David Koresh and The Waco Siege [Part 1 of 2]

Who was David Koresh?

David Koresh was born as Vernon Wayne Howell on August 17th, 1959 in Houston, Texas. His mother, Bonnie Sue Clark, was just 15 when she gave birth to him. She’d gotten pregnant by her boyfriend, 20-year-old Bobby Wayne Howell. Bonnie Sue grew up in East Texas, with a father who was an alcoholic, and a mother who wanted Bonnie Sue to live by the rules of the church. The family was poor, and in order to pay the tuition for her Seventh-Day Adventist School in Houston, Bonnie Sue had to work in the school’s kitchen during lunchtime and clean the school after class ended for the day.

It was no surprise that Bonnie Sue felt alone and isolated from other kids at school. Her school teaching emphasized the importance of God and was extremely socially conservative, particularly when it came to relationships between men and women. When Bonnie Sue reached her teenage years, she’d developed a rebellious streak. She was just 13 years old when she met Bobby. Bonnie Sue was expelled from her private school when the principal saw her kissing her boyfriend.

In eighth grade, Bonnie Sue asked her parents if she could marry Bobby. At the time, Texas had no minimum age for marriage, as long as a judge approved. Bonnie Sue’s parents of course, said no. It wasn’t long after that that Bonnie Sue found herself pregnant. There are conflicting stories as to why Bonnie Sue and Bobby didn’t get married after she became pregnant, but ultimately, Bonnie Sue dropped out of school. She gave birth to Vernon (who I’ll refer to as Koresh from now on) on the morning of August 17th. Bobby was not at the hospital and had essentially no role in his son’s life. 

Koresh spent the first years of life going back and forth between his grandmothers’ homes, while Bonnie Sue worked. He was eventually enrolled in the same school that his mother attended. Koresh soaked up everything he could from the preacher at the school, who focused heavily on the Book of Revelation and the story of the End Times. When he went to church with his grandmother, he was so excited.

At home, Koresh loved to ride his bike, shoot guns and quail hunt, or watch TV. When Koresh was still young, Bonnie Sue met and married an ex-con named Joe Golden. Koresh was sent to live with his mother and new step-father. Golden abused Bonnie Sue and Koresh. Eventually, Golden violated his parole and was sent back to jail. Bonnie Sue promptly filed for divorce.

Not long after, 18-year-old Bonnie accepted the marriage proposal of 34-year-old Roy Haldeman. She decided to take Koresh with her and Roy to Dallas. When she went to pick him up from her mother’s home, Koresh had no idea that Bonnie was actually his real mother; he thought that Bonnie’s mother was actually his mother.

As Koresh attended public school in Dallas, he began to constantly hear the belief that the government and its democracy were evil. It was on the radio and the television and in conversations around him. Some believe that this was the beginning of Koresh’s extreme distrust towards the government.

School brought yet another challenge for Koresh. He couldn’t read like his classmates, and was ultimately diagnosed with a language disability. The diagnosis didn’t make reading or writing any easier, and Koresh continued to fall behind. His strength though, was his memory. Once he watched someone do something or looked at a picture, he could remember how to do the task or describe the picture exactly. 

He was eventually put in a smaller class at school with children who had other learning disabilities. This caused the other students to call him derogatory names. The names and bullying followed Koresh throughout school. He did find one class he excelled in, and that was civics, where he got an A+. Strangely enough, he apparently loved learning about the government and what it meant to be a good American.

Koresh became even more of a loner, but found his solace in music. Bonnie Sue finally gave in and bought her son a guitar, which he taught himself how to play. He continued to be immersed in religion, eventually growing obsessed with the Bible. His half-brother said that he would sometimes find Koresh praying beside his bed, come back ten hours later, and he’d be in the same position.

Koresh seemed to spend much of his time trying to impress his stepfather, Roy. He’d been cast aside by all of the men in his life and did everything he could to make Roy think he was smart. Unfortunately, following rules and listening to Roy meant nothing. He’d still be verbally and physically abused. Additionally, Koresh had been sexually abused by multiple other people.

By 11th grade, Koresh dropped out of school, sick of all of the questions and being “patronized” by teachers. Eventually, Koresh met a girl named Linda, and the two began a physical relationship. Koresh finally understood what his friends in the past were talking about when they went on and on about girls and their sexual encounters. Linda became pregnant, but after her irate father kicked Koresh out, Linda wouldn’t let him see his daughter.

Lost and deep in depression, Koresh began attending different churches, looking to understand why God had seemingly abandoned him. He was concerned about his obsession with sex and masturbation. In 1980, at the age of 21, while attending the Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Koresh tried to convince the pastor that God had spoken directly to him and told him to sleep with the pastor’s teenage daughter. The pastor forbade Koresh from seeing her, and eventually kicked him out of the church because he was found to be leading unauthorized Bible studies. 

Waco

Koresh heard rumors of a group of people in Waco, Texas, called the Branch Davidians, that were dedicated to God. The Davidians’ compound, known as Mt. Carmel, was in the middle of a large open farm area. Their group is described as “a spinoff of the Seventh-Day Adventists, a religious group with beliefs based in Christianity”. They believed that the end of the world was coming. A former Davidian told ABC News in a 2018 interview that “one of the things about being a Branch-Davidian…was you’re supposed to separate yourself from the world…the world is the sins, the flesh, the desires of the world, and you’re supposed to be spiritual.”

When Koresh first came to the Davidians in his early 20’s, he confessed to the leader, 67-year-old Lois Roden, that he was concerned about what he deemed as “excessive masturbation.” He eventually seduced Lois and claimed that he had impregnated her, or “gave her his seed.” She miscarried, which Koresh explained was because God was punishing her for “squandering the church’s money”.

When Lois died, Koresh began a battle for leadership of the Davidians with Lois’ son, George Roden. Roden eventually forced Koresh and his group of followers off of Mt. Carmel, and the group took up residence at a nearby encampment. Meanwhile, a fire destroyed the large administrative building at Mt. Carmel. Roden blamed Koresh, but Koresh said it was simply an act of God.

Koresh ended up amassing more followers than Roden. He wanted control of Mt. Carmel, however Roden wasn’t prepared to give up his community. He decided to dig up the casket of a former Branch Davidian and challenged Koresh to a resurrection contest, with the winner being fit to lead the Davidians. Obviously, neither man would be able to do this, so Koresh, along with several of his followers, snuck into Mt. Carmel in hopes of getting pictures of Roden digging up a corpse. Koresh planned on bringing these photographs to police, however, he and his group were caught on the property, which led to a gunfight.

Roden suffered minor injuries, but Koresh and his seven supporters were all tried for attempted murder. The supporters were acquitted, while Koresh was set free by a hung jury. During the trial, Roden began to unravel and was held in contempt of court for refusing to “stop staring” during the trial. He had also been charged with contempt of court for threatening a federal judge with having God “sic herpes and AIDS on him”… standup guy. When he was released shortly after, he murdered another Davidian with an ax.  Roden was sent to a mental institution and Koresh was finally able to take over the group of followers at Mt. Carmel.

In 1984, Koresh married one of the Branch Davidians, a 14 year old named Rachel Jones, who’d grown up with a family of believers. The couple ended up having two children, Cyrus and Starr. This began the rumors and allegations of inappropriate relationships with children taking place at Mt. Carmel. These rumors only strengthened throughout the years, as Koresh was rumored to be sexually assaulting girls as young as age 10. A former Davidian named Jeannine Bunds had reported to an ATF agent that Koresh “had fathered at least 15 children with various women and girls at the compound. Some of the girls who had babies fathered by [Koresh] were as young as 12 years old”. 

Koresh eventually convinced the Davidians that he was the Messiah, the Lamb of God. He said that God had spoken to him and told him that his job was to help them prepare for the apocalypse. Koresh said that there was a Second Coming and that he was intended to make the choices when Judgement Day came. In order to do this, God had instructed him to indulge in sins, so he could speak from experience. 

He told Rachel that while he was traveling in Israel, he had a “vision” from God, telling him to start having sex with Rachel’s younger sister, Michelle. In 1989, Koresh, who seemed to somehow be able to attribute all of his questionable actions and decisions to the Bible, told all of the Davidians that all of their earthly marriages were dissolved. All of the women now belonged to him. He explained that the Song of Solomon “entitled him to sixty wives, eighty concubines, and virgins without number”. Some of the Davidians wouldn’t accept this and left the compound. Others stayed, the men now expected to abstain from all sexual contact, including masturbation.

It seemed as though everything Koresh did was to assert his power and control over the Branch Davidians. He was charming and, because he had memorized so much scripture, he was able to twist the words to fit whatever he wanted. A former member who was interviewed by the Waco Tribune-Herald described an almost militant-like lifestyle at Mt. Carmel.

“At five-thirty each morning, all of the Davidians were awakened by the clanging of a bell—all except Koresh, who usually slept until about two in the afternoon. The men ran an obstacle course, then spent the day doing hard labor. While performing these strenuous activities, the drinking of water was not allowed.”

The member described how Koresh would create rules at the drop of the hat. If these rules weren’t followed, the member would be humiliated in front of everyone. Koresh would hold Bible studies in the evening that would last for hours, sometimes all night, with no one (except Koresh of course) being allowed to eat, drink, or use the bathroom.

Females that attended the Bible studies would hold their breath as each session ended, hoping that Koresh would choose them to accompany him up to his room for sex. Davidian Kathy Schroeder described Koresh’s room as “special”. When Kathy was finally chosen after a Bible study, she was excited. She believed that she’d be alone with God, through Koresh, that it was a private Bible study. The two had sex, which Kathy said Koresh did for her, not for himself, to give her time with God.

In 1990, Koresh filed a court document to legally change his name to David Koresh “for publicity and business purposes”. The name ‘David’ was in reference to the biblical king and ‘Koresh’ was the Hebrew translation for the biblical figure, Cyrus the Great. Koresh had convinced the followers at Mt. Carmel that he was the Messiah and that the apocalypse was coming. All of the Davidians would die and would be reborn, led by Koresh. In preparation for the “attack”, everyone at the compound was taught how to use guns, even the children. 

Koresh and his inner circle of followers would purchase weapons at gun shows to stockpile them at the compound. They were breaking federal laws by converting semi-automatic assault rifles to automatic rifles and making live grenades. UPS, who often made large deliveries to Mt. Carmel, reported an incident to the local sheriff’s department when they saw a grenade hull fall out of a package that they were bringing to the compound. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) were asked to come in by the sheriff’s department. Information gathered led them to believe that the Davidians had amassed at least 40-50 machine guns and 100 hand grenades, along with over a million and a half rounds of ammunition.

The end of days, Koresh said, would be brought on by an attack by the American government. Despite his rantings, Koresh likely had no idea that the end of days for the Branch Davidians would be so soon.

Enter: The US Government

The ATF had secured warrants based on information they’d received regarding the illegal weapons at Mt. Carmel. In fact, they’d actually had an undercover agent at Mt. Carmel for the past six weeks. ATF Agent Robert Rodriguez had moved into a small farmhouse about 300 yards away from the compound on January 10th, 1993. Rodriguez posed as a college student who was interested in Koresh’s teachings. Later, Rodriguez testified that he’d never actually seen any of the residents at Mt. Carmel with weapons.

On February 28th, 1993, KWTX cameraman Dan Mulloney received a tip that law enforcement was executing a raid at Mt. Carmel. There are still conflicting stories as to where the information leak originated from, but the news crew from KWTX immediately began to make their way towards the compound.

The ATF’s plan for serving their warrants on Koresh hinged on the element of surprise. They intended to arrest Koresh and seize all of the weapons from the compound. The compound itself was 77 acres and there were about 130 individuals living on the property. All of which, the ATF assumed, were able to use a weapon and had ready access to assault rifles. The Davidians having no knowledge of the raid beforehand was absolutely vital in making sure that things were carried out the way that the ATF had planned.

Mt. Carmel seemed quiet. Cameraman Dan Mulloney and the journalist with him had pulled over near the compound, but not close enough for anyone to see them. As they waited, one of their reporters called Dan on their radio and told him that he was lost, trying to find his way to them. As he spoke to them, a mailman pulled up beside him. The reporter asked the mailman how to get to the Mt. Carmel compound. The mailman gestured in the direction towards the compound and asked the reporter why he was headed there. The reporter explained to the mailman that law enforcement was about to execute a raid on the compound. There was nothing abnormal about their exchange. They both continued on their way…unfortunately, the mailman was continuing on to Mt. Carmel. HE WAS A BRANCH DAVIDIAN.

David Thibodeau was in his early 20’s in 1991 when he first met Koresh at a guitar center in Hollywood. Thibodeau was a drummer, which led Koresh and one of his main dudes, Steve Schneider, to strike up a conversation. Koresh, who often played guitar and had formed a band within the compound, convinced Thibodeau to eventually join the Davidians at the compound. 

On the day of the raid, Thibodeau heard people talking loudly, and walked into the foyer. He found Koresh with Robert Rodriguez (the undercover ATF agent). Koresh had dropped his Bible and was shaking. Rodriguez asked Koresh what was wrong. He said that Koresh looked at him and said, “Robert, the ATF or the National Guard will never get me. They’re coming, Robert, they’re coming.” 

Understandably, Rodriguez knew that he needed to get out of there. There was a very real possibility that Koresh, or another Davidian, had found out that he was really an ATF agent. Strangely though, Koresh just shook Rodriguez’s hand and wished him luck. Rodriguez walked out of the compound and towards the farmhouse that the ATF had been occupying.

Rodriguez later testified that he immediately called the tactical coordinator of the ATF raid to tell them that Koresh knew they were coming. He expected them to call off the raid immediately; the element of surprise was gone. However, Rodriguez said that the coordinator simply asked what Koresh was wearing and if he was armed. The raid was on. Agents were outside, dressed in full gear, with guns loaded. They loaded up into two military trucks that were covered with canvas. 

One of the ATF agents inside recalled that the back of the trucks were packed full with agents, but it was quiet. It seemed that they all knew that things were going to end badly. He said that they all squeezed hands, from the front to the back of the truck, before they unloaded.

The compound was two stories and on an elevation, with lots of windows. These all made it more dangerous for the agents to approach. Agents approached the two white front doors of the compound. Koresh stepped outside and shouted for the agents to get off his property. One of the agents yelled back that they had a search warrant. Koresh stepped back inside and slammed the door shut behind him.

Then gunfire erupted. To this day, it’s still heavily disputed as to who fired first. The Davidians later said that law enforcement fired first, while the ATF reported that the Davidians started shooting. One of the agents later said the first gunshots they heard were from a M60 machine gun and a .50 caliber, neither of which the ATF had. Hand grenades were being thrown from the windows of the compound. The ATF had two ladders, which they laid against the front of the building and began climbing up onto the roof.

Heather Jones was 9 years old and had been born at Mt. Carmel and raised as a Branch Davidian. Her father was the mailman who warned Koresh of the impending raid. Heather remembered being in one of the bedrooms when ONE of Koresh’s wives came running in with a gun. She whipped open the curtain and immediately flew back away from the window. She’d been shot.

Wayne Martin, one of Koresh’s closest confidants, who had a law degree from Harvard University, immediately called 911. He asked for Larry Lynch, the McLennan County Sheriff, telling them that there were men outside shooting at them, and to tell them to stop because there were women and children inside.

End Of Part 1.