David Koresh

David Koresh (born Vernon Wayne Howell; August 17, 1959 – April 19, 1993) was an American cult leader who played a central role in the Waco siege of 1993.

As the head of the Branch Davidians, a religious sect and offshoot of the Seventh-day Adventists, Koresh claimed to be its final prophet.

His apocalyptic Biblical teachings, including interpretations of the Book of Revelation and the Seven Seals, attracted various followers.

Coming from a dysfunctional background, Koresh was a member and later a leader of the Branch Davidians, a movement originally led by Benjamin Roden, based at the Mount Carmel Center outside Waco, Texas.

David Koresh was born Vernon Wayne Howell on August 17, 1959, in Houston, Texas, to 20-year-old father Bobby Wayne Howell and a 14-year-old single mother, Bonnie Sue Clark.

Before Koresh was born, his father met another teenage girl and abandoned Bonnie Sue, who began cohabitating with a violent alcoholic.

In 1963, Koresh's mother left with her boyfriend and placed her four-year-old son in the care of his maternal grandmother, Earline Clark.

His mother returned when he was seven, after her marriage to a carpenter named Roy Haldeman.

Bonnie Sue and Haldeman had a son together, named Roger, who was born in 1966.

Koresh did not meet his father until he was 17.

Koresh described his early childhood as lonely.

Due to his poor study skills and dyslexia partially caused by poor eyesight, he was put in special education classes and nicknamed "Vernie" by his fellow students.

Koresh dropped out of Garland High School in his junior year.

When he was 19 years old, Koresh had an illegal sexual relationship with a 15-year-old girl who became pregnant.

He claimed to have become a born-again Christian in the Southern Baptist Church and soon joined his mother's denomination, the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

There, Koresh became infatuated with the pastor's daughter; and while praying for guidance, he allegedly opened his eyes and found the Bible open at Isaiah 34:16, stating that "none should want for her mate".

Convinced this was a sign from God, Koresh approached the pastor and told him that God wanted him to have his 12-year-old daughter for a wife.

The pastor made him leave, and when he continued to persist with his pursuit of the daughter, he was expelled from the congregation.

Benjamin Roden, who died in 1978, had originated the Branch group in 1955 with new teachings that were not connected with the original Davidians.

In 1981, when he was 22, Koresh moved to Waco, Texas, where he joined the Branch Davidians (splinter group of Davidian Seventh-Day Adventist Church).

In 1983, Koresh began claiming the gift of prophecy.

In 1983, Lois allowed Koresh to begin teaching his own message, called "The Serpent's Root", which caused controversy in the group.

Lois's son George Roden, intended to be the group's next leader, considered Koresh an interloper.

When Koresh announced that God had instructed him to marry Rachel Jones (who then added Koresh to her name), a period of calm ensued at the Mount Carmel Center, but it proved only temporary.

A fire destroyed a $500,000 administration building and press; Roden said Koresh started the fire, but Koresh replied that "no man set that fire" and that it was a judgment of God.

Roden, claiming to have the support of the majority of the sect, forced Koresh and his group off the property at gunpoint.

Koresh and around 25 followers set up camp at Palestine, Texas, 90 mi from Waco, where they lived under rough conditions in buses and tents for the next two years.

During this time, Koresh undertook recruitment of new followers in California, the United Kingdom, Israel, and Australia.

That same year, he traveled to Israel, where he claimed he had a vision that he was the modern-day Cyrus.

The founder of the Davidian movement, Victor Houteff, wanted to be God's implement and establish the Davidic kingdom in Israel.

Koresh also wanted to be God's tool and set up the Davidic kingdom in Jerusalem.

There, Koresh competed for dominance with another leader, Benjamin Roden's son George, until Koresh and his followers took over Mount Carmel in 1987.

In the early 1990s, he became subject to allegations about polygamy and child sexual abuse by former Branch Davidian associates.

At least until 1990, he believed the place of his martyrdom might be in Israel; however, by 1991, he was convinced that his martyrdom would be in the U.S. instead of in Israel.

He said the prophecies of Daniel would be fulfilled in Waco and that the Mount Carmel Center was the Davidic kingdom.

After being exiled to the Palestine camp, Koresh and his followers eked out a primitive existence.

Further allegations related to the Branch Davidians' stockpiling of weapons led the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) and later the FBI to launch a raid on the group's Mount Carmel compound in February 1993.

During the 51-day siege and violence that ensued, Koresh was wounded by ATF forces and later died of a gunshot in unclear circumstances as the compound was destroyed in a fire.

David Thibodeau, in his 1999 book, A Place Called Waco, speculated that he had a sexual relationship with Lois Roden, the widow of Benjamin Roden and leader of the sect, who was then in her late 60s.

Koresh eventually began to claim that God had chosen him to father a child by Lois, who would be the Chosen One.