Remembering The 51 Day Standoff In Waco, Texas – 25 Years Later

Howell Vs. Roden

After the death of Lois Roden in 1987, George Rodin dug up the body of a woman from the Davidian cemetery and challenged Howell to a resurrection contest to prove who was the rightful leader of the group. Instead, Howell contacted the police and claimed that Roden was guilty of corpse abuse. In order to incriminate Roden, Howell along with seven armed followers then attempted to go and take a picture of the casket when a gunfight broke out. Howell and his followers were tried for attempted murder but were all set free. The court ruled in favor of Howell over Roden who then moved his headquarters from Palestine back to Carmel Mountain. Then, in 1989, Roden killed another Davidian with an ax and was committed to a mental hospital. Howell then took full legal ownership of the Carmel Mountain Center.

He was now in a position of power to do whatever he wanted.