‘The cult’s women calmly fired guns out the windows as their children huddled inside. Soon they were engulfed in flames’: Chilling last stand of the Branch Davidians is revealed in our final extract of a gripping new book on the Waco massacre

The Branch Davidians were an eccentric religious group in Waco, Texas, whose leader, David Koresh, had multiple wives and slept with under-age girls. 

More than 80 cult members died in 1993 after FBI agents laid siege to their compound. 

In yesterday’s Daily Mail, the first part of our instalment of a new book about the massacre told how Koresh persuaded his followers that to reach Heaven they must die in a battle with the government. 

Here, in the final extract, we reveal how the stand-off reached its horrific conclusion:

David Koresh, the mysterious leader of a religious cult in Waco, Texas, had long prophesied to his followers that when the end came, they would all be killed. His chilling vision came true in 1993 – but it was more brutal than even he could have predicted.

The siege of the cult’s compound remains one of the bloodiest and most tragic episodes in US history, continuing to cast a sinister shadow 30 years later.

The stand-off between FBI agents and the Branch Davidians claimed the lives of Koresh and more than 80 others – including 23 children – who died amid scenes of horrific carnage, after a gun battle ended in a devastating fire that reduced the cult’s compound to a heap of smouldering rubble.

Koresh, a 33-year-old religious fanatic who started life as Vernon Howell, laid down strict rules for his 130 followers that he claimed came straight from God.

The toughest was that none of the men were allowed to have sex – apart from Koresh, who bedded not only their wives but also their children, some as young as 12.

But there was an even more disturbing price to pay for members of the Branch Davidians.

David Koresh, the mysterious leader of a religious cult in Waco, Texas, had long prophesied to his followers that when the end came, they would all be killed. His chilling vision came true in 1993 – but it was more brutal than even he could have predicted

On February 28, 1993, the day of the planned raid, 76 federal agents leapt out of cattle trailers that pulled up near the front gates of the cult’s isolated compound, Mount Carmel – named after the biblical mountain. When heavily armed officers demanded entry, Koresh opened the double front doors and asked: ‘What’s going on?’ 

The charred remains of the Branch Davidian’s 77-acre ranch in Waco, Texas on May 12, 1993

Citing the New Testament’s Book Of Revelation, Koresh repeatedly prophesied to his acolytes that the world would end in a Holy War. When the apocalypse came, they would all die and be resurrected to live in a new, perfect world.

Former cult member Kiri Jewell, who escaped the cult to live with her father, testified to Congress aged 15: ‘The details would change as David received more messages from God. But there was never a time when we didn’t expect to get killed by the feds [federal police officers].

‘While we waited for this to happen, we [were to build] up an army for David so the battle would be a big one and the world would know about the power of David and God.’

By the closing months of 1992, the cult was on red alert for the End Days, after Koresh had predicted that the US government – which he called ‘the forces of Babylon’ – would attack at any moment.

US government agents had been tipped off about the cult by a postal driver alarmed by the number of guns he had been delivering to the group’s headquarters.

Special agent Davy Aguilera had concluded that the Branch Davidians had been illegally converting AR-15 rifles from semi-automatic to automatic weapons, without applying for the required licences or paying the taxes due.

This rang alarm bells with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), which feared the Branch Davidians had stockpiled a huge arsenal of weapons and were planning to use them to attack.

Spooked by rumours that cult members were planning a mass suicide at Passover, amid reports of child abuse against under-age girls, ATF agents began in July 1992 to lay the groundwork for the biggest operation in the agency’s history.

It started inauspiciously with a series of blunders, such as refusing to enlist help from the FBI and the local sheriff, who was on cordial terms with Koresh.

Spooked by rumours that cult members were planning a mass suicide at Passover, amid reports of child abuse against under-age girls, ATF agents began in July 1992 to lay the groundwork for the biggest operation in the agency’s history. 

By the closing months of 1992, the cult was on red alert for the End Days, after Koresh had predicted that the US government – which he called ‘the forces of Babylon’ – would attack at any moment

The stand-off between FBI agents and the Branch Davidians claimed the lives of Koresh (pictured main) and more than 80 others – including 23 children – who died amid scenes of horrific carnage, after a gun battle ended in a devastating fire that reduced the cult’s compound to a heap of smouldering rubble

Agents renting a house opposite the cult’s ramshackle premises a couple of miles outside Waco had also been rumbled by the Davidians, who saw through their cover story of being students at a local college due to their short haircuts and older looks.

The ATF agents even tipped off TV reporters, leading to near-disaster when a cameraman who asked a Davidian for directions to the compound let slip that he was in town to film an imminent raid on the cult. But the agents were confident there would be little resistance from cult members, believing that they would be weak-minded, sheep-like misfits brainwashed by a charlatan.

On February 28, 1993, the day of the planned raid, 76 federal agents leapt out of cattle trailers that pulled up near the front gates of the cult’s isolated compound, Mount Carmel – named after the biblical mountain. When heavily armed officers demanded entry, Koresh opened the double front doors and asked: ‘What’s going on?’

Then, according to agents, he gave a ‘weird’ grin and slammed the doors shut.

As soon as Koresh went back inside, all hell broke loose. Helicopters hovered overhead, and agents unleashed a hail of bullets that marked the start of a 51-day siege.

The agents never saw Koresh alive again.

At the start of the stand-off, the mood among the cult members was upbeat. Some Davidians, who had taken part in compulsory gun practice, managed to wound agents who were still filing out of the cattle trailers. Meanwhile, women calmly shot from the upper windows as their 43 children huddled on mattresses.

After nearly two hours, the ATF agents retreated as they ran out of ammunition.

By this point, the body count was four agents and six cult members – two of whom had been so badly wounded they were dispatched by a Davidian bullet. The cult survivors, feeling in need of comfort, raided forbidden stores of alcohol, cigarettes and junk food.

Such indulgences would usually have to be approved by Koresh. But their leader was lying semi-conscious in the hallway, after being shot through his left side by a bullet that chipped his hip bone and hit his right thumb and wrist.

Through the pain, he managed to call his mother, saying: ‘They shot me and I’m dying, all right? But I’ll be back real soon, OK? I’ll see y’all in the skies.’

He then rallied to call the US news network CNN, telling the nation the Davidians were an innocent religious group who’d been wantonly attacked by federal agents.

Later, his health worsened – at one point, followers filed past to say their goodbyes. But once again he recovered his strength.

Meanwhile, the FBI took over from the hapless ATF, bringing with them experienced negotiators.

Over the coming days, they struck a deal with Koresh. He told the FBI that the Davidians would surrender if he was allowed to give a religious broadcast on primetime radio.

When the FBI received his one-hour tape, it aired on two stations at 1.30pm.

Follower Kathy Schroeder recalled: ‘The message [from Koresh] was that we’d messed up, and [so] God told David to wait. That if we had all died [in the aftermath of the raid], we would have gone to hell for our sins: people drinking liquor, smoking cigarettes, eating all kinds of junk food.’

While Koresh reneged on his promise to surrender, he did at least agree to release some of the children under siege in the compound, aged from five months to 12 years old. However, none of his own 17 children could leave.

The youngsters came out a few at a time and were whisked off to be observed by a special trauma assessment team. They told investigators that everyone in the compound believed they would be killed, but that Koresh would come back and kill the bad guys, uniting everyone in heaven.

Days passed and the FBI showed no signs of storming the compound.

Inside, as water began running short, no one was allowed to wash. Food had been rationed immediately, and medical supplies in the compound were so scant that wounds were treated with garlic.

Meanwhile, many of the older girls were prepared to become wives to David. One of them even expressed distress at the thought this might never happen.

Two miles away, where the press camped out, there was almost a carnival atmosphere as sellers of T-shirts and bumper stickers mingled with far-Right oddballs.

Gradually, FBI tacticians ramped up the pressure. Agents drove tanks into the compound and sent in milk cartons, in which they’d hidden bugs. They blasted the Davidians with a PA system playing everything from bagpipes and squawking seagulls to crying babies and dentists’ drills.

Everyone inside was soon sleep-deprived. Shivering in darkness when the FBI cut their electricity, they resorted to hay bales for insulation and using kerosene lamps.

The hardball tactics left FBI negotiators fuming – the aggressive moves had undermined their ongoing efforts to win Koresh’s trust. But patience with the Davidians was fast running out. While Koresh waited for God to tell him what to do next, the FBI allowed his lawyer, defence attorney Dick DeGuerin, to visit him. DeGuerin assured the cult leader that he would win a case against him on the grounds of self-defence.

In total, 53 adults and 23 children lost their lives in the siege. Koresh had sired 17 of the children, including two babies whose mothers had gone into labour during the siege

To pay the lawyer’s considerable fees, Koresh agreed to write a memoir – with a likely advance of about $2.5 million (£1.7 million). Anything left over, he said, could go to his biological children.

Koresh was also determined to finish his explanation of the Seven Seals – biblical scrolls described in the Book Of Revelation that depict a series of religious events leading up to Christ’s Second Coming.

Once this work was completed, Koresh relayed to the FBI via his lawyer, the Davidians would leave Mount Carmel. But the FBI were unconvinced. In the early hours of day 51 of the siege – April 19, 1993 – tanks advanced on the cult’s HQ, firing numerous rounds of tear-gas.

At the same time, the FBI’s PA system began blasting out ear-splitting animal howls and high-decibel music.

The Davidians immediately responded with gunfire but were crippled by the debilitating effects of the gas.

Amid the carnage, Koresh was still dictating his explanation of the Seven Seals to a typist.

He told his followers: ‘Hold tight. We’re trying to establish communication. Maybe we can still work this out.’

An FBI bug picked up one cult member saying: ‘The manuscript is almost complete. They were working all night.’

But at 10am, the tanks began knocking down Mount Carmel. It wasn’t hard: fragile supporting walls quickly crumbled and the roof came crashing down.

The mothers and children who had sought shelter in the concrete-walled gunroom were buried in rubble, with many killed outright.

Other Davidians frantically darted from one hallway or room to another, trying to avoid the disintegrating walls and the barrels of tanks. But collapsing stairways trapped some on the upper floors.

Then, at about noon, an FBI agent heard an unidentified person shout: ‘Fire!’ Within moments, every inch of Mount Carmel was engulfed in flames. Over the crackle of fire came the sounds of ammunition exploding. Back in Washington DC, senior FBI officials watched on TV as the blaze roared high in the sky. ‘Holy s***,’ muttered one.

Some Davidians chose to stay and die, or asked others to shoot them. Just nine adults, some badly burned, came staggering out. They would later be given prison sentences of up to 40 years. There were no other survivors.

The FBI found the remains of Koresh close to one of his sidekicks. The Davidians’ prophet had died from a gunshot to his forehead. An autopsy concluded that his follower had shot Koresh before turning the weapon on himself.

In total, 53 adults and 23 children lost their lives. Koresh had sired 17 of the children, including two babies whose mothers had gone into labour during the siege. The six followers who had died in the earlier ATF raid took the final Branch Davidian death toll to 82.

There were, eventually, three popular theories about how Mount Carmel came to burn.

The first, beloved by conspiracy theorists, is that the FBI deliberately started the fire.

The second, and most popular, theory, is that the Davidians started the fire themselves. This, too, seems unlikely as they were scattered throughout the sprawling building, so dozens would have had no idea what had been decided. The third, more plausible theory is that the fire was an accident caused when Coleman lanterns and space heaters fell over during the tank assault, igniting pools of accelerant. The hay bales used as insulation would have enabled the flames to spread quickly.

The computer disc of Koresh’s obscure and uncompleted book on the Seven Seals was rescued by a survivor and later published by two theology scholars. In a joint introduction, they wrote: ‘Regardless of one’s evaluation of the content, one point is clear – in a short time, under most trying circumstances, David Koresh had produced a rather substantial piece of work.’

The day after the massacre, President Bill Clinton held a press conference at the White House, during which he described Koresh as ‘dangerous, irrational and probably insane’. His words did nothing to stop conspiracy theories and anti-government militias sprouting all over the US.

On the second anniversary of the massacre, terrorist Timothy McVeigh cited Waco as an inspiration when he killed 168 people by bombing a government building in Oklahoma City. Davidians who survived the Waco siege, however, insist they regret this legacy of rage.

One of them, David Thibodeau, said: ‘We don’t want anyone to do crazy stuff in the name of Mount Carmel. We were never about that. What we did there was more about love than anything else.’

Clive Doyle, the man generally acknowledged to be the leading Davidian spokesman, escaped from Mount Carmel with the skin on his hands bubbling from the intense heat. His daughter, Shari, died in the blaze.

Aged 80, shortly before his death from pancreatic cancer last year, he said he never stopped believing in Koresh and his prophecies, and was fully confident he would soon join the others in their perfect world.

He just never thought it would take this long.

Over the years, various men came to find him, claiming to be the resurrected Koresh.

‘Often they’re young people,’ Doyle said. ‘They come and talk to me and I listen. I’ve never thought they are who they claim to be. But I always listen… just in case.’

• Adapted from Waco: David Koresh, The Branch Davidians And A Legacy Of Rage, by Jeff Guinn, published by Simon and Schuster at £20. To order a copy for £18, go to books.mailshop.co.uk or call 020 3176 2937 by March 4. Free UK delivery on orders over £20.

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