
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, April 30, 1993                   TAG: 9304300178
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: The Washington Post
DATELINE: WACO, TEXAS                                LENGTH: Short

77 BODIES FOUND IN CULT RUINS

The grim toll of deaths in the fiery demise of the Branch Davidian compound rose to 77 Thursday, and state officials said they believed no more bodies are likely to be found.

The medical examiner's office in Fort Worth said that, of 28 autopsied, at least seven died of gunshot wounds, some fired at close range in the forehead. No ruling has been made on whether the gunshot victims died in homicides, suicides or munitions explosions.

The other five victims, all thought to have died as a result of the initial federal assault Feb. 28, remained at the compound. Four were in tunnels, where officials said Thursday they were under human waste and garbage and floated to the surface during recent rains. The fifth is buried on the grounds.

Meanwhile, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms Director Stephen E. Higgins said Thursday he accepts full responsibility for his agency's aborted Feb. 28 raid on the Branch Davidian cult in Waco, Texas, and will consider resigning following the completion of an internal Treasury Department investigation.

While more bodies, especially those of children, could lie hidden or be damaged beyond recovery, the total of 77 dead is nine fewer than the number that cult leader David Koresh suggested were inside when the FBI assaulted the compound April 19.

The discrepancy has fueled rumors, traded over cups of coffee and in grocery checkout lines, that Koresh or some of his followers could have escaped through the tunnels. Koresh's is not among six bodies identified.

Keywords:
FATALITY

by CNB