It's been more than eight years since ATF agents killed Branch Davidian Michael Schroeder, and his mother still is waiting to find out exactly how her son died.
Schroeder was shot and killed trying to enter Mount Carmel several hours after the deadly Feb. 28, 1993, shootout between the Davidians and agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.
Justice of the Peace David Pareya announced in November 1999 that he would hold an inquest into Schroeder's death, which he discovered was still pending after Schroeder's mother, Sandra Connizzo, wrote to him seeking autopsy photos of her 29-year-old son.
Pareya was one of four local judges responsible for determining the cause of death for the 82 Davidians who died at Mount Carmel on Feb. 28 and April 19, 1993.
However, Pareya said he would not hold the inquest until the completion of Special Counsel John Danforth's investigation and the wrongful-death lawsuit filed by Branch Davidian survivors against the government.
In July, a federal court jury cleared the government of wrongdoing in the April 19, 1993, deaths of Koresh and 75 of his followers in a fire at Mount Carmel. Four months later, Danforth released a final report on his investigation, which also concluded that the government did not start the fire and that Koresh was to blame for the tragedy.
Danforth's investigation was limited to the events of April 19, 1993, and did not focus on the military-style raid 51 days before or the circumstances of Schroeder's death a few hours later.
Pareya said Monday that he still plans to hold an inquest in Schroeder's case, which would result in an official ruling on the manner and means of his death. However, a date for the inquest has not been set, the judge said.
"I am still trying to get a final report from the Danforth committee to be sure that they are complete in what they are doing," Pareya said. "Trying to get responses from them as a judge in West, McLennan County, Texas, doesn't seem to be on the top of their list of priorities. What a lot of people don't understand is that I am a one-person operation. I don't have an investigative team, I don't have any additional judges to assist me. The law only allows me to do my job and I can't delegate it to anyone."
Pareya said he last spoke to Danforth's investigators about the Schroeder case before the wrongful-death lawsuit, which started in June.
Connizzo, who lives near Tampa, Fla., said she is concerned that ATF agents "executed" her son at close range. Her concerns grew after independent filmmaker Michael McNulty saw Schroeder's cap while visiting the Davidian evidence locker in 1999 and said it contained "visible residues," suggesting Schroeder was shot at point-black range, she said.
An autopsy showed Schroeder was hit by at least seven gunshots. Two shots were to the head, including the right ear. The autopsy found no evidence of powder tattooing or soot, which would indicate a shooting at close range. No tests were conducted on the dark blue ski cap worn by Schroeder, however.
The cap was not among the items sent for autopsy with Schroeder's body and was lost until McNulty reported seeing it, Connizzo said.
"I just think if he was horribly wounded and they walked up to him and shot him at close range to finish him off, then something is terribly wrong with that," Connizzo said. "I have been led to believe by some people that perhaps there is something to be concerned with because his hat turned up missing for 61/2 years when Mike McNulty found it. It was in the locker all that time and was never forensically tested, and I just think it should have been tested."
Schroeder, Woodrow Kendrick and Normal Allison were at a repair shop called the Mag Bag owned by the Davidians when the ATF raided Mount Carmel on the morning of Feb. 28, 1993. Later that day, all three men tried to sneak into the compound. Schroeder allegedly fired shots at patrolling ATF agents and was killed when they returned fire.
The ATF agents who shot Schroeder have said they identified themselves before firing and claim that Schroeder fired first.
Pareya said he will hold the inquest when he has time.
"There are other items that are a priority because of pending cases, litigation and other things in my court," Pareya said. "This is something that doesn't have a high-priority status, yet it is very important to me. I do not want to rush into something of this magnitude and plan to develop it in the time that is available to me. This is an open process. Time is just not on my side."