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during
Rowland's funeral, leaving before its conclusion; additionally, a male in attendance was reportedly chanting the word "suicide" during the funeral. According to the district attorney, there were also eyewitness reports of strangers attempting to pick up children from the local schools in the
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During a second interview with
Johnston on July 28, he claimed that he witnessed Rowland attempt to hang himself twice; the first time, the rope broke, and the two returned to Rowland's home to retrieve another rope. Upon returning to the tree, Johnston claimed Rowland hanged himself by standing on
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In
November 1988, fifteen-year-old Ray Wilks, a peer of Rowland's, was arrested for drunkenly crashing a car into a utility pole. At his booking, Wilks claimed to have been a member of the rumored Satanic cult, and also claimed to have witnessed Rowland's death. His father thought Wilks could not
100:
by his friend, Chad
Johnston. At 6 p.m., Johnston came to Rowland's house, where he told Rowland's father and stepmother, Brenda, that he had witnessed Tate hang himself. The three rushed to the tree where Chad had witnessed the suicide, and Rowland's father, Jimmie, cut him down from the tree.
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After
Trosper's death, the rumors were reignited after Darwin Wilks, the older brother of Ray Wilks, attempted suicide by an Elavil overdose—the same drug found in Trosper's blood. On July 27, 1991, Rowland's body was exhumed due to the circulating allegations. Though Rowland's body was too
112:, attributed to personal troubles regarding the breakup between him and his girlfriend the year prior. On the day of his death, friends and relatives said he had not shown any signs of anger or depression. He had made plans to fill in as a coach at a friend's
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According to
Johnston, he and Rowland had been drinking beers outside their truck near the tree; he claimed that he had walked to the other side of the truck to throw a beer can away, and when he returned, he witnessed Rowland hang himself with the rope.
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attended by as many as twenty people. Other reports of robed cult members and animal sacrifices occurred in the town in the ensuing year. The speculation surrounding the deaths of
Rowland and Trosper led the
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Three years after the suicide of her younger brother, Terrie
Trosper, age 27, was found deceased in her bed on the morning of May 31, 1991. The first autopsy of Trosper by pathologist Dr.
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fall of 1988, and multiple phone calls were received each day by the police department claiming
Rowland had been murdered due to his affiliations with a Satanic cult.
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80:, occurred in 1988 and 1991, respectively. Though ruled a suicide and an accident, they were two of several cases attributed to the
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to distribute pamphlets to local police departments listing thirty ways to determine whether or not a death had been the result of
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decomposed to make conclusive statements about the hanging as a suicide, there were levels of Elavil found in his remains, and the
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According to friend Lisa Barber, Trosper had never believed her younger brother had committed suicide. According to her
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After the autopsy information was made public, rumors circulated that Tate
Rowland's death had actually been a cult
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being involved in the deaths began at Tate Rowland's funeral. According to the family, an unknown woman entered the
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On the evening of July 26, 1988, the body of 17-year-old Tate Rowland was discovered hanging from a
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272:"Terrie Shawn Jones in the U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index"
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on her thigh as well as evidence that she had been smothered to death.
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showed that Trosper had died as a result of choking on her own
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251:"Janson Tate Rowland in the Texas, U.S., Death Index"
230:"Janson Tate Rowland in the Texas, U.S., Birth Index"
76:(February 27, 1964 – May 30, 1991), two siblings in
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547:Satanic ritual abuse hysteria in the United States
164:have witnessed Rowland's death, as he was in a
376:Holl, Skip; July 1992 0, sworth (1992-07-01).
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33:Deaths of Tate Rowland and Terrie Trosper
151:Rumors surrounding the possibility of a
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497:(July 1992). "Possessed by the Devil".
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194:Texas Department of Public Safety
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41:July 26, 1988 – May 30, 1991
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537:Deaths by person in Texas
532:Death conspiracy theories
166:juvenile detention center
378:"Possessed by the Devil"
210:List of unsolved deaths
27:considered for merging
281:– via Ancestry.
260:– via Ancestry.
239:– via Ancestry.
74:Terrie Shawn Trosper
62:Terrie Shawn Trosper
507:(7): 90–94, 120–27.
495:Hollandsworth, Skip
116:game that evening.
70:Janson Tate Rowland
60:Janson Tate Rowland
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16:‹ The
516:Categories
387:2022-07-24
216:References
182:contusions
189:sacrifice
25:is being
396:cite web
204:See also
178:homicide
114:softball
46:Location
29:. ›
18:template
174:coroner
137:autopsy
110:suicide
198:occult
157:chapel
141:Elavil
57:Deaths
52:, U.S.
130:vomit
402:link
363:2016
279:2023
258:2023
237:2023
38:Date
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