“Waco: American Apocalypse,” a Netflix original documentary series that looks back at one of the deadliest sieges in history, is at once confusing, interesting, and heartbreaking. This is because it includes interviews not only with former federal law enforcement officials but also with members of the religious cult Branch Davidian. This shows what really happened during the 51-day standoff. Kathryn “Kathy” Schroeder, a survivor, was one of them. If you want to know more about her, her beliefs, and where she is now, we have the important information for you.
Who is Kathy Schroeder?
Kathy grew up in a religious family, but it wasn’t until she came back to her home state of Florida after three years in the Air Force that she seemed to find her calling. The divorced mother of three quickly got back in touch with her high school sweetheart Michael “Mike” Schroeder, whose interest in the Seventh-day Adventist Church was also very interesting to her. So, it was no surprise that when they heard about David Koresh’s new holy message for the Branch Davidians, they were also very interested. This made them pack up and move to Texas in 1989.
The goal of Kathy, Michael, and almost every other member of this group at Mt. Carmel Center near Waco was to “live for God,” but their leader David said he was the Messiah. The couple soon found out that he had also stopped marriages in the sect, but they still went along with it even though they had a son. So, the family of five split up without really going their separate ways. Still, she said that they were truly happy because they were working towards a goal. That goal was to be closer to God in every way, so she even slept with David.
It’s important to note that Kathy has strongly defended David even though he’s been accused of having sexual relationships with girls much younger than 18. In the Netflix show, she said, “People think that a man having sex with a bunch of underage girls is a crime.” “And based on what most people think, this could very well be true. But these weren’t young girls because you turn 12 and can vote. We thought that all of these girls were adults.” In other words, she has always been true to him and the mission they were on.
In fact, this is why Kathy was said to be a member of David’s group, The Mighty Men, which was basically his small army of active protectors inside the huge Mt. Carmel Center compound. In fact, according to her story, she was given a hand grenade early on in the siege and told to use it to kill herself and the four other people in her room if things went wrong. But since her kids were already in federal custody and her youngest needed her too much for her to stay, she left on March 12, 1993, 38 days before things came to a head.
Where is Kathy Schroeder Now?
Even though Kathy Schroeder told the police right away what had been going on in her house from the start of this complicated situation, they arrested her soon after. Before they arrested her, she was able to spend time with her 3-year-old son and found out that her husband had been killed on February 28, the first day of the shootout. At this point, her three older children were being cared for by their father in South Dakota. Air Force Sgt. William Mabb had gained rights because he already had joint guardianship.
Kathy was actually charged with first-degree murder for “knowingly, willfully, and illegally conspiring and agreeing… to try to kill with malice aforethought several special agents of the Bureau of ATF.” But because she was the only one who agreed to testify against the other people in this case who were in trouble with the law, she was sent to prison for three years on the reduced charge of resisting arrest. From what we know, she was released around the time we thought she would be. After that, she went back to her home state of Florida, where she now lives in Tampa.
We don’t really know what Kathy has been up to lately, but we do know that in 1999, she and her then-amazing boyfriend were happy to welcome their fifth child into the world. Plus, most of her older kids moved back in with her when they turned 18. This means that she is probably still surrounded by her warm, loving, and caring family in Tampa, Florida. But the most important thing to point out is that she still thinks living for God is the most important thing. This is a part of her that she will never change, no matter what.
According to the most recent news, Kathy knows that if the scary siege in 1983 hadn’t happened, she would still be an active Branch Davidian at Mt. Carmel Center. She wouldn’t have made her kids stay if they wanted to leave when they were older, because she doesn’t like to force her faith on other people, but she wouldn’t have judged them either. But now, Kathy only has her own view of God, which she follows without any rituals or dietary restrictions, while trying to teach her kids to be as open-minded as possible about everything.
