Medical examiners were not only able to determine what the members of Heaven’s Gate used to commit suicide, but also the methodical way they did it. They found that the suicides began on Sunday, March 26, and that they were carried out in several stages. The entire process took about three days.

In addition to the information from the autopsies, CNN reports that a document found in the compound labeled “The Routine” clearly outlined how the suicides were conducted. It apparently consisted of two successive groups of 15, each assisted by a group of eight others who helped with tasks like putting plastic bags on their heads and covering their bodies in purple shrouds. A final group of nine was left to complete the Routine. Cult leader Marshall Applewhite, or Do, as he was known within the cult, was among the last, though interestingly not the very last to go.

Poisoned applesauce and liquor may have been the last foodstuffs the Heaven’s Gate members ingested, but their ritualistic last supper was eaten a couple nights before the Routine began. According to the L.A. Times, before committing mass suicide to hitch a ride with God on the tail of a comet, the brothers and sisters of Heaven’s Gate took their last earthly repast at a Marie Callender’s in Carlsbad, California, where they all dined on turkey pot pies and iced tea.