David Thibodeau (born February 13, 1969)[1] is an American Branch Davidian, a survivor of the Waco siege, and a musician. He was born in Bangor, Maine.[1] In early adulthood, Thibodeau sought to become a musician in Los Angeles, California, where he converted to Branch Davidianism after meeting David Koresh in a Guitar Center in 1990.[2][3] Thibodeau was present at the Mt. Carmel compound on February 28, 1993, when the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) conducted a botched raid. He stayed for the 51-day siege until escaping, with eight other survivors, the fire that consumed the compound.
Thibodeau escaped the April 19, 1993, fire that ended the Waco siege along with eight other survivors. Thibodeau was jailed in McLennan County Jail but soon released on a US$5,000 bail by a federal magistrate.[9][10]
Thibodeau was held as a material witness against other Davidians charged with various crimes in relation to the Waco siege.[15]
Life after 1993
He (re-)married in 1997 and has at least one daughter.[16]
In 1999, he co-authored a memoir called A Place Called Waco: A Survivor's Story with Leon Whiteson, a Zimbabwe-born novelist, critic, and architect.[17] Thibodeau runs a website called "Waco Survivors," in which he archives media related to the Waco siege.[18]
In 2018, the miniseries Waco aired featuring Rory Culkin playing David Thibodeau and Thibodeau himself in a cameo role as an unnamed character.[19]
Thibodeau is a drummer for the band The Blast Addicts, and he resided in Texas as of 2020.[2][20] He played drums for other bands after the Waco siege as well, including Grooviest Maximus.[16]
^ ab"David Thibodeau Discusses His Book, 'A Place Called Waco". NBC News. August 30, 1999.
^Hicklin, Aaron (April 13, 2003). "Ten years after the fire, Waco still smoulders; The Branch Davidian church has been rebuilt in Waco but its followers are still awaiting a prophet". Sunday Tribune. Dublin.
^Hinds, Michael DeCourcy (April 27, 1993). "Arson Investigators Say Cult Members Started Fire". The New York Times.
^"Nine Known to Survive Blaze; 4 Are in Hospital, 5 Are in Jail". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Missouri. April 20, 1993.
^Johnson, David (July 20, 1995). "Examination of Waco Raid Goes Partisan: Accusations Flying at House Hearings". The New York Times.
^"'I was all freaked out'; Girl tells of having sex at 10 with David Koresh". The Tampa Tribune. July 20, 1995.
^Shannon, Kelley (April 21, 1993). "How did Cultists die?: Investigators believe some may have been shot trying to flee before others started the fire at 'Ranch Apocalypse'". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
^ abRichardson, John (September 12, 1999). "Waco Survivors tells own story of Davidians; Maine native David Thibodeau says Federal Agents accidentally started fire that killed 74 Branch Davidians". Portland Press Herald. Maine.