Blog 20: Genealogy of Serial Killers, Cult Leaders, Murderers and Miscreants - David Koresh Part II - David Koresh, his parents and his family
- Nicole Joseph
- Dec 17, 2025
- 16 min read
Trigger Warning: Family Violence, Emotional Abuse, Substance and Alcohol Abuse, Physical Abuse, Mental Abuse, Childhood Abuse, Sexual Abuse, Child Sexual Abuse. Please do not continue if any of the above topics trigger you.
Understanding the Impact of Generational Trauma through Genealogy.
David Koresh, born Vernon Lee Howell, was once a child who loved living with his grandma, but is best remembered as a cult leader and for a standoff/ raid on his Branch Davidian Compound in Waco, TX that resulted in the deaths of 88 members on 19 April 1993.
By examining generational trauma and historical context through genealogical methodology, we may begin to uncover the systemic and psychological factors that contributed to his transformation.
Contradictions in Information
Genealogists work with a range of primary, secondary, and tertiary sources to reach evidence-based conclusions. However, inconsistencies are frequent. Information may include contradictions or may evidence may not exist where anticipated, which is referred to as “Negative Evidence.” Such discrepancies, including contradictions in names, dates, and locations, may be attributed to linguistic barriers, low literacy, shifting political borders, human error, and recordkeeping practices. In some cases, unexpected or incomplete information can be just as telling as the data that exists.
Names will be spelled differently across documents, and first names may shift.
Parents
Bobby Wayne Howell Father b. 10 February 1933 d. 25 June 2009
| Bonnie Sue Clark Mother b. 8 September 1944 d. 23 January 2009 |
Birth and Early Childhood of Vernon Wayne Howell (David Koresh)
On 17 August 1959, Bonnie Sue Clark, just fourteen years old, gave birth to her son, Vernon Wayne Howell—later known as David Koresh—at Hermann Hospital in Houston, Texas. Present at the birth was the child’s paternal grandmother, Jean Holub, but not the biological father, Bobby Wayne Howell, who took no active role in the child’s life. The circumstances of Vernon’s birth reflected the instability surrounding his young mother. Bonnie began experiencing severe stomach pains around 2:30 a.m. the night before delivery. She and her mother, Erline, attempted to wake Bonnie’s father to drive them to the hospital, but he had come home intoxicated and was difficult to rouse. It was not until 6:00 a.m. that they finally left for the hospital in the family truck. The baby was born shortly thereafter. Baby Koresh remained hospitalized due to a fever and later suffered from colic. In the months following the birth, Bonnie moved with her infant son between relatives. For a time, she and Vernon stayed with an aunt and uncle in San Antonio.[1] Later, she returned to Houston when Bobby briefly expressed interest in reconciling, though this did not result in a lasting relationship.[2] Jean Holub remembers Bonnie living with her in Houston for a while, but recalls not seeing Bobby for 15 years once Bonnie left with him.[3]
By the time David (then Vernon) was approximately two years old, his mother Bonnie entered into a marriage with a man named Joe, who had recently been released from prison.[4] David lived with them, but he cried frequently, and Joe responded with physical punishment.[5] Bonnie’s mother Erline stepped in and took care of David from roughly age two to five. Bonnie eventually divorced Joe. [6] During these years, Bonnie’s presence in her son’s life was sporadic and emotionally confusing. When she did visit, she sometimes introduced herself to Vernon not as his mother, but as his “Aunt.”[7] David called his grandmother, "momma" and bonded with her.
Bonnie later entered a relationship with Roy Haldemann, a thirty-four-year-old seaman, while she herself was only eighteen and already the young mother of a small child. When Vernon was about four years old, Bonnie, Roy, and the child moved to Dallas, Texas, marking yet another relocation in his early life. Despite shifting households and parental figures, one constant remained: Vernon had no relationship with his biological father, Bobby Wayne Howell. He would not see Bobby again until he was approximately nineteen years old, when he traveled to Houston in an attempt to find him.[8] According to Bonnie, Bobby expressed remorse later in life and would reportedly visit the memorial each year on April 19th, the anniversary associated with the end of the siege at Mount Carmel in 1993.
David Koresh
Vernon Wayne Howell David Koresh b. 17 Aug 1959 d. 19 April 1993
| Rachel Olivia Susanne Jones Wife b. 2 May 1969 d. 19 April 1993 |
Vernon Wayne Howell aka David Koresh Early Life
Vernon’s early childhood continued to be marked by instability and frequent relocations. Around the age of four or five, he moved to Dallas, Texas, where his mother Bonnie was living with Roy Haldemann, who operated a small farm. Vernon later recalled that whenever he or his half-brother Roger misbehaved, they would “get our tails whomped.” According to Vernon, Roger—Haldemann’s biological son—was rarely disciplined, while he himself received most of the “whipping.”[9] His brother would later acknowledge in an interview that he was liked by his father more. Bonnie said there was no abuse, just normal family struggles.[10]
Vernon struggled in school from an early age. Diagnosed with dyslexia, he found reading challenging and was frequently teased by classmates because of his learning difficulties. As an adult, he also recounted a traumatic incident from the age of seven in which three older boys allegedly tried to rape him, an experience that added to the emotional strain of his early school years. It was not until he unexpectedly outran his classmates in a school competition that Vernon was first recognized for his athletic ability—a moment that led him to take up sports and weightlifting, ultimately giving him confidence.[11]
Vernon cultivated an early fascination with the Bible, spending long hours reading and memorizing scripture. By the age of twelve, he had also begun playing the guitar, adding music to the growing set of skills that shaped his identity. His formal education was inconsistent. He attended the Dallas Junior Academy, a Seventh-day Adventist school, but frequent moves meant that he changed schools often. Whenever possible, his parents enrolled him in Adventist schools, reinforcing the religious environment that increasingly framed his worldview. In later years, Vernon told others that he had dropped out in the ninth grade, though surviving school records show that he completed the tenth grade. He dismissed his departure by claiming he was “smarter than his teachers,” suggesting both his academic frustration and an emerging pattern of narcissism.[12] Throughout his teenage years, Vernon cycled through a series of short-lived jobs, failing to maintain steady employment. During this period, at nineteen, he had a relationship with a sixteen-year-old girl that resulted in the birth of a daughter he never met—an early episode foreshadowing the complicated and controversial relationships of his adult life.[13]
At eighteen, Vernon joined his mother’s congregation at the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Tyler, Texas, where his increasingly unorthodox and often argumentative approach to scripture quickly attracted attention. He frequently pulled younger congregants aside to explain biblical passages according to his own interpretations—a behavior that alarmed many parents, who soon refused to let their children be alone with him. By 1980, Vernon’s conduct escalated. He approached Pastor L. Hartley Berlin and claimed that God had revealed to him that he was destined to marry the pastor’s 15-year-old daughter, Sandy.[14] According to Chilson, the late pastor’s wife, David came to them stating that God told him he must marry, Sandy, the pastor’s 15 year old daughter.[15] He was 21 at the time. While this raised red flags in the eyes of the pastor and his wife and they in no way allowed David near their daughter, he was seen mostly as an arrogant troublemaker who constantly argued with church members. He was removed from the Church in 1981 after being forcibly removed from the pulpit. Shortly thereafter, Vernon left Tyler and made his way to Mount Carmel, where he joined the Branch Davidian community near Waco, Texas—a move that would become the pivotal turning point in his transformation into David Koresh.[16]
Vernon and the Branch Davidians - Palestine
When Vernon arrived at Mount Carmel, the community was led by Lois Roden, who was then in her late sixties. She took David under her wing and primed him to be the next sect leader, making her eldest biological son, George Roden, angry as he felt he was the rightful leader. David’s knowledge of the Bible, Charisma and ability to thread scripture into a logical reality made him a great asset. Complicating matters further were the increasingly controversial revelations Vernon claimed to receive. He asserted that God had commanded him to impregnate Lois, framing the act as part of a divine plan to produce a prophetic child. Lois publicly supported this interpretation, at one point stating that a pregnancy test indicated she was expecting—a claim she and David presented as evidence of their shared spiritual authority, and one that further inflamed George’s resentment. Despite these assertions, no child was ever born. Lois and David began to frequently argue over church finances, which would ultimately undermine their relationship. [17]
David seized upon the failed pregnancy as a theological opportunity, telling supporters that Lois had been disobedient to God and that the absence of a child was divine punishment. Around the same time, he announced that God had instructed him to marry Rachel Jones, a fourteen-year-old member of the community, a declaration that further polarized the already strained membership. By this point, David and George were openly at odds, each labeling the other the Antichrist. The rivalry soon escalated into violence. In one incident, George fired shots at a bus after learning that supporters of Vernon’s faction—especially their children—were aboard.[18] This episode marked a disturbing turn in the struggle for control of Mount Carmel and foreshadowed the violent confrontations that would later define the Branch Davidian movement under Vernon’s leadership as David Koresh.[18]
After the violent escalation with George Roden, Vernon—now increasingly referred to as David by his followers—and his supporters left Mount Carmel and lived in a nomadic, “gypsy-like” fashion for several years. In 1985, the group was able to send David and Rachel to Israel wehre he had another revelation. David was the modern-day Cyrus the Great, the Persian King who liberated the Jews from the Babylonian Captivity. As a result, Rachel and Davids first son was named Cyrus ben-Joseph Howell. Later, David would take on the name Koresh, which is the Hebrew word for Cyrus. Members of the group purchased a 40-acre tract of land in the wooded outskirts of Palestine, Texas, which served as a temporary base of operations. From there, David proclaimed his intention to return to Mount Carmel as its rightful king, framing his break with the Rodens as part of a divinely ordained struggle that would culminate in his restoration to power. He continued actively recruiting and growing his flock. became one of David’s most devoted followers and served as the highest-ranking member of what David styled as his spiritual “army.” Perry recruited behind “enemy lines”—a phrase used to refer to the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Tyler that had exprelled David years earlier.[19] It was during this recruitment effort that Perry approached Marc Breault, a young Adventist who would go on to become one of David’s most trusted aides and, for a time, his right-hand man.[20]
At the same time, George Roden was conducting his own recruitment efforts and began spreading anti-Vernon messaging internationally in an attempt to solidify his claim to leadership. David, for his part, also expanded his outreach beyond the United States. He traveled personally to Australia, where he recruited several families who later returned with him to the group’s makeshift settlement near Palestine, Texas, where conditions remained rugged and unsettled.[21][22] Lois Roden, now around seventy, traveled to Palestine, Texas, to visit David, with whom she continued to share a close spiritual and personal connection. By this time, however, David’s attention had shifted. He had become infatuated with Karen, a fourteen-year-old girl who had recently arrived with her family from Australia. According to former follower Marc Breault, Karen was regarded within the community as David’s second “wife,” though no legal marriage occurred. By this time, David had begun articulating a doctrine of spiritual polygamy, teaching that sexual relations with him constituted a divinely sanctioned marriage. Under this framework, David claimed that God had commanded him and Karen to be joined. Given his spiritual authority over the group, Karen accepted what he presented as a religious obligation. Although Rachel remained his only legal spouse under civil law, David would go on to establish multiple such “marriages” through theological justification.[23]
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Around this same period, David sent Rachel to stay in California. She later recounted a dream in which God informed her that David had been given a difficult command, an experience she interpreted as divine confirmation of events unfolding in Texas that same night, sex with Karen. This moment became part of the evolving spiritual narrative that surrounded David’s personal conduct and the group’s internal hierarchy. David’s House of David, a harem in which selected women and girls would become his “Brides of Christ,” spiritually bound to him as part of a prophetic lineage he claimed to be establishing.[24] To followers, he drew comparisons to King Solomon, presenting himself as a modern manifestation of a biblically sanctioned polygamous ruler whose authority extended over both the community and its future generations.[25]
David loved at least two things: himself and sex. David traveled roughly 1,700 miles to see Michele Jones, his twelve-year-old sister-in-law. Within the framework of his emerging doctrine of spiritual polygamy, he designated her as his third “wife,” despite her being a minor.[26] The fourth addition was 17-year-old Robyn Bunds.[27] Vernon forced her to lose 20 lbs before joining the church, as she was 140 lbs. and larger than his ideal bride.[28] David groomed the young girls, to want to be a bride of Christ. After all, who wouldn't want to be married to Christ. Young girls heard his lewd teachings about sex and were even invited to watch. David went as far to tell one young girl who was too small for him to penetrate to where large tampons. [29] Aisha Gyarfas, age 13, had sex with her parents' consent. When she was 17 in 1993, she told the F.B.I that she was not the only child bride and that she had two children with him. [30] Within the community, many women viewed intimacy with David as spiritually significant, a belief shaped by his teachings and authority. His legal wife, Rachel, even prepared written guidance for other women on how to ready themselves for time with him.[31]
David Koresh and members take Mount Carmel from George
David and his congregants traveled around Texas buying guns in different locales, hoping not to draw attention to the arsenol of weapons they were accumulating. To get his “Mighty Men” ready to take down George, he had them eat tons of garlic, which he believed would strengthen them for the impending conflict.[32] On 3 November 1987, David and eight of his followers—whom he referred to as his commandos—entered Mount Carmel with the intention of seizing the property. Their plan quickly unraveled when they failed to account for George’s dog, whose barking alerted George and his supporters to the intrusion. A 15-minute exchange of gunfire followed before the sheriff arrived and brought the confrontation to an end.[33] George sustained a minor injury to his right hand. Seven of David’s followers were later acquitted of attempted murder, and the charges against David himself were dropped after the jury was unable to reach a verdict. Soon after, George was incarcerated on unrelated charges, leaving the leadership of Mount Carmel contested no longer. In the aftermath, David assumed full control of the community.[34]
Life at Mount Carmel
By 1989, approximately one hundred adherents were living at Mount Carmel, where daily life operated under a rigid system of rules and expectations established by David. The community maintained round-the-clock guard duty, a practice designed as much to monitor members internally as to keep outsiders away. It was also the only acceptable reason for missing Bible study.[35]Members were trained in how to respond to outsiders, instructed not to answer questions directly, and drilled in rehearsed counters to inquiries, particularly those concerning polygamy. Economic independence was tightly controlled. No member was permitted to hold an outside job without David’s explicit approval, and such permission was granted primarily to those who could bring in substantial income.[36] Adherents were not allowed to leave Mt. Carmel unless they had permission, which made the compound feel like a prison at times. David’s mother Bonnie joined the cult in 1986 [37] and was strict, following David’s law to the letter. David controlled what everyone ate and often created insane rules that could change at his slightest whim. All mail and correspondence were monitored. All movement was monitored.
Former members recalled that food and water deprivation were periodically used as disciplinary measures for both adults and children.[38] He used this even on his own three-year-old son Cyrus. DBelieving that Rachel was not teaching their three-year-old adequately, David sent the child to live with another of his designated wives, Nicole, in California. When he got there he was angered because his son would not call Nicole, "mother." David responded with escalating punishment. At first, he spanked and paddled him hard. According to David, children should be spanked once they are 8 months old. Cyrus was forced to sleep in the dark garage with the "huge rats" and then deprived him of food and water.[39] Marc Breault and other witnesses later testified that corporal punishment for children was frequent, often for minor or unclear infractions.
By mid-1989, David’s outward demeanor had also grown more militarized; he began routinely carrying an AK-74 semi-automatic rifle, an upgrade from the handgun he had previously kept at his side.[40] By April of that year, followers observed a marked escalation in his paranoia, intensified by disturbing dreams he interpreted as prophetic. His teachings shifted toward apocalyptic themes centered on his own anticipated death in a final battle against unbelievers,a narrative that would come to shape the group’s trajectory in profound and tragic ways. His message became more and more about how he, David, would die in battle against unbelievers.[41]
On August 5, 1989, David introduced a new doctrinal teaching he called the “New Light.” In this sermon, he declared that all existing marriages within the Branch Davidian community were dissolved. He proclaimed that all women in the group now belonged exclusively to him as his spiritual wives, a decree that fundamentally restructured family life at Mount Carmel. Men, women, and children were separated into different living arrangements, and spouses were permitted to see one another only during Bible studies, where conversation between them remained prohibited.
According to David, God mandated that he father twenty-four children, who would serve as the ruling elders in the future Kingdom of David, a messianic order he believed would emerge at the end of days.[42] Together, these twenty-four children would, according to David’s teaching, rule over the Earth for a thousand years following the return of Jesus Christ. To fulfill this mandate, he claimed he required exclusive access to all women in the community who were of child-bearing age. Per David's instructions, this mandate extended to girls aged twelve and older. Members were further directed not to speak to or about his designated “wives,” nor to discuss his relationships with girls.[43] Girls as young as 10 would sleep in the beds/rooms with David and his wives. David could, by divine providence, have sex with any female in the compound, but men could not have relations with their wives without permission.[44]
David Koresh, his wives and his Children
The exact number of David Koresh’s children and spiritual “wives” remains difficult to determine. According to six women who stated they had borne children fathered by Koresh, he was responsible for twelve of the seventeen children, ages one to four, who died in the 1993 fire at Mount Carmel. Members also reported that some of the mothers were as young as fourteen and sixteen at the time their children were born. In a 1992 interview, former member Robyn Bunds estimated that Koresh had seventeen wives by the time of the Waco siege.[45] Koresh was also believed to have fathered four children who were not living at Mount Carmel during the events of 1993. His mother, however, asserted a different account, claiming that only the three children born to David and his legal wife, Rachel, were killed in the fire.[46]
[1] Bonnie Haldeman, Memories of the Branch Davidians: The Autobiography of David Koresh's Mother (Waco, TX : Baylor University Press, 2007), 1 - 5; digital images, amazon.com (https://read.amazon.com/sample/1932792988?clientId=share : accessed 24 October 2025) p. 7
[2] Ibid., p. 8.
[3] Mark Horvit, “Leader of sect a product of broken home,” The Houston Post (Houston, TX), 2 March 1993, p. 11, col. 4 - 5; imaged, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-houston-post-1933-sect-troubled-lead/183974556/ : accessed 30 October 2025).
[4] Bonnie Haldeman, Memories of the Branch Davidians: The Autobiography of David Koresh's Mother (Waco, TX : Baylor University Press, 2007), 1 - 5; digital images, amazon.com (https://read.amazon.com/sample/1932792988?clientId=share : accessed 24 October 2025) p. 9
[5] Ibid., p. 10.
[6] Ibid., p.8.
[7] Marc Breault, Inside the cult : a member's chilling, exclusive account of madness and depravity in David Koresh's compound (New York, New York: Penguin Books, 1993), p. 28; imaged book, Internet Archive (https://archive.org/details/insidecultmember0000brea : accessed 18 November 2025).
[8] Ibid., p. 8
[9] Marc Breault, Inside the cult : a member's chilling, exclusive account of madness and depravity in David Koresh's compound (New York, New York: Penguin Books, 1993), p 28.; imaged book, Internet Archive (https://archive.org/details/insidecultmember0000brea : accessed 18 November 2025).
[10] “Daly portrays David Koresh in drama "Ambush in Waco',” San Antonio Express-News (San Antonio, TX), 23 May 1993, San Antonio, TX; imaged, GenealogyBank (https://www.genealogybank.com/ : accessed 13 November 2025).
[11] Marc Breault, Inside the cult : a member's chilling, exclusive account of madness and depravity in David Koresh's compound (New York, New York: Penguin Books, 1993), p. 30; imaged book, Internet Archive (https://archive.org/details/insidecultmember0000brea : accessed 18 November 2025).
[12] “Howell: Childhood not perfect one for cult leader,” Waco Tribune-Herald (Waco, TX), 2 May 1993, p. 4, column 1-6; imaged, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/article/waco-tribune-herald-1993-background-kare/183386756/ : accessed 21 October 2025).
[13] Ibid., p.33.
[14] “Howell said to have lived double life,” Waco Tribune-Herald (Waco, TX), 2 May 1993, p. 1, col. 1 - 2; imaged, newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/article/waco-tribune-herald/185218035/ : accessed 18 November 2025).
[15] “Howell: Childhood not perfect one for cult leader,” Waco Tribune-Herald (Waco, TX), 2 May 1993, p. 4, column 1-6; imaged, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/article/waco-tribune-herald-1993-background-kare/183386756/ : accessed 21 October 2025).
[16] “Howell: Childhood not perfect one for cult leader,” Waco Tribune-Herald (Waco, TX), 2 May 1993, p. 4, column 1-6; imaged, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/article/waco-tribune-herald-1993-background-kare/183386756/ : accessed 21 October 2025).
[17] Marc Breault, Inside the cult : a member's chilling, exclusive account of madness and depravity in David Koresh's compound (New York, New York: Penguin Books, 1993), p. 42; imaged book, Internet Archive (https://archive.org/details/insidecultmember0000brea : accessed 18 November 2025).
[18] Ibid., p. 44.
[19] Marc Breault, Inside the cult : a member's chilling, exclusive account of madness and depravity in David Koresh's compound (New York, New York: Penguin Books, 1993), p. 46; imaged book, Internet Archive (https://archive.org/details/insidecultmember0000brea : accessed 18 November 2025).
[20] Ibid., p. 47.
[21] Ibid., p. 52.
[22] Ibid., p.59.
[23] Ibid., p. 62.
[24] Ibid., p. 64.
[25] Ibid., p. 74
[26] Ibid., 72.
[27] Ibid., 74.
[28] Ibid., 75.
[29] Ibid., p. 78.
[30] Ibid., p. 79.
[31] Ibid., p. 80.
[32] Marc Breault, Inside the cult : a member's chilling, exclusive account of madness and
depravity in David Koresh's compound (New York, New York: Penguin Books, 1993), p. 98; imaged book, Internet Archive (https://archive.org/details/insidecultmember0000brea : accessed 18 November 2025).
[33] Marc Breault, Inside the cult : a member's chilling, exclusive account of madness and depravity in David Koresh's compound (New York, New York: Penguin Books, 1993), p. 42; imaged book, Internet Archive (https://archive.org/details/insidecultmember0000brea : accessed 18 November 2025).
[34] “Howell: Childhood not perfect one for cult leader,” Waco Tribune-Herald (Waco, TX), 2 May 1993, p. 4, column 1-6; imaged, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/article/waco-tribune-herald-1993-background-kare/183386756/ : accessed 21 October 2025).
[35] Marc Breault, Inside the cult : a member's chilling, exclusive account of madness and depravity in David Koresh's compound (New York, New York: Penguin Books, 1993), p. 129; imaged book, Internet Archive (https://archive.org/details/insidecultmember0000brea : accessed 18 November 2025).
[36] Ibid., p. 131.
[37] Ibid., p. 132.
[38] Ibid., p. 136.
[39] Ibid., p. 137 – 139.
[40] Ibid., p. 136.
[41] Ibid., p.150.
[42] Michael Whelan, “Unresolved Waco: Part 4 Sinful Messiah,” video; YouTube: Unresolved (https://unresolved.me/waco-part-four-the-sinful-messiah : accessed 23 November 2025).
[43] Marc Breault, Inside the cult : a member's chilling, exclusive account of madness and depravity in David Koresh's compound (New York, New York: Penguin Books, 1993), p. 91; imaged book, Internet Archive (https://archive.org/details/insidecultmember0000brea : accessed 18 November 2025).
[44] Marc Breault, Inside the cult : a member's chilling, exclusive account of madness and depravity in David Koresh's compound (New York, New York: Penguin Books, 1993), p. 80; imaged book, Internet Archive (https://archive.org/details/insidecultmember0000brea : accessed 18 November 2025).
[45] Marc Breault, Inside the cult : a member's chilling, exclusive account of madness and depravity in David Koresh's compound (New York, New York: Penguin Books, 1993), p. 189; imaged book, Internet Archive (https://archive.org/details/insidecultmember0000brea : accessed 18 November 2025).
[46] “Women say Koresh fathered 12 who died in fire,” The Macon Telegraph (Macon, Georgia), 1993 September 6, p. 1, col. 3; imaged, Newspapers.com (newspapers.com : accessed 18 November 2025).
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