Athens, USA - The woman accused of stabbing to death the mother of infamous Branch Davidian leader David Koresh has been indicted for murder.
A Henderson County grand jury has returned an indictment of murder against 54-year-old Beverly Clark of Chandler for the January death of her sister, Bonnie Clark Halderman, 60.
Henderson County Sheriff Ray Nutt said deputies responded to the home at 20454 Farm-to-Market Road 3079 on a 911 call and when they arrived they found Halderman dead.
Halderman lived close to her sister and authorities found a knife they believe to have been used in the slaying, Nutt said.
Clark remains in the Henderson County Jail on a $500,000 bond.
Henderson County Jail records show Clark was also confined in the jail in 2005 for criminal mischief.
Halderman wrote an autobiography, published in 2007, called "Memories of the Branch Davidians: The Autobiography of David Koresh’s Mother," that described how her son, Vernon Howell, became David Koresh.
Agents from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms planned a surprise raid on the Koresh-led Branch Davidian compound near Waco on Feb. 28, 1993, trying to arrest him for stockpiling weapons and explosives. But gunfire immediately erupted, killing four agents and six members of the religious sect.
That led to a 51-day standoff, during which time 21 children and 14 adults left the compound unharmed. The complex caught fire and burned to the ground April 19, 1993, killing Koresh and nearly 80 of his followers, including about two dozen children.
The government claimed the Davidians committed suicide by setting the fire and shooting themselves. Survivors said the blaze was started by tear gas rounds fired into the compound by government tanks, and that agents shot them.