poisoning or suffocation. The last two bodies to die still had the plastic bags over their heads. All other members had died with plastic bags on their heads, but these had been subsequently removed and replaced with purple shrouds by the remaining members. The last two members alive must have removed the bags from the the other seven in their group and then killed themselves.
FAREWELL
In the house, along with around ten computers, investigators found video tapes that had been made in the weeks prior to the suicide. There was a statement from each of the 39 members. each stating their joy and excitement at leaving their earthly vehicles in order to board the heavenly ship that would take them to the higher level. One such video statement from a crew member known as Stmody stated that:
Each member seemed totally at ease with what they were about to do, in their minds – however the thought had got there – they were about to take part in a perfectly normal and reasonable act. An act that was much more than suicide, it was departure. Departure on a new journey to a more fulfiling and enlightening place.
Whether the Heaven’s Gate ever reached their destination remains to be seen, but maybe the important thing is that in their minds they were about to succeed and that was contentment enough? On the other hand, had they never met Bo and Peep the 38 crew members would have become wolves instead of sheep and hunted and fought for a decent life on Earth as it was the only one they were going to get.
David Koresh
Vernon Wayne Howell was born on August 17, 1959, in Houston, Texas. The son of an unmarried teenage mother, Vernon never knew his father and was brought up by his grandparents. His childhood was quite a lonely one and often got teased by other children who called him ‘Vernie’.
Whilst at high school he was diagnosed as having dyslexia, but by the ninth grade he had dropped out. Although he had no interest in school Vernon was a keen guitarist, with a great love for women. He was also very interested in Biblical scriptures and although he had no formal religious training apart from what he had learnt at his mother’s Seventh-day Adventist Church, he had the remarkable talent of being able to recite and explain long passages of Biblical scriptures.
In 1979, after getting expelled from the church for being a bad influence on other young members, Vernon moved to Hollywood with the idea of making it as a rock guitarist. By this point in his life he had gained a lot of confidence as well as a theatrical and assertive nature that would be expected of a try hard rock star. But two years later, after realising just how difficult it was to make it in the music industry, he returned to the state of Texas and moved to Waco.
Howell joined the Mount Carmel religious Center and it wasn’t long before other members were taken in by his extraordinary way of being able to teach and explain complex scriptures to them.
It was here that Howell met Lois Roden. Roden was the amiable 67-year-old leader of the Branch Davidian Seventh-day Adventist group – which descended from a schism in the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
Lois Roden had become leader of the Branch Davidians when her husband, Benjamin Roden had died in 1978. The year before in 1977 Lois Roden claimed to have had a vision in which she saw the Holy Spirit. Roden claims that she had learnt from this vision that the Holy Spirit was a female.
Howell and Roden soon embarked on an intense sexual relationship and eventually moved in together. Howell got deeper and deeper into the thoughts and beliefs of the Branch Davidians and the couple even travelled to Israel on a pilgrimage for their beliefs. It was on this trip, in Jerusalem, that Vernon claimed that he was given a direct revelation about the Seven Seals together with the knowledge and ability to teach it to the world. Vernon was rapidly working himself into a position of influence and had Lois completely on side.
VIRGIN BRIDES
In 1984, at the age of 24, Vernon Howell married a 14-year-old named Rachel Jones and it soon became apparent that he was a womanizing sexual deviant with the need to satisfy physical lust. He may not have stayed faithful to his relationship with Lois Roden but he did stay faithful to her Davidian cause.
When Louis Roden died in 1986, a battle for power began between Vernon and Roden’s son George as to who was to become the new leader of the Davidians. The majority of the Branch Davidians’ members sided with George Roden and at gun point Vernon Howell and his meagre following were forced off the Mount Carmel sight.
By this time Howell had acquired two more wives. In March 1986 13-year-old Karen Doyle became his second wife and then five months later he wed 12-year-old Michelle Jones in secret.
Howell relocated his group in Palestine, Texas as an offshoot of the Davidians with the intent of being a peaceful and religious commune; or so it was thought. That was until 1987 when Vernon and seven of his trusted followers returned to Mount Carmel in full camouflage gear. They had nine guns and 400 rounds of ammunition and by the end of the siege George Roden was left with gunshot wounds to his chest.
Vernon and his group were arrested for attempted murder but at the trial neither he nor his compatriots were convicted.
INSIDE THE MIND OF DAVID KORESH
By 1990, Vernon Howell had become leader of the Branch Davidians and it was in this year that he legally changed his name to David Koresh. On the legal document the reason for his name change was stated as being ‘for publicity and business purposes’. But his main reason was from his belief that he was now the head of the biblical House of David. Koresh came from the Hebrew translation of Cyrus, the name of the Persian king who allowed the Jews held captive in Babylon to return to Israel. David Koresh believed he was the new Messiah sent by God to spread the word.
Once in control of the Branch Davidian Seventh-day Adventist group, Koresh embarked on annulling the marriages of members stating that only he, as leader, could be married. Several members left following this announcement but many followed his orders. Koresh then declared that due to his status he was owed at least 140 wives and was entitled at any time to claim any of the females in the compound young or old. Girls as young as 12 were soon to fall pregnant and forever be in his grasp.
Elizabeth and March Breault broke out of the group at this point as they were not happy with his teaching. They wrote many letters to their friends alerting them that the teachings of the man that called himself David Koresh were false and inaccurate. Their campaign did some good and by the summer of 1990 the majority of all Australian and New Zealand members had broken away from Koresh.
Koresh was seen as a man of many sides, a ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ character, full of contradictions. He could be funny but also extremely serious, he was loved but at the same time feared. His students would see him at times as a loner, deep in communication with God, and then on the flip side part of the crowd taking part in group activities.
PREPARATION FOR THE END?
Control of his students got more and more intense, Koresh even dictated what and when they could eat. He would enforce strict rules, and then moments later break them. He could basically do what he liked as he was a prophet sent by God.
By the the winter of 1990 Koresh had become more and more volatile and aggressive, he started to instruct his followers to watch violent war videos on a regular basis and had begun purchasing firearms. They were accumulating weaponry stock as part of a seemingly legal selling trade, solely for the purpose of making money.
