7 Cultists Leave; Hopes Rise for End to Standoff

Seven more people left the besieged Branch Davidian cult compound here Sunday, quickening the pace of the departures and raising hopes among law enforcement officials that an end to the 22-day standoff is near.

“The tempo of the releases has picked up,” said FBI agent Richard Swensen at a news briefing. “I am certainly hopeful the quicker it picks up, the more encouraging it becomes.”

Swensen also told reporters that negotiators have been talking at length to cult leader David Koresh about the possible release of a large number of cult members from their heavily armed fortress, about 10 miles east of Waco.

“We are talking about a final resolution,” Swensen said. “Koresh has said he would like this resolved. We are talking in terms of sooner rather than later.”

Swensen said the number of people and timing involved in a release schedule have not been determined. He also cautioned that there is no “hard evidence” from Koresh whether a large release will occur soon.

But he said law enforcement officials were encouraged Sunday by the release of seven people following several hours of talk between negotiators and Koresh that ended about 3:20 a.m.

The first to emerge were Victorine Hollingsworth, 59, of England, and Annetta Richards, 64, whom law enforcement officials described as a Canadian citizen. They were released at about 12:30 a.m. during a negotiating session with Koresh, Swensen said.

Swensen said Rita Riddle, 35, an American citizen, and Gladys Ottman, 67, another Canadian, came out about 11 a.m.

They were followed in the afternoon by James Lawten, 70; Sheila Martin, 46, and Ofelia Santoyo, 62. No further details were available about their release.

Hollingsworth was taken to Hillcrest Baptist Medical Center, where she was admitted to the critical care unit for treatment of high blood pressure. She was listed in stable condition.

The rest were booked into McLennan County Jail, where they will be held as material witnesses, officials said.

The latest departures bring to 34 the number of people who have walked out of the compound since a bloody raid on Feb. 28 left four Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agents dead and 16 wounded. An unknown number of cult members were killed in the shootout, and approximately 96 people remain in the compound.

“We’re hopeful the schedule will get speeded up,” Swensen said. “I believe we are headed toward a peaceful solution. Not one shot has been fired, not one person has been injured and not one person has been killed (since the initial raid). There is no indication they want to push it to the brink.”

Swensen offered no explanation for the releases Sunday except for Hollingsworth’s medical problems and speculation about the stress of the situation on cult members.

At a hospital news conference, doctors said Hollingsworth has had high blood pressure for many years but that the symptoms had intensified during the standoff and she decided to leave the compound for medical reasons.

She is expected to be released from the hospital in the next few days and join the others in jail.

“She is a calm, delightful lady,” said Dr. Michael Attas, a cardiologist who is treating Hollingsworth. “She seems fairly serene, fairly centered, though she is probably very bewildered.”