Investigation, Debunking and Disgrace
In 1991, Cornerstone magazine launched an investigation into Warnke's life and testimony. The previous year, Cornerstone had debunked Lauren Stratford's story that had been recounted in Satan's Underground. Stratford claimed her deep involvement in Satanism led her to partake in a ritual in which her own child was sacrificed. After the exposé showed Stratford's alleged child had never existed, Cornerstone journalists Mike Hertenstein and Jon Trott investigated Warnke and his life.
The Cornerstone investigation spanned from interviews with over 100 of Warnke's personal friends and acquaintances to his ministry's tax receipts. Unfortunately for Warnke, the investigation discovered damaging evidence of fraud and deceit. During the course of Cornerstone's investigation, pictures of Warnke taken during the time he was alleged to be a Satanist priest were discovered. Rather than showing an emaciated drug-addict sporting long fingernails and waist-length hair, the pictures showed Warnke as a typical 'square' of the mid-1960s. The investigation also revealed Warnke's claims that he and Charles Manson had attended a Satanic ritual to be false; Manson was in federal prison at the time, having no known ties to Satanic churches.
The investigation further uncovered that before joining the Navy, Warnke had been involved with the college Christian ministry Campus Crusade for Christ. The investigation also revealed the unflattering circumstances surrounding Warnke's multiple marriages, affairs, and divorces. Most critically, however, the investigation showed how Warnke could not have done the many things he claimed to have taken part in throughout the nine months he claimed to be a Satanist - including his claims to be a drug-addicted dealer or a Satanic high priest.
Before publishing the article, Cornerstone contacted Warnke for an interview, but he and Cornerstone could not agree to the terms of an interview. In June 1992, at the annual Christian Booksellers' Association convention, Cornerstone revealed its story.
Read more about this topic: Mike Warnke
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