was an Indian mystic, guru, and spiritual teacher who garnered an international following.A professor of philosophy, he travelled...
(now known as Osho), were convicted of a 1985 conspiracy
Conspiracy (crime)
In the criminal law, a conspiracy is an agreement between two or more persons to break the law at some time in the future, and, in some cases, with at least one overt act in furtherance of that agreement...
to assassinate
Assassination
To carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be...
Charles Turner
Charles H. Turner (attorney)
Charles H. Turner is a former United States Attorney for the District of Oregon. Prior to his presidential appointment as U.S. Attorney, Turner worked under his predecessor, Sidney I. Lezak, for 14 years. He was appointed as Lezak's replacement by President Ronald Reagan.As U.S...
, and an additional unindicted eighth member of the Rajneesh commune pled guilty to murder conspiracy. The perpetrators were high-ranking followers within the Rajneeshee organization. Prosecutors in the case stated that the perpetrators had planned to murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
Turner after he was appointed to head an investigation into the group's activities in Rajneeshpuram
Rajneeshpuram
Rajneeshpuram, Oregon was an intentional community in Wasco County, Oregon, briefly incorporated as a city in the 1980s, which was populated with followers of the spiritual teacher Osho, then known as Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh.- History :...
, Oregon. Turner's investigation focused on sham marriage
Sham marriage
A sham marriage or fake marriage is a marriage of convenience entered into with the intent of deceiving public officials or society about its purpose. Arranging or entering into such a marriage to deceive public officials is itself a separate violation of the law of some countries...
s organized by the group, as well as other illegal activities including immigration fraud
Illegal immigration
Illegal immigration is the migration into a nation in violation of the immigration laws of that jurisdiction. Illegal immigration raises many political, economical and social issues and has become a source of major controversy in developed countries and the more successful developing countries.In...
, and he later headed the federal prosecution relating to the 1984 Rajneeshee bioterror attack
1984 Rajneeshee bioterror attack
The 1984 Rajneeshee bioterror attack was the food poisoning of 751 individuals in The Dalles, Oregon, United States, through the deliberate contamination of salad bars at ten local restaurants with salmonella...
in The Dalles, Oregon
The Dalles, Oregon
The Dalles is the largest city and county seat of Wasco County, Oregon, United States. The name of the city comes from the French word dalle The Dalles is the largest city and county seat of Wasco County, Oregon, United States. The name of the city comes from the French word dalle The Dalles is...
. Oregon Attorney General
Oregon Attorney General
The Oregon Attorney General is a statutory office within the executive branch of the state of Oregon, and serves as the chief legal officer of the state, heading its Department of Justice with its six operating divisions. The Attorney General is chosen by statewide partisan election to serve a term...
Dave Frohnmayer was also involved in investigations of the group, working alongside Turner.
In May 1985, Rajneesh's personal secretary and second-in-command, Sheela Silverman
Ma Anand Sheela
Ma Anand Sheela is a former follower, secretary and spokeswoman for the Indian mystic and spiritual teacher Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, now commonly known as Osho...
(Ma Anand Sheela), gathered the leader's key followers and formed a group of conspirators in order to plan the assassination of Turner, as well as several dissidents among their organization. Sheela stated that Turner's grand jury
Grand jury
A grand jury is a type of jury that determines whether a criminal indictment will issue. Currently, only the United States retains grand juries, although some other common law jurisdictions formerly employed them, and most other jurisdictions employ some other type of preliminary hearing...
investigation "threatened the existence of the commune", and exposed Rajneesh and several of his disciples to criminal prosecution. Sheela hoped that by murdering Turner they would be able to thwart the federal immigration investigation which could have resulted in deportation of Rajneeshee leaders. Three former leaders of the commune including Ma Anand Sheela, Dianne Yvonne Onang (Ma Anand Puja), a registered nurse
Registered nurse
A registered nurse is a nurse who has graduated from a nursing program at a university or college and has passed a national licensing exam. A registered nurse helps individuals, families, and groups to achieve health and prevent disease...
from the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
who managed the Rajneeshee medical corporation, and former treasurer of Rajneesh Foundation International and Catherine Jane Stork (Ma Shanti Bhadra) of Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, put together a hit list which included U.S. Attorney Charles Turner and Oregon Attorney General David Frohnmayer.
Susan Hagan (Ma Anand Su), a top official in the Rajneeshpuram hierarchy, was also a participant in the assassination conspiracy. Hagan was in charge of the security force at Rajneeshpuram, ran the Rajneesh Investment Corporation, and supervised construction on the commune.U.S. v. Croft, 124 F.3d 1109 (C.A.9 (Or.), 1997), United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit is a U.S. federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:* District of Alaska* District of Arizona...
, Decided September 5, 1997 Other conspirators in the assassination plot included Ann Phyllis McCarthy (Ma Yoga Vidya), president of the Rajneesh commune, and Alma Potter (Ma Dhyan Yogini), Ma Anand Sheela's bodyguard and traveling companion. Potter was manager of the Hotel Rajneesh in Portland, Oregon, and a member of the commune's security force. The Oregonian
The Oregonian
The Oregonian is the major daily newspaper in Portland, Oregon, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the U.S. west coast, founded as a weekly by Thomas J. Dryer on December 4, 1850...
reported that nine people were on the hit list, including: Turner, Frohnmayer, former assistant attorney general Karen H. Green, Wasco County planning director Daniel C. Durow, Wasco County commissioner James L. Comini, investigative journalist
Investigative journalism
Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, often involving crime, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend months or years researching and preparing a report. Investigative journalism...
for The Oregonian Leslie L. Zaitz, Helen C. Byron, who had been awarded US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
1.7 million in a lawsuit against Rajneesh Foundation International
Byron v. Rajneesh Foundation International
Byron v. Rajneesh Foundation International was a 1985 lawsuit filed by Helen Byron in Portland, Oregon against Rajneesh Foundation International, the organization of Indian guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh . Byron had been recruited to join the Rajneesh movement by her daughter, Barbara. She traveled to...
, her daughter Barbara J. Byron, and Rajneesh's former secretary Laxmi Thakarsi Kuruwa (Ma Yoga Laxmi).
Weapons
Catherine Jane Stork volunteered to be the follower who would actually murder Turner, and bought guns and silencerSuppressor
A suppressor, sound suppressor, sound moderator, or silencer, is a device attached to or part of the barrel of a firearm which reduces the amount of noise and flash generated by firing the weapon....
s. Stork was known to fellow followers as Ma Shanti Bhadra, and was also one of the three "Big Mammas" in Rajneeshpuram. Sally-Anne Croft (known by followers as Ma Prem Savita), an accountant
Accountant
An accountant is a practitioner of accountancy or accounting , which is the measurement, disclosure or provision of assurance about financial information that helps managers, investors, tax authorities and others make decisions about allocating resources.The Big Four auditors are the largest...
and the group's Chief Financial Officer
Chief financial officer
The chief financial officer or Chief financial and operating officer is a corporate officer primarily responsible for managing the financial risks of the corporation. This officer is also responsible for financial planning and record-keeping, as well as financial reporting to higher management...
, provided money for the purchase of weapons related to the plot. Phyllis Caldwell (Ma Deva Ritka) described in a federal affidavit how members of the murder conspiracy obtained handguns, referring to Catherine Jane Stork and Sally-Anne Croft: "Shanti B went down to Jesus Grove, and Savita gave us several thousand dollars to use to buy guns." Jesus Grove referred to a group of trailers where all the leaders of the Rajneesh commune resided, except for Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh.
Ma Anand Sheela and three other Rajneesh followers traveled to New York in the spring of 1985 to acquire false identification. According to a federal indictment, the perpetrators of the assassination plot used a false birth certificate
Birth certificate
A birth certificate is a vital record that documents the birth of a child. The term "birth certificate" can refer to either the original document certifying the circumstances of the birth or to a certified copy of or representation of the ensuing registration of that birth...
to purchase guns. Two members of the group then traveled to Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
to purchase handgun
Handgun
A handgun is a firearm designed to be held and operated by one hand. This characteristic differentiates handguns as a general class of firearms from long guns such as rifles and shotguns ....
s. Caldwell stated she and Catherine Jane Stork flew to Texas to purchase guns there. They purchased five guns in Texas, but encountered difficulty purchasing handguns in Texas with out-of-state identification and traveled to New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
instead. Caldwell said they called back to the commune but the women were instructed "not to come back without the guns".
In New Mexico, they obtained false identification, and purchased several pistols. Their intention was to purchase guns which were difficult to trace. Caldwell said it was easy to obtain guns in New Mexico: "we found it was pretty easy to buy guns. All you had to do was show some identification and it was easy to get." Caldwell said she and Stork went to a university library to find the identity "of someone dying very young", next went "to public records and asked for a copy of a birth certificate" and described how "we got a rent receipt book and just made up a rent receipt". "And then we were able to go to several different gun shops in Albuquerque with those two bits of identification and buy five different guns and bullets," said Caldwell. They were able to obtain one Colt .38-caliber revolver, and four Ruger .357-caliber Security Six Magnum
Ruger Security Six
The Ruger Security Six and its variants, the Service Six and Speed Six are a product line of double action revolvers introduced in 1971 and manufactured by Sturm, Ruger & Company...
revolvers. The conspirators smuggled the guns into Oregon by packing them in luggage and putting the luggage on a Greyhound Lines
Greyhound Lines
Greyhound Lines, Inc., based in Dallas, Texas, is an intercity common carrier of passengers by bus serving over 3,700 destinations in the United States, Canada and Mexico, operating under the well-known logo of a leaping greyhound. It was founded in Hibbing, Minnesota, USA, in 1914 and...
bus. Caldwell said that she and Stork traveled by bus back to the Rajneesh commune so as to avoid airport metal detectors.
Surveillance
After obtaining guns the conspirators returned to Portland, Oregon. They rented out an apartment in Portland to serve as their base of operations for the assassination of Turner. Rajneesh follower Carol Matthews (Ma Prem Samadhi) used a fake name during the planning of the assassination plot, in an attempt to obtain the home address of Charles Turner. According to federal prosecutors Matthews obtained a college yearbook of Turner's, and learned his car's license plate number and his parking location. Court records state that Matthews and an unindicted co-conspirator gave voter registration officials fake identities and told officials they were conducting "a voter survey on President Reagan's economic plan", in order to obtain Turner's route number and post office box number. The two tried repeating the story with members of the U.S. Postal Service, but the postal officials did not give them Turner's address. They then drove around Turner's neighborhood and were able to find his home by locating a sign in front of his residence that said "Turner". Matthews had pictures of Turner's residence developed; these were later obtained by the Federal Bureau of InvestigationFederal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
during an investigation of the Rajneesh commune, and verified after being shown to Turner.
Members of the group of conspirators watched Turner's office, home and car, and discussed methods to assassinate him, hoping that his death would hinder the efforts of the federal investigation into Rajneeshpuram. Their plan was to shoot Turner in the garage of the federal office building where he worked, in Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, but the conspirators also debated whether to murder Turner in downtown Portland or closer to his home. After spending multiple nights watching Turner's house, the conspirators decided on the parking garage because they felt it would be too risky to murder him on the drive to or from work, or in front of his home. Turner had a reserved parking spot in a federal garage underneath Terry Schrunk Plaza
Terry Schrunk Plaza
Terry Schrunk Plaza is a park located in downtown Portland, Oregon. Located across from City Hall, the park is named after former Portland mayor Terry Schrunk and neighbors the Plaza Blocks consisting of Chapman Square and Lownsdale Square....
in Portland, Oregon. In an affidavit given to the Federal Bureau of Investigation
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
, conspirator Alma Peralta described how the perpetrators decided on the federal parking garage as the location: "Shanti Bhadra [Catherine Jane Stork] said this seems like a good place to bump this fellow off."
The conspirators practiced different ways of murdering Turner. According to informant statements to law enforcement, one of the conspirators was to pretend there was car trouble, and the others would then approach Turner with their guns. Informants later told law enforcment officials that the conspirators intended to hide out at an international network of Rajneesh communes if the plan was successful. According to The Oregonian the assassinations were not carried out because Ma Anand Sheela became distracted by political power plays within the Rajneesh commune and other members of the organization who were trying to remove her from her position within the group.
Investigation
On February 28, 1985, Congressman James H. WeaverJames H. Weaver
James Howard "Jim" Weaver is a former Democratic U.S. congressman from Oregon.-Early life:Weaver enlisted in the United States Navy at the age of seventeen and served in World War II on an aircraft carrier in the Pacific...
gave a speech in the United States House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
in which he asserted that the Rajneeshees were involved in the bioterror attack in Oregon. At a series of press conferences in September 1985, Rajneesh accused several of his recently departed lieutenants of involvement in this and other crimes, including the poisoning of Mike Sullivan, a Jefferson County
Jefferson County, Oregon
Jefferson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oregon. In 2010, its population was 21,720. It is named after Mount Jefferson. The seat of the county is Madras.-History:...
district attorney, and asked state and federal authorities to investigate his allegations. The assassination plot was uncovered by federal law enforcement as a result of the ensuing investigation into activities at Rajneeshpuram. Turner was never physically harmed, and had retired by 1995.
The Oregonian
The Oregonian
The Oregonian is the major daily newspaper in Portland, Oregon, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the U.S. west coast, founded as a weekly by Thomas J. Dryer on December 4, 1850...
was informed in October 1985 by federal law enforcement officials that Leslie L. Zaitz, an investigative journalist
Investigative journalism
Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, often involving crime, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend months or years researching and preparing a report. Investigative journalism...
who had written a 20-part series on the Rajneesh movement in Oregon, was on a "hit list" which also included Turner and Oregon Attorney General David Frohnmayer. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Weaver prosecuted the case; the charges were first detailed at an October 1985 bond hearing in North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
after Rajneesh and his followers were arrested at an airport in Charlotte
Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the seat of Mecklenburg County. In 2010, Charlotte's population according to the US Census Bureau was 731,424, making it the 17th largest city in the United States based on population. The Charlotte metropolitan area had a 2009...
. Weaver said in court that followers of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh had plotted to assassinate Turner and Frohnmayer. He said these allegations were reasons why releasing Rajneesh and his followers from jail would be "a clear and present danger to public officials". The guns purchased by the Rajneesh followers for the assassination plot had reportedly been dumped in a lake at Rancho Rajneesh; the lake was searched by U.S. Navy divers. Scuba divers searched the lake for two days but did not find the guns.
Joseph Greene, a U.S. immigration agent, testified in court that Federal Bureau of Investigation
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
agents had learned of the assassination plot from a member of the organization who was in a witness protection program. Greene said that members involved in the assassination plot included Ma Anand Sheela, Dianne Yvonne Onang, and Alma Peralta. The assassination plot was investigated by the FBI and the Oregon State Police
Oregon State Police
The Oregon State Police is the main state law enforcement agency of the U.S. state of Oregon. They have been charged to enforce all of Oregon's criminal laws and to help local law enforcement agencies with their duties...
. Informants told law enforcement that Ma Anand Sheela hoped Turner's death would prevent an Immigration and Naturalization Service investigation which she thought could lead to Rajneesh's arrest and deportation from the United States. Weaver stated "These attempts to assassinate public officials were because they were presenting an immigration case that might result in imprisonment" of Rajneesh. "There were not simply plans, but at least one (assassination) attempt," said Weaver at the hearing.
A grand jury
Grand jury
A grand jury is a type of jury that determines whether a criminal indictment will issue. Currently, only the United States retains grand juries, although some other common law jurisdictions formerly employed them, and most other jurisdictions employ some other type of preliminary hearing...
investigation led by Turner brought charges of "widespread immigration fraud" against members of Rajneeshpuram. Wiretapping crimes were discovered after Ma Anand Sheela had fled the commune in September 1985. In December 1985, twenty-one followers of Rajneesh were indicted on wiretapping charges.
Arrests and convictions
Chief criminal assistant U.S. attorney Baron C. Sheldahl was assigned to prosecute the charges of federal wiretapping, and a special team from the United States Department of JusticeUnited States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice , is the United States federal executive department responsible for the enforcement of the law and administration of justice, equivalent to the justice or interior ministries of other countries.The Department is led by the Attorney General, who is nominated...
Criminal Division was tasked with prosecuting the murder conspiracy charges. Four of the perpetrators were arrested in September 1990. Catherine Jane Stork and Richard Kevin Langford were arrested in West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
, Ann Phyllis McCarthy was arrested in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, and Susan Hagan was arrested in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. In September 1990, Alma Peralta pled guilty to conspiracy to commit murder. Peralta, who had served as Ma Anand Sheela's bodyguard and confidante, agreed to testify against the other defendants in the murder conspiracy. Under the terms of Peralta's plea agreement she received a sentence of two years in federal prison. Carol Matthews was arrested in Baden-Baden
Baden-Baden
Baden-Baden is a spa town in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located on the western foothills of the Black Forest, on the banks of the Oos River, in the region of Karlsruhe...
, Germany in October 1990 on charges of wiretapping and conspiracy to murder Turner, where she was held along with three other Rajneeshees. At the time of her arrest, Matthews was found in possession of a false British passport, and had been traveling under the fake name of "Daphene Fosberry". Indictments were brought against Ma Anand Sheela and six other co-conspirators by a federal grand jury in November 1990.
In April 1991, Carol Matthews and Richard Kevin Langford (Swami Anugiten) were extradited from Germany to the United States in order to appear in federal court in Portland, Oregon. Law enforcement officials from the United States Marshals Service
United States Marshals Service
The United States Marshals Service is a United States federal law enforcement agency within the United States Department of Justice . The office of U.S. Marshal is the oldest federal law enforcement office in the United States; it was created by the Judiciary Act of 1789...
traveled to Frankfurt, Germany and took custody of the Matthews and Langford at Rhine Main Airport. On April 15, 1991, Matthews and Langford appeared in federal court in Oregon, and both pleaded innocent to charges of conspiracy to commit murder and carrying out wiretapping. On April 25, 1991, Richard Kevin Langford pleaded guilty in federal court to participating in the murder conspiracy plot against Turner, and in exchange he received a sentence of five years in federal prison and the dismissal of other charges against him relating to firearms and wiretapping. Langford agreed to testify against the other members of the murder conspiracy. Langford wrote on his plea agreement form: "In 1985, meetings were held at the Rancho Rajneesh ... at which time the possible killing of the United States Attorney for Oregon was discussed. I participated in a number of these meetings and agreed with others to work toward that object." Prosecutor Timothy J. Reardon III stated that Langford had been a member of the Rajneesh commune in Oregon since it began in 1981, and that the government was able to prove he joined the murder conspiracy at a point in time after May 25, 1985. Reardon said that Langford was a member of a group called the "Circle of 38", which was the personal security force that guarded Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, and that he had served as a weapons instructor and policeman at the commune. Langford told U.S. District Judge Malcom F. Marsh that he had suggested that guns for the murder conspiracy could be bought in Texas, instructed the conspiractors about silencers, took responsibility for the weapons while they were in the commune, and disposed of them when members of the murder conspiracy decided to flee the U.S. for Europe. In July 1991, Carol Matthews entered a guilty plea and was convicted in federal court, she was sentenced to five years in prison.
Catherine Jane Stork was convicted of the attempted murder
Attempted murder
Attempted murder is a crime in England and Wales and Northern Ireland.-Today:In English criminal law, attempted murder is the crime of more than merely preparing to commit unlawful killing and at the same time having a specific intention to cause the death of human being under the Queen's Peace...
of Rajneesh's physician Dr. George Meredith (Swami Devaraj) in 1986, and served almost three years in jail. After her release, agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
uncovered the plot to assassinate Turner, but Stork had already fled to Germany. She was indicted by a federal grand jury in 1990. In 1991, the German government refused to extradite
Extradition
Extradition is the official process whereby one nation or state surrenders a suspected or convicted criminal to another nation or state. Between nation states, extradition is regulated by treaties...
Stork back to the United States. In June 1991, U.S. prosecutors filed affidavits in the murder conspiracy case with the Higher Regional Court in Karlsruhe, Germany, as part of an attempt to extradite Catherin Jane Stork from Germany to the U.S. The affidavits stated that all of the members in the murder conspiracy plot also belonged to a group of Rajneesh followers at the Oregon commune known as "the 38", and were trained in "commando tactics using Uzi semiautomatic rifles and handguns". David Berry Knapp (known to Rajneesh followers as Swami Krishna Deva) stated in an FBI
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
affidavit that the murder conspiracy was motivated by Ma Anand Sheela's "tremendous anger" towards Turner.
Ma Anand Sheela served twenty-nine months in a minimum security federal prison
Federal prison
Federal prisons are run by national governments in countries where subdivisions of the country also operate prisons.In the United States federal prisons are operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons. In Canada the Correctional Service of Canada operates federal prisons. Prison sentences in these...
for charges related to assault, attempted murder, arson, wiretapping and the 1984 bioterror attack in The Dalles, and moved to Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
after her release from prison in 1988. The assassination conspiracy was discovered after Sheela had left the United States, and as of 1999 she was still wanted by federal law enforcement for her role in the plot, and risked extradition if she crossed the Swiss border. Switzerland declined an extradition request from the United States, and instead tried her in a Swiss court. Sheela was found guilty of "criminal acts preparatory to the commission of murder" in 1999, and sentenced to time already served.
Sally-Anne Croft and Susan Hagan were extradited from Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in 1994, and were convicted by a jury decision on July 28, 1995 for their roles in the assassination plot. They had unsuccessfully attempted to appeal their extradition from Britain to Home Secretary
Home Secretary
The Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the Home Office of the United Kingdom, and one of the country's four Great Offices of State...
Michael Howard
Michael Howard
Michael Howard, Baron Howard of Lympne, CH, QC, PC is a British politician, who served as the Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition from November 2003 to December 2005...
. During their trial the prosecution presented twenty-nine witnesses, including former followers of Rajneesh who placed both women in planning meetings where they discussed murdering Turner. David Berry Knapp, the former mayor of Rajneeshpuram, testified for the government in the case and implicated Croft and Hagan in the assassination conspiracy. Ava Kay Avalos (Ma Ava), a Rajneesh disciple, testified in the Croft case and stated that she had been part of the conspirators that plotted to assassinate Turner. In addition to Knapp and Avalos, co-conspirators Richard Kevin Langford, Phyllis Caldwell, and Alma Peralta testified in the case pursuant to conditional plea or immunity agreements. Both women were sentenced to five years in prison. Croft and Hagan did not testify during their trial. "We hashed over everything – evidence, notes, evidence, notes. I think we did an absolutely fabulous job," said one of the jurors. At the sentencing for Croft and Hagan, the federal Judge Malcolm Marsh described them as "people of obvious goodwill who had committed an extremely serious offense against the criminal justice system." Prosecutor Tim Reardon called the conspiracy to commit assassination "a deadly serious crime aimed at the heart of the criminal justice system." Croft and Hagan were released from imprisonment at FCI Dublin, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
in April 1998, and returned to Britain.
In December 2002, Ann Phyllis McCarthy pled guilty to conspiracy to commit murder, and was sentenced to one year in jail and a fine of USD$10,000. McCarthy had served as fourth-in-command of Rajneeshpuram, and was known by Rajneesh's followers as Ma Yoga Vidya. Turner called the one-year prison sentence "laughable." In court statements, McCarthy stated "I cannot forgive myself for not being tougher at the time," and called her time with the group "psychological torture."
In February 2006, Stork became the last perpetrator sentenced in the political assassination plot, after ten months of negotiations with Oregon prosecutors. Stork offered to turn herself in and return to the United States after learning of her son's terminal brain tumor
Brain tumor
A brain tumor is an intracranial solid neoplasm, a tumor within the brain or the central spinal canal.Brain tumors include all tumors inside the cranium or in the central spinal canal...
. Prior to sentencing, the court allowed her to travel to Australia to visit her son. In addition to charges of conspiracy to commit murder, Stork also pled guilty to the purchase of weapons in violation of federal firearms law. An Oregon judge sentenced her to five years probation, and three months time already served in a German jail. Turner thought she should have received a harsher sentence, and commented "This was a lying-in-wait conspiracy to murder me, a presidential appointee, and for a long time I slept with a loaded gun beside my bed." Though Stork could have faced life in prison, U.S. District Judge Judge Malcolm F. Marsh
Malcolm F. Marsh
Malcolm Francis Marsh is an American attorney and jurist from the state of Oregon. He is currently a senior federal district court judge in Portland, Oregon, for the United States District Court for the District of Oregon...
thought she had "seen the error of her ways." A federal prosecutor in the case described Stork as the "MVP" of the conspiracy, and said she was the designated assassin that was set to murder Turner. After her sentencing, Stork stated: "I actually conspired to kill Mr. Turner, it is up to me alone to face this terrible truth ... No person has the right to do what I did. I'm truly sorry." Stork returned to Germany after her sentencing.
In an affidavit, Timothy J. Reardon III, lead prosecutor for the United States Department of Justice
United States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice , is the United States federal executive department responsible for the enforcement of the law and administration of justice, equivalent to the justice or interior ministries of other countries.The Department is led by the Attorney General, who is nominated...
in the case, stated Ma Anand Sheela had told members of the murder conspiracy that Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh had personally authorized the "necessary" murder of specific enemies of the Rajneesh commune. Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh paid a fine of US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
400,000, agreed to plead guilty to immigration fraud, and was deported from the United States. He agreed to leave the United States and not return unless given permission first from the United States Attorney General
United States Attorney General
The United States Attorney General is the head of the United States Department of Justice concerned with legal affairs and is the chief law enforcement officer of the United States government. The attorney general is considered to be the chief lawyer of the U.S. government...
. Joseph T. McCann writes in Terrorism on American Soil "Nevertheless, he was never prosecuted for any of the more serious crimes perpetrated by cult members, including the salmonella poisoning."
Sentences
Conspiracy to assassinate a United States Attorney| Perpetrator | Conviction | Sentence |
|---|---|---|
| Alma Potter (aka Alma Peralta, Ma Dhyan Yogini) | Convicted in Oregon in 1990 | Sentenced to two years in prison. |
| Richard Kevin Langford (aka Swami Anugiten) | Convicted in Oregon in 1990 | Sentenced to three years in prison for conspiracy to murder. |
| Carol Matthews (aka Samadhi Selecki, Ma Prem Samadhi, Carol Longo) | Convicted in Oregon in 1991 | Sentenced to five years in prison. |
| Sally-Anne Croft (aka Ma Prem Savita), Chief Financial Officer Chief financial officer The chief financial officer or Chief financial and operating officer is a corporate officer primarily responsible for managing the financial risks of the corporation. This officer is also responsible for financial planning and record-keeping, as well as financial reporting to higher management... at Rajneeshpuram |
Convicted in Oregon in 1995 | Sentenced to five years in federal prison, released in April 1998. |
| Susan Hagan, Rajneeshpuram head of security (aka Ma Anand Su, Susan Strock, Susan Lissanevitch) | Convicted in Oregon in 1995 | Sentenced to five years in federal prison, released in April 1998. |
| Ma Anand Sheela Ma Anand Sheela Ma Anand Sheela is a former follower, secretary and spokeswoman for the Indian mystic and spiritual teacher Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, now commonly known as Osho... , Rajneesh's second-in-command (aka Sheela Silverman, Sheela Birnstiel) |
Convicted in a Swiss court in 1999 | Sentenced to time served. |
| Ann Phyllis McCarthy, fourth-in-command of Rajneeshpuram Rajneeshpuram Rajneeshpuram, Oregon was an intentional community in Wasco County, Oregon, briefly incorporated as a city in the 1980s, which was populated with followers of the spiritual teacher Osho, then known as Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh.- History :... (aka Ma Yoga Vidya) |
Convicted in Oregon in 2002 | Sentenced to one year in jail and a USD$10,000 fine. |
| Catherine Jane Stork (aka Catherine Jane Stubbs, Ma Shanti Bhadra) | Convicted in Oregon in 2006 | Received five years probation. |
| Additional commune member | Pled guilty to murder conspiracy in 1990 | Was not indicted. |
Wiretapping, and other charges, testified in assassination case
See also
- Breaking the Spell: My Life as a Rajneeshee and the Long Journey Back to FreedomBreaking the Spell: My Life as a Rajneeshee and the Long Journey Back to FreedomBreaking the Spell: My Life as a Rajneeshee and the Long Journey Back to Freedom is a non-fiction book by Catherine Jane Stork about her experiences as a Rajneeshee, a follower of Indian guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh. It was published in April 2009 by Pan Macmillan...
- Rajneesh movementRajneesh movementThe Rajneesh movement is a term used by Hugh B. Urban and other commentators to refer collectively to persons inspired by the Indian mystic Osho , particularly initiated disciples who are referred to as "neo-sannyasins" or simply "sannyasins", also formerly known as Rajneeshees or "Orange People",...
Further reading
- U.S. v. Croft, 124 F.3d 1109 (C.A.9 (Or.), 1997), United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth CircuitUnited States Court of Appeals for the Ninth CircuitThe United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit is a U.S. federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:* District of Alaska* District of Arizona...
, Decided September 5, 1997