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03/13/93
Woman who left sect wanted to see kids
By Diane Jennings / The Dallas Morning News
Her husband died in an armed skirmish Feb. 28. She's been separated from her four young children since then, holed up in the Branch Davidian compound surrounded by an army of federal agents.
When Kathryn Schroeder surrendered to authorities Friday, she became the first person to leave the isolated, heavily armed fortress in a week.
An FBI agent said her departure was precipitated by a desire to "be reunited with her children.'
Three of those children, from a previous marriage, have been awarded to her former husband, Air Force Sgt. William Mabb, who is stationed in South Dakota.
The other child, a 3-year-old boy by her late husband, Michael Schroeder, remains in state custody.
According to the Omaha World-Herald, Mrs. Schroeder, a native of Tampa, married Sgt. Mabb in March 1982. She filed for divorce three years later and was given custody of the children.
She later married Mr. Schroeder and moved to Miami. While living there, the Schroeders met charismatic cult leader David Koresh. Schroeder family members say she and her new husband sold their belongings and moved to the Texas compound about three years ago.
Sgt. Mabb won custody of the three children Tuesday, after obtaining an emergency custody agreement from a judge in Nebraska.
Mrs. Schroeder, whose Texas driver's license lists her age as 30, was aware of the change in custody before leaving the compound Friday, FBI Agent Dick Swensen said.
"They're going to be working that out,' he said of the custody arrangements.
Karen Eells, regional director of the state Children's Protective Services, would not say whether Mrs. Schroeder would be allowed to see the fourth child. The FBI also declined comment.
The body of Mrs. Schroeder's husband was recovered this week, with a pistol still in his hand, federal agents said.
He died in a brief, second gunbattle with Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agents the day of the raid, and authorities later recovered his body from the compound grounds.
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