George Roden
| George Buchanan Roden | |
|---|---|
George B. Roden
|
|
| Born |
January 17, 1938 Gregg, Texas |
| Died | December 6, 1998 (aged 60) Big Spring, Texas |
| Cause of death | Heart failure |
| Residence | Elk, Texas |
| Citizenship | American |
| Occupation | Former Leader, Branch Davidians, Sabbath teacher |
| Known for |
|
| Criminal charge | Homicide |
| Criminal penalty | Not guilty by reason of insanity |
| Criminal status | Deceased |
| Spouse(s) | Amo Bishop Roden |
| Parent(s) | Benjamin Lloyd Roden & Lois Irene Scott |
George Roden (January 17, 1938 – December 6, 1998), was a leader of the Branch Davidian sect, a Seventh-day Adventist splinter group, and the former husband of Amo Bishop Roden. In 1987, he was evicted from the Mount Carmel Center near Waco, Texas by his rival David Koresh. He was later confined in a Texas mental hospital for a 1989 murder, until his own death.
George Roden was the presumed successor to his mother Lois Roden, who had become president of the Branch Davidians in 1978, when her husband and group leader Benjamin Roden had died. However, Vernon Howell (after 1990 known as David Koresh) arrived at Mount Carmel and began a sexual relationship with Lois Roden who was then in her sixties. Koresh justified their relationship by claiming that God had chosen him to father a child with her, who would be the Chosen One. George Roden felt that his position of leadership was threatened and was deeply offended by Koresh's relationship with his elderly mother. He would file a lawsuit in federal court alleging that Koresh had raped Lois and brainwashed her into turning against him.
In 1984 Koresh left the compound for Palestine, Texas with the vast majority of the group's followers. Roden renamed Mount Carmel "Rodenville". In a videotaped interview Roden led a tour of "Rodenville" using an M1 carbine as a pointer and declared: "It's basically a holy jihad, Khomeini versus Israel, that's what Vernon Howell has with me." Three years later, resentful of Koresh's power over the Davidians, Roden challenged Koresh, saying that whoever could resurrect the dead was the true leader. While Roden prayed over the body of Ana Hughes, dead two decades earlier, Koresh reported Roden to the McLennan County sheriff's office for corpse abuse. The police told Koresh that he needed evidence to back up his accusation.
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