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 .