HOUSTON -- A report published Tuesday said Branch Davidian leader David Koresh had a 'hit list' bearing at least 10 names, was obsessed with pop star Madonna and had vague plans to kill a top political figure.
The Houston Chronicle reported in a copyright story that former cultists said Koresh's fixation on Madonna ranged from a passing obsession to a desire to kill her, and that he had vague plans to assassinate an unnamed 'high ranking' politician.
Several people on the list fear that surviving cult members may try to carry out Koresh's wishes.
The list, which was never known to be written but was referred to by Koresh during his 'Bible studies,' includes the names of several cult defectors Koresh said would be 'taken away' for leaving the group.
The newspaper said most of Koresh's targets were Australians who became worried in 1989 that the cult leader was planning to sacrifice a child. In 1990, the group hired a private investigator in an unsuccessful attempt to convince U.S. authorities that the cult was dangerous.
Australian Marc Breault, who says his name is on the list, said he has been threatened since Koresh's death in the April 19 fire at the Mount Carmel compound.
Other Australians on the list are Breault's wife, Elizabeth Baranyai; Bruce and Lisa Gent; Ian and Allison Manning; Mary Jean Smith; and James and Michelle Tom. Also on the list is Robyn Bunds, one of Koresh's 'wives' who bore one child by Koresh and lives in California.
Bunds said she is not worried about the list because she believes anyone who would go that far for Koresh died in the fire with him.
The Chronicle reported that ex-cult members and others who investigated the group believe there are about 40 or more followers scattered from Texas to California in the United States, and in Britain and Australia. They believe Koresh will rise from the dead, the newspaper said.
The private investigator, Geoffrey Hossack, said he learned from cult members during several months of investigation that Koresh had decided that 'if he couldn't have Madonna, no man would.'
Hossack said he contacted lawyers who had represented the pop star in Australia and urged them to step up security, particularly in the United States.
A representative for Madonna would not comment on whether she had been informed of Koresh's interest in the singer.
The private investigator also said that at one point, Koresh told his followers that 'if authorities became too interested in him, he could stop that by killing the president or some other political figure as a diversion.'
He said he mentioned the list when he talked to federal authorities about Koresh in 1990.
Officials of the FBI and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms declined comment.
