European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 7, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse Sunday March 7, 1993 the stars and stripes b Page 3cult Leader concerned about safety Waco Texas up1 a the Fri said saturday that cult Leader David Koresh appears to be concerned about the safety of his followers if they leave their heavily armed compound under siege by Federal agents and Texas rangers. But there was no indication he is planning to surrender the Fri said. Special agent Bob Ricks told a news conference that in Telephone negotiations Koresh a has expressed concern about his personal safety and the safety of the Ricks said 21 children and two women have walked out of the compound since last sundays shootout Between Kors he a Branch davidians sect and Federal agents trying to serve a warrant on Koresh. Four agents were killed and the number of casualties inside the compound is not known. He said there is no indication any of the youngsters Are Koreshy a own children. The agent said Koresh told negotiators that 17 children 47 women and 43 men remained in the com Pound saturday. A it is a concern on our part about people leaving the compound. We believe there Are people who would walk out and we Are appealing to Koresh to let those people go if they want to Rick s said. Ricks said negotiators have seen a a change in the demean or in Koreshy a questions about the judicial process. He said Koresh was assured he and his followers would be treated a fairly and humanely a with no retaliation from Federal officers. A a we have information that Many people were involved in the shootout so its our Assumption that Many of the people in the compound arc Well armed and Are committed to this cause Ricks said. Don Hartnett of the Bureau of alcohol tobacco and firearms said there have been Many inquires regarding the safety of foreign nationals in the compound and he referred questioners to the appropriate foreign consulates. There Are unconfirmed reports of British and australian cult members in the compound. Exem Union in by Chuck Roberts Staft writer Wiesbaden Germany a a former Andrews Federal credit Union employee claims she was forced to resign her Job because she exceeded her accrued vacation time when she went to visit her dying Grandfather. However credit Union officials said that Lara Wedel never applied for extended vacation time and left knowing that her Job As a loan assistance officer might terminate during her absence. A we did not terminate her a said Henry Addison senior vice president for arcu operations at his office in Frankfurt Germany. A she left on her own and she s Welcome to come Back when she s ready to go to Wedel said she was sceptical of Addison a offer and Felt it was made Only because circumstances surrounding her former Jot had been brought to the attention of the stars and stripes. Wedel said she feared harassment if she returned to work and said she would not receive a scheduled pay raise and Bonus Addison said it is company policy that employee records Start from Square one if someone is rehired. However Addison said the probation period would be waived and that her salary would be based on the past experience. Wedel said she received a phone Call Jan. 23 from her Stepfather in Texas who said her Grandfather was dying. When a red Cross message came the next Day requesting her presence Wedel called her manager Paul l. Shockley and told him she needed to take two weeks of vacation. Shockley called her later that evening and suggested that she bring a letter of resignation with her to his office at ,. A amps Chuck to butt Lara Wedel sitting with husband senior airman Scott Wedel and daughter Heather says she lost her credit Union Job while visiting her dying Grandfather. Wiesbaden a. Wedel discussed the matter with her husband and decided to write the letter. In his office the night of Jan. 24, Shockley told her that she had Only 1 i weeks of vacation and that he did no to think Addison would Grant additional vacation time. He said she never asked to fill out the form requesting the additional time but Wedel said she did not know that was required of her. Wedel said that it was t possible to get an earlier flight Back to Germany and that they needed at least two weeks vacation because they were travelling with their 10-month-old daughter Heather Nikolic. Shockley told her he would turn in her resignation Only As a last resort if she return in 1 i weeks. When Wedel called Shockley from Texas later that week Shockley told her that he had decided to accept her resignation. Shockley said he made that decision because Wencl s repeated absence from work was causing morale problems among other staff members. He said reports had indicated that none of the people assumed killed in the shootout remained inside the compound. A negotiators were requested by Steve Snyder within the compound to remove a body within the compound a Ricks said. He did not say if Steps have been taken toward that end nor did he identify Snyder. Quot we have no information with regard to How those bodies arc being handled a he said. Hartnett explained the procedure under which the initial operation was conducted. A there were warrants for Only him Koresh and search warrants. There were pending warrants warrants against a number of individuals. For Federal firearms violations. We were executing one arrest warrant at the time a Hartnett said. A a we did not expect obviously that they were going to be shooting at us. We hoped that they would not but were prepared in the event they did. When we went inside we expected up remove Koresh and the weapons in violation a Hartnett said Over Job Wedel had been granted seven Days vacation without pay the previous november because her other Grandfather died in Florida. At that time we Del told Shockley that she planned to visit her sick Grandfather in Texas after her visit to Florida but she never made it to Texas. We Del said she did no to go to Texas in november to visit her Grandfather because it would have Cost an extra $800. In his office the night of Jan. 24, Shockley reminded her of that november trip and said he did no to think she was Clingi blk for additional vacation without pay. According to Shockley her reply was a i done to care about the Job. In a going Shockley said he suggested the letter of resignation because he did no to want her work record to show that she had been fired for abandoning her Job. A i Don t want to Sec that on anyone a record a said Shockley adding that he would re hire Wedel. When Shockley told Wedel on the phone that he had terminated her Job he said Wedel did no to seem upset and told him that everything was Shockley said Wedel also stopped by the office when she returned from Texas and showed no regret Over losing her Job and that she never mentioned the possibility of being rehired. She said she never mentioned getting another position with the credit Union because she did no to think they would rehire her. Addison also noted that we Del never contacted the arcu grievance committee. Addison described Wudel s work fat Ergo Nunce As a competent and above Evely but noted that she had a a terrible attendance record Quot blood on a in car linked to Torso in no s trial by Craig Martin Staft writer Rhein main a Germany a an expert in genetics testified saturday during the murder trial of a Rhein main noncommissioned officer that blood samples from an a and car matched samples from a burning Torso found september 1991 in a Forest near Karlsruhe Germany. Or. Werner Pflug a Dan specialist at the Baden Wiir Temberg state criminal Laboratory in Stuttgart Germany also said he identified the Torso As the body of Yolanda Pengson by comparing cell samples from the Torso with cell samples from underpants found in Pengson a apartment. Pflug testified before the six member All male officer jury during the ninth Day of the general court martial of air Force tech. Sgt. James Ancill Thomas. Thomas 34, assigned to the 435lh civil engr so at Rhein main is charged with premeditated murder and desecration of a Corpse. The Torso was found sept. 9, 1991, burning in a forested area in Kronau a Small town near Karlsruhe. The head and hands had been severed and have never been found. Prosecutors say they still Arentt certain where or How Pengson 27, was killed. They believe she was killed on or near Rhein main five Miles South of Frankfurt. The chief prosecutor said they have no witness and their Case relies solely on circumstantial evidence. Some of that circumstantial evidence relies on Dan testing done by Pflugk a staff. Dan or detox ribonucleic acid is the genetic code for living things. The process of identification is commonly called genetic fingerprinting Pflugk a staff used two different to it Pes of tests to identify the Torso and the blood from an a found at Thomas workplace and what Pflug identified As blood from the trunk and Drivers seat of a rental car Thomas rented the weekend Pengson disappeared. Thomas former Roommate staff sgt. Simmons Ennis testified thursday that Thomas met Pengson a filipino and another filipino woman through a personal and in a Magazine. Another prosecution witness said saturday that she was Able to identify certain characteristics of cells from filipinos through a data base of 100 people provided by a Pflug. Valerie Prunger an expert on Hui Ian population genetics at the University of Maryland at Baltimore testified that it is 842.3 limes More Likely the samples came from the alleged victim than from someone else in the general population. She also testified that it is 76.5 times More Likely the samples came from the alleged victim than from someone else in the filipino population. Joel Cohen Thomas civilian attorney confirmed with Prenger that her data is based on what people questioned believe their nationality is and not on what it actually is. The trial will resume today at 1
