Remains May Be of Missing Atheist

FBI agents unearthed bones on a remote ranch Saturday after returning to the site with the chief suspect in the disappearance of missing atheist leader Madalyn Murray O’Hair and her family.

“We have what appears to be a leg bone, maybe a femur, that is of substantial size and appears to be cut off on one end,” said Roderick Beverly, special agent in charge of the FBI’s San Antonio division. “We also found what appears to be finger bones and parts of a hand.

“The bones appeared to be charred like they were set on fire.”

Investigators believe O’Hair, her son and granddaughter were killed, dismembered and dumped on the 5,000-acre Cooksy Ranch in 1995, although previous searches of the site failed to turn up any bodies.

Beverly would not comment on whether David Roland Waters participated in Saturday’s search. Waters was to have gone on trial this week, but he made an agreement with prosecutors Wednesday.

A law enforcement source who spoke on condition of anonymity confirmed that Waters was taken to the site Saturday. His two lawyers also were present.

About two dozen state and federal agents using three cadaver dogs scoured a spot near a grove of live oaks. The bones were revealed by agents using shovels and picks to dig about 2 1/2 feet down, Beverly said, adding that a forensic anthropologist on site determined that the bones are human. The remains are expected to be examined at a lab in San Marcos, he said.

Beverly said the search would resume today.

The agreement was ordered sealed by U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks, although media reports have said that Waters, who faced kidnapping and extortion charges, agreed to lead investigators to the bodies.

Waters, 53, who worked as O’Hair’s office manager, was convicted of stealing $54,000 in May 1995, before her disappearance, and was placed on probation. He is now serving a total of 60 years for violating probation and for federal weapon violations.

O’Hair, 77 and suffering from diabetes and heart disease when she disappeared, enjoyed calling herself the most hated woman in America. She was involved in successful court battles in the 1960s to ban prayer and Bible-reading in the nation’s public schools.

O’Hair, son Jon Garth Murray and granddaughter Robin Murray O’Hair left their Austin, Texas, home in August 1995. Dishes were still on the table and O’Hair’s medication was left behind. The family’s beloved dogs were left at the house.

They were later seen in San Antonio but dropped from sight, along with about $500,000 worth of gold coins from one of O’Hair’s atheist organizations.

Prosecutors contend they were dismembered at a public storage shed in Austin, placed in 55-gallon drums and dumped on the ranch property under Waters’ directions.