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Ruth Ottman Riddle (born 10 March 1964[1][2]) is a Canadian Branch Davidian and survivor of the Waco siege. Riddle was raised in the Seventh-day Adventist Church.[3] She was born as Ruth Ellen Ottman.[4] Riddle was one of nine survivors of the 19 April 1993 fire that destroyed the Mount Carmel Center and most of its occupants. She carried with her after leaving the compound a copy of David Koresh's final incomplete manuscript which after creating he agreed to leave. It was reprinted in James D. Tabor and Eugene V. Gallagher's book Why Waco?: Cults and the Battle for Religious Freedom in America.[5] She was married to another Branch Davidian, James Loyle Riddle, who died in the 19 April 1993 fire.[6] Her niece, Misty Dawn Ferguson, survived the fire as well.[7] She was formerly of Tweed, Ontario.[8] However, other sources indicate she is from Oshawa, Ontario.[9]

Waco siege and survival

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An FBI agent carries Riddle to safety
Further information: Waco siege

During the Waco seige, Koresh announced that he would surrender to the FBI after making a manuscript of his interpretation of the seven seals in the Book of Revelation. Ruth Riddle typed out an incomplete manuscript on a battery-powered word processor just before the 19 April 1993 fire.[10][11]

An agent tends to Riddle behind a Bradley vehicle

Riddle reportedly jumped from a second-story window to the ground on 19 April 1993 after the fire started, but returned to the Mount Carmel Center. An FBI agent, James McGee, left his Bradley Combat Engineer Vehicle and asked her where the children of the Branch Davidians were, but Riddle provided no answer. McGee carried Riddle out of the compound soon after their interaction.[12][13] She sustained burn injuries to her feet and a broken ankle.[14] The Tampa Bay Times reported however that she fell to the ground outside the compound, not inside.[15] Catherine Wessinger, a religion scholar who has conducted oral histories with various Branch Davidians, argues that an exhibit in the 2000 civil case against the federal government demonstrates that she did not re-enter the building after jumping through the window, likely because she broke her ankle and could not walk on it.[2] A lawyer for the Branch Davidians, Dick DeGuerin, told the New York Times that she laid outside the compound after jumping because her feet were burned from the heated tin roof of the compound.[16]

Life after the siege

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On 26 April 1993, U.S. magistrate Dennis Green released Ruth Riddle, with her sister-in-law Rita Fay Riddle and David Thibodeau, from police custody to a Salvation Army halfway house in Waco, Texas, and under a US$25,000 unsecured bond.[17][18] She was being held as a material witness.[19]

On 26 February 1994, Riddle's charges were either dropped or she was found not guilty.[20] On 28 February 1994, Riddle was facing deportation to Canada, but U.S. federal judge, Walter Scott Smith, ordered her to be put back into the U.S. Marshal's custody in order to reinstate weapons charges brought up against her with other Branch Davidians.[21][22][23] Despite being found not guilty of murder charges and had weapons charges thrown out since a U.S. judge did not find them relevant in her case, she was at threat of deportation since she was in the United States illegally, according to the Toronto Star.[24]

On 17 June 1994, Riddle and seven other Branch Davidians, including Livingstone Fagan, were sentenced on their roles in the 28 February 1993 shootout. Riddle received the mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison and a US$5,000 fine.[25] According to the Toronto Star, the jury foreperson Sara Bain said that the jury never intended to give Riddle any prison time, in part because the jury and judge believed that she was easily manipulated.[26] Along with Livingstone Fagan, she did not appeal her conviction.[27]

In December 1997, she was deported to Canada.[28][29]

References

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  1. ^ Scruggs, Richard; Zipperstein, Steven; Lyon, Robert; Gonzalez, Victor; Cousins, Herbert; Beverly, Roderick (8 October 1993). "Report to the Deputy Attorney General on the Events at Waco, Texas: Family and other Outside Contacts". www.justice.gov. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
  2. ^ a b Wessinger, Catherine (November 2009). "Deaths in the Fire at the Branch Davidians' Mount Carmel: Who Bears Responsibility?". Nova Religio. 13 (2): 25–60. doi:10.1525/nr.2009.13.2.25. JSTOR 10.1525/nr.2009.13.2.25.
  3. ^ Cardwell, Cary (26 February 1994). "Davidians At A Glance". United Press International. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
  4. ^ "Nine Known to Survive Blaze; 4 are in Hospital, 5 are in Jail". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. 20 April 1993.
  5. ^ Wessinger, Catherine (October 1997). "Review Essay: Understanding the Branch Davidian Tragedy". Nova Religio. 1 (1): 122–38. doi:10.1525/nr.1997.1.1.122. JSTOR 10.1525/nr.1997.1.1.122.
  6. ^ England, Mark (29 April 1993). "Name of 3rd cult fire victim released; total dead in doubt". Waco-Tribune Herald. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
  7. ^ Ganey, Terry (29 June 2000). "Rubble blocked exit, Waco survivor testifies". St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
  8. ^ "Waco cult members won't beg for leniency". Hamilton Spectator. 17 June 1994.
  9. ^ Cornwell, Ruppert (28 February 1994). "Jury finds cultists not guilty of murder: Canadian among 4 of 11 to go free". Vancouver Sun.
  10. ^ Kelley, Dean M. (May 1995). "Waco: A Massacre and its Aftermath". First Things. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
  11. ^ Beck, Melinda; Carroll, Ginny; Liu, Melinda; Annin, Peter (11 October 1993). "The Book of Koresh". Newsweek.
  12. ^ Bryce, Robert (21 July 2000). "Naked City: The Ghosts of Waco". www.austinchronicle.com. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
  13. ^ Lichtblau, Eric (14 July 2000). "Agent Says He Tried to Rescue Davidians". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
  14. ^ "Survivor leaves hospital". Tampa Bay Times. 22 April 1993. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
  15. ^ "A tale of terror, but the truth?". Tampa Bay Times. 27 April 1993. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
  16. ^ "Light Moments In Rose Garden". The New York Times. 26 April 1993.
  17. ^ Houston Chronicle (26 April 1993). "Cult Set Fire, Arson Probe Determines". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
  18. ^ S., Lee (27 April 1993). "Craddock ordered to remain in jail". Herald Sun.
  19. ^ Hinds, Michael deCourcy (27 April 1993). "Arson Investigators Say Cult Members Started Fire". The New York Times.
  20. ^ "Cult case judge complains of pressure for leniency". The Scotsman. 14 July 1994.
  21. ^ AP Reuters (1 March 1994). "Koresh follower in legal limbo". Toronto Star. {{cite news}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  22. ^ AP-CP (9 March 1994). "Davidians – Trial". The Canadian Press.
  23. ^ Shannon, Kelley (28 February 1994). "Judge Orders Davidian Back into Marshals' Custody". Associated Press.
  24. ^ CP-AP (27 February 1994). "Waco cult members acquitted of murder charges but five guilty of manslaughter in death of agents". Toronto Star.
  25. ^ Shannon, Kelley (18 June 1994). "5 Cult Members get 40 Years in Prison Three Davidians got from 5 to 20 Years for their Roles in the Siege. Four U.S. Agents Died". Philadelphia Inquirer.
  26. ^ Reuter (18 June 1994). "8 Branch Davidians to be jailed Canadian gets mandatory 5 years". Toronto Star.
  27. ^ "Branch Davidians appeal prison sentences". United Press International. 4 January 1996.
  28. ^ Wittmer, Matthew D. (November 2009). "Traces of the Mount Carmel Community: Documentation and Access". Nova Religio. 13 (2): 95–113. doi:10.1525/nr.2009.13.2.95. JSTOR 10.1525/nr.2009.13.2.95.
  29. ^ Trickey, Mike (3 February 1998). "Five years after Waco, Koresh still felt: Legacy includes conspiracy theories, militias, land claims and wounded religious group". Montreal Gazette.
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