David Koresh(1959-1993)

US cult leader, David Koresh was born as Vernon Howell in west Texas. His mother Bonnie Holdman was only 14 when his illegitimate birth occurred. Koresh's childhood was disruptive. A dyslexic he dropped out of school in the 9th grade. He was kicked out of his SDA church for "ranting and raving" and went to Hollywood to be a rock star. After failed attempts at obtaining his dreams he went to Mt. Carmel religious commune outside Waco, Texas in 1983. It was run by a splinter faction from the SDA church who called themselves Branch Davidians that was formed by Bulgarian Victor Houteff in the 1930's. Koresh began to preach at Mt. Carmel. He even claimed to be an angel sent by God and wanted to combine rock and roll with religion. Koresh was expelled from Mt. Vernon along with 25 disciples. They went on an aimless trek until they stopped at Palestine, Texas. On Tuesday, November 3, 1987 Koresh and his followers tried to take over the Mt. Carmel commune by force. They fired machine guns at the commune, and in turn, they were fired upon. The local authorities intervened and jailed members from both sides. However Koresh got out on bail and finally took over Mt. Carmel. His rival was deemed mentally unsound and charges were dropped in the 1988 trial. Koresh was now in total control of Mt. Carmel. He began to attract largely vulnerable and insecure people to his "flock." Koresh got married to a 14 year old girl but decided that he could have a "harem of many wives." He set up a harem which he called his "house of David." Some of his concubines were as young as 10 years old. He created a goon squad he called "mighty men." Koresh then claimed he was the only one allowed to have as many "wives" as he wanted, and also the only one who could have a wife. He eventually "married" 19 female cult members and fathered at least 12 of their children. In 1990 he legally changed his name to David Koresh (a combination of "King David" and the Hebrew name for Cyrus the Great). Koresh had now become an absolute dictator. While his disciples worked on the farm in the sweltering heat he stayed inside with air-conditioning. He changed the name of the commune to Ranch Apocalypse. Koresh gradually began building an arsenal at the Ranch. They had a .50 caliber machine gun and over 300 firearms amounting to 11 tons of firepower in all. A bus was even buried to act as a bunker! The FBI became concerned about the developments at Koresh's ranch. On Sunday, February 28, 1993 they launched a command raid on the ranch. The siege lasted 51 days. Tired of waiting, the FBI fired tear gas canisters into the building and sent in tanks. A fire broke out in the building. By the time they entered the building and put out the fire they found David Koresh along with 75 followers dead that included 25 children, 12 his own.