David koresh

David Koresh (Houston, August 17, 1959-Waco, April 19, 1993), born Vernon Wayne Howell, was a musician, American preacher and cult leader. He was the leader of the Branch Davidians (Branch Davidians) , a religious sect, who considered him their final prophet. Howell legally changed his name to David Koresh on May 15, 1990. A 1993 raid by the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and a subsequent siege by the FBI ended in the burning and total destruction of the ranch. Davidians, located outside of Waco, in McLennan County, Texas. Koresh, along with 54 adults and 21 children, were found dead after the fire.

Early Years

Koresh was born in Houston, Texas. He is the son of a 15-year-old single mother named Bonnie Sue Clark and 20-year-old Bobby Howell. The couple never married. Two months after Koresh was born, his father met another teenager and abandoned Bonnie Sue. Koresh never knew his father and her mother began living with a violent alcoholic.In 1963, Koresh's mother abandoned her boyfriend and left her four-year-old son in the mother's care from her, Earline Clark. Bonnie Sue Clark returned when Koresh was seven years old, having married a carpenter named Roy Haldeman, with whom he had a son named Roger, who was born in 1968.

Koresh described his childhood as lonely, and it has been argued that, when he was eight years old, he was raped by a group of older boys. Dyslexic and performing poorly academically, Koresh dropped out of high school in his junior year; however, by age 11, he had fully memorized the New Testament. When he was 19, Koresh had a relationship with a 15-year-old girl, who became pregnant. Koresh claimed to have been born again a Christian at the Baptist Convention South and soon joined the church his mother attended, the Seventh-day Adventist Church. There he fell in love with the pastor's daughter and while praying for guidance, he allegedly opened his eyes to find the Bible open on the Book of Isaiah 34, in which he read that no one should lack a partner (although when reviewing the aforementioned chapter, nothing is found in it regarding the need to have a partner). Convinced that it was a sign from God, he approached the pastor and told him that God wanted him to take his daughter as his wife. Koresh continued to harass the pastor's daughter and introduce ideas contrary to the Adventist message, which led to his expulsion as a member of the Tyler, Texas, Seventh-day Adventist Church in 1981.

In 1981, Koresh moved to Waco, in McLennan County, Texas, where he joined the Davidians, a religious group that grew out of a schism in the 1950s from The Shepherd's Rod, itself members expelled from the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the 1930s. [1] The Davidians had established their headquarters on a ranch about 15 kilometers outside of Waco, which was called the Mount Carmel Center (referring to the Biblical Mount Carmel). in 1955.

Rise as leader of the Davidians

In 1983, Koresh began to claim that he had received the gift of prophecy. It is speculated that Koresh would have started a sexual relationship with Lois Roden, the prophetess and leader of the sect who was 76 years old at the time. Koresh justified their relationship by maintaining that God had chosen him to father a child with her, who would become the Chosen One. Roden allowed Koresh to begin teaching his own message, which caused controversy within the group. Lois Roden's son, George Roden, intended to be the next leader of the group and felt that his leadership position was threatened by Koresh. Offended by Koresh's relationship with his elderly mother, he filed a lawsuit in federal court alleging that Koresh had raped Lois and brainwashed her into turning her against him. When Koresh announced that God had instructed him to married Rachel Jones (who has since added Koresh to his name), there was a short lull on Mount Carmel. In the power struggle, George Roden, who claimed to have the support of the majority of the group, forced Koresh and his group off the property at gunpoint. Due to these disturbances, a group led by Charles Joseph Pace broke away from the Davidians and moved to Gadsen, Alabama.

Koresh and about 25 followers camped in Palestine, 140 kilometers from Waco, where they lived under harsh conditions in vehicles and tents for the next two years. During this time, Koresh undertook the recruitment of new followers in California, the United Kingdom, Israel, and Australia. In 1985, Koresh traveled to Israel, where he said he had a vision that he was the modern Cyrus II the Great. The founder of the Davidian movement, Victor T. Houteff, wanted to be the instrument of God and establish a Davidian kingdom in Jerusalem. At least until 1990, Koresh believed that the place of his martyrdom would be Israel; but, by 1991, he was convinced that his martyrdom would be in the United States. Instead of Israel, he believed that Daniel's prophecies would be fulfilled in Waco and that the Mount Carmel Center was the Davidian kingdom.

In Palestine, Texas, Koresh “worked so that everyone was forced to depend on him and him alone. All previous ties, family or otherwise, meant nothing. His reasoning was that if they had no one to depend on, they were forced to depend on him and that made them vulnerable." By this time, he had already begun to deliver the message of his own messianic mission, proclaiming that he was "the son of of God, the Lamb that would open the seven seals."

Lois Roden passed away in 1986. Until then, Koresh had been preaching that monogamy was the only way of life, but suddenly he announced that polygamy was allowed. In March 1986, Koresh had sexual relations for the first time with 14-year-old Karen Doyle, whom he took as his second wife. In August 1986, Koresh began a secret relationship with Michele Jones, his wife's 12-year-old younger sister. In September 1986, Koresh began preaching that he was entitled to have 140 wives, 60 women as his "queens" and 80 as concubines, based on his interpretation of the Song of Songs, Biblical.

In 1987 he was convinced, after the particular interpretation of the Apocalypse, that he was chosen by God, believing that he could open the seven seals, associating Babylon with the United States, as an enemy.

By 1988, his behavior began to become more authoritative and controlling. According to his review of the Apocalypse, when the Lamb of God defeated Babylon, the Earth would be ruled by a group of 24 members, which convinced Koresh to maintain relationships with virgin women and father those 24 children. According to the laws of Texas at the time, sexual relations with girls from the age of 14 were legal, as long as they were consensual and with the permission of the minor's parents, which he did.

The subsequent escape from Mount Carmel of Marc Breault, Koresh's second in command, would be a start to investigate the sect years later. In early 1993, the ATF began investigating Koresh's cult following evidence that they possessed assault rifles and grenades.

Siege of Waco

Koresh had come to lead his sect through his marriage to Rachel Jones (14 years old), daughter of one of its leaders and whom he immediately cornered, replacing him at the top of the hierarchy. From everywhere came new followers won by the persuasive doctrine of a David Koresh who was armed to the teeth inside what would be his great mausoleum in Waco. He had previously made arms purchases worth more than $250,000, according to him to be prepared when the time came for the "Evil" harassment.

On the eve of the tragedy, and in what would be his last refuge, Koresh had gathered together numerous adults but also a good number of children, and with each other, he set out to turn into an impregnable fortress Mount Carmel Ranch. The first meeting took place on February 28, when the authorities, concerned about the turn the matter was taking, decided to take action, accusing the Davidians of massive possession of weapons and sexual abuse of the children they kept at their side.. Received with shots, the agents responded in the same way, producing then a first balance of four agents dead and a dozen sectarians killed, including David Koresh himself, wounded on the left side.

The finale took place on April 19. When the assailants managed to make their way through the flames that were already consuming the ranch building, the charred bodies of most of Koresh's followers appeared confused and mixed up, including Koresh himself, who had a single shot to the forehead.

The final death toll inside Mount Carmel was 69 adults and 17 minors, many of them burned. The official version of the police would say that it was the Davidians themselves who caused the fire in a collective suicide coven. Other sources referred, on the contrary, to the overturning of the federal tanks that would have caused the ignition of the kerosene and, in turn, would have transferred the flames to the interior of the ranch.

Legacy

David Koresh was buried at Memorial Park Cemetery in Tyler, Texas.

The Mount Carmel assault and the 1992 Ruby Ridge incident were cited by Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols as motivations for the Oklahoma City bombing. The terrorist act carried out on April 19, 1995 coincided with the second anniversary of the Waco siege.

In 2004, Koresh's 1968 Chevrolet Camaro, which had been damaged by the military during the raid, sold for $37,000 at auction.

On January 23, 2009, Koresh's mother, Bonnie Clark Haldeman, was stabbed to death in Chandler, Texas. Her sister, Beverly Clark, was indicted for the murder.