Photograph of Koresh taken in 1987 by police after his arrest.
Born
Vernon Wayne Howell
(1959-08-17)August 17, 1959
Houston, Texas, U.S.
Died
April 19, 1993(1993-04-19) (aged 33)
Mount Carmel Center McLennan County, Texas, U.S.
Cause of death
Gunshot wound to the head or fire wounds sustained in the Waco siege
Body discovered
Mount Carmel Center McLennan County, Texas, U.S.
Resting place
Tyler Memorial Park Cemetery, Tyler, Texas 32°21′23″N95°22′03″W / 32.35640°N 95.36750°W / 32.35640; -95.36750 (Memorial Park Cemetery)
Occupation
Leader of the Branch Davidians cult
Known for
1983 "the Son of God, the Lamb" prophecy
Shootout on November 3, 1987, with George Roden for jurisdiction of Mount Carmel Center
Branch Davidian leadership 1988–1993
Apocalypticism, millenarianism, polygamy
51-day confrontation and stand-off with the ATF and FBI, February 28, 1993 – April 19, 1993
Spouse
Rachel Jones
Children
16[1]
David Koresh (/kəˈrɛʃ/; born Vernon Wayne Howell; August 17, 1959 – April 19, 1993) was an American cult leader[2] who played a central role in the Waco siege of 1993.[3][4] 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.[5]
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. 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.
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.
^England, Mark (September 5, 1993). "12 children killed in fire Howell's, ex-member says". Waco Tribune-Herald. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
^Johnstone 2015, p. 83.
^Burton, Tara Isabella (April 19, 2018). "The Waco tragedy, explained". Vox. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
^Tracey, Ciaran (October 31, 2018). "Why 30 Britons joined the Waco cult". BBC News. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
^Staff (October 10, 1993). "The Book of Koresh". Newsweek. Retrieved November 23, 2021.
DavidKoresh (/kəˈrɛʃ/; born Vernon Wayne Howell; August 17, 1959 – April 19, 1993) was an American cult leader who played a central role in the Waco siege...
the compound. In 1981, a young man named Vernon Howell, later known as DavidKoresh, came to Mount Carmel and studied biblical prophecy under Lois Roden...
between February 28 and April 19, 1993. The Branch Davidians, led by DavidKoresh, were headquartered at Mount Carmel Center ranch in unincorporated McLennan...
California, where he converted to Branch Davidianism after meeting DavidKoresh in a Guitar Center in 1990. Thibodeau was present at the Mt. Carmel compound...
Great (c. 600–530 BCE) Cyrus Teed, American spiritualist (1839–1908) DavidKoresh (b. Vernon Howell; 1959–1993), American religious leader of a former...
evicted from the Mount Carmel Center near Waco, Texas, by his rival DavidKoresh. He was later confined in a Texas mental hospital for a 1989 murder until...
based in Houston, most notable for defending Tom DeLay, Allen Stanford, DavidKoresh and Robert Durst. In 1994, DeGuerin was named Outstanding Criminal Defense...
the television film The Normal Heart (2014) as Bruce Niles, portrayed DavidKoresh in the Paramount Network miniseries Waco (2018), and played CIA Ground...
Waco Rising: DavidKoresh, the FBI, and the Birth of America's Modern Militias is a 2023 non-fiction book by journalist Kevin Cook about the Waco siege...
including the concept album DavidKoresh Superstar in 2011, based on the life of Branch Davidian religious sect leader DavidKoresh. Their most recent album...
breakaway sect from Davidian Seventh-day Adventists, and was later led by DavidKoresh starting in the 1980s. Named after the Biblical mountain Mount Carmel...
comedy drama Sun Dogs (2017). She also portrayed the wife of cult leader DavidKoresh on the Paramount Network miniseries Waco (2018). On stage, Benoist made...
was proselytizing for DavidKoresh. According to an interview with The Sunday Times, Livingstone Fagan only spoke with DavidKoresh for a few hours before...
from Koresh himself) that DavidKoresh and his followers did not call themselves Branch Davidians. In addition, DavidKoresh, through forgery, stole the...
1979, and in late 1983 by Vernon Howell (from 1990, formally known as DavidKoresh). Both challengers drew away supporters from the congregation, scaring...
airline, Sandpiper Air. In 1993, he gave a much-respected performance as DavidKoresh in In the Line of Duty: Ambush in Waco (TV), though the film itself was...
Holy Spirit was a feminine representation of Deity. In the 1980s, when DavidKoresh and George Roden were conflicting over the ownership of the Mount Carmel...
in October 1978, after which Lois led the sect until the emergence of DavidKoresh in the mid-1980s. Pitts, William L. "Davidians and Branch Davidians"...
compound with Whitecliff with permission from Branch Davidian leader DavidKoresh on March 19, 1993. The only reason that the Federal Bureau of Investigation...
anti-government beliefs. She noted that the community had been sympathetic towards DavidKoresh, even having a Branch Davidian flag hanging in their church. Howe says...
as DavidKoresh, leader of the Branch Davidians, and Marshall Applewhite, founder of the Heaven's Gate cult. The researchers concluded that "If David Koresh...
Global Information