We have already commented on the improper recovery of the bodies, with untrained
laborers taking minimimal interest in the context and environment of the corpses. We have
discussed the attribution of deaths to an event that didn't happen—the bunker collapse—and
the curious disinterest in an explosion that apparently did happen. We have remarked on the
overly decomposed remains and the remarkable dismemberment of the bodies—which apparently
attracted little attention from the Medical Examiners.
And notably, the autopsists seemed to be looking for evidence of firearm injuries rather than
observing what was on the examining table. Even where there were no firearm injuries in
evidence, the autopsists noted that they looked for them, as though they were under instruction to
find as many as possible.
Now let us consider some inconsistencies and anomalies in the Autopsy Reports received from Judge
Collier's office, Judge Collier's "Waco ID's" list, and other forensic material. Though the
Autopsy Reports are not directly linked from this page, they may be accessed from
the Identification Matrix, created from the various
materials.
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One body is identified with two names, by autopsy and by DNA analysis (Mt. Carmel Doe
64). That set of remains is identified as both "Paiges Gent" and "Kara Brittani Little."
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Three sets of remains with written Autopsy Reports were not included in the
Judge Collier's List (31DE, 31F, 51A),
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These names are used inconsistently:
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Surnames Gent and Little
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Surnames Barrios and Martinez
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David Koresh's legal name was Koresh, but the autopsy reports for the Koresh family obstinately
use the name "Howell," as the PR agents and News reports did throughout the siege
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Some names were spelled inconsistently (e.g., Bobbie Layne Howell vs. Bobby Laine Howell)
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As of the last date on Judge Collier's list (August 17, 1994), ten sets of remains had not been
identitified:
- MC Doe 31F,
- MC Doe 46,
- MC Doe 59,
- MC Doe 60,
- MC Doe 65,
- MC Doe 67-7,
- MC Doe 68
Three were skulls without bodies:
- MC Doe 31DE
- MC Doe 51A
- MC Doe 67-8
A telephone call to the judge's office in May 1996 confirmed that no new information had been
added.
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A child's body, identified in autopsy as a female, is assigned a male identity by DNA analysis
(MC Doe 53, "Isaiah" Martinez)
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A year after the fire, no remains have been found for five people listed on
the FBI's April 21 1993 list of Davidians "unaccounted
for":
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Paulina Henry, age 25
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Lisa Marie Martin, age 13
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Jillane Matthews, nationality unknown
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Startle Summers, age 1.
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Doris Vaega, British
Sheila Renee Martin left the Mt. Carmel Center on March 21, 1993, named as a material witness, and
lodged in a halfway house; she should not have been included on this
list. (Source: Report
to the Deputy Attorney General on the Events at Waco, Texas: Prosecutions)
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A single dreadlock ponytail with scalp fragment is given an autopsy
(MC Doe 31F), including dental exam and fingerprint
analysis, and associated with MC Doe 31C
This fragment may be related to MC DOE
31C. (31F, pg. 3)
But see
below.
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MC Doe 31C is described in Dr. Peerwani's testimony as a "human leg"
(Source: Transcript, pg. 5975
and 5976), but no autopsy for MC Doe 31C is on
file with the keeper of records, McLennan County Justice of Peace, and MC 31C is not
in Judge Collier's List. The FBI does not list it as a
known casualty.
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An unborn fetus is given dental and fingerprint comparisons. An unborn fetus would not have
fingerprint or dental records on file. (MC Doe 58, listed on
the Identification Matrix, identified with MC
Doe 31B.)
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Judy Schnieder's remains received a dental examination, despite the fact that the head was missing
from the body (MC Doe 51).
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Inconsistent use of the term "globally charred." It is sometimes used to mean the entire
body is incinerated (as in MC Doe 32), and sometimes used to mean an entire section of the
body was destroyed by fire, as in MC Doe 51.
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As the bodies were recovered from Mt. Carmel, their locations were allegedly recorded on
diagrams. See Map 1 and Map
2, and note the difference in distribution patterns. Note also the difference in the
shape of the concrete room in the two maps.
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MC Doe 72, identified by DNA as Serenity Sea Jones, does not appear on the
Medical Examiner's diagrams of Mt. Carmel body
recoveries. Though the individual is said to have died in the fire, neither "Doe 72"
nor "Serenity Sea Jones" is mentioned in
the FBI
lists of identified and unidentified remains.
(Source: Dept. Of Justice,
pg. 313, pg. 321)