David Roland Waters: Murder, Kidnapping, Extortion and Betrayal
Early Life and a Pattern of Criminal Violence
David Roland Waters was born on March 24, 1947, in Peoria, Illinois. His criminal history began while he was still a teenager and continued, with periods of imprisonment and additional offenses, for most of his adult life. Waters became associated with at least five killings committed during two widely separated periods: the 1964 murder of a teenage boy in Illinois and four killings connected to the 1995 kidnapping and extortion of the family of American Atheists founder Madalyn Murray O'Hair.
The decades separating the crimes made Waters an unusual serial murderer. His later offenses were not random attacks committed for excitement or sexual gratification. They were carefully planned crimes motivated by revenge, financial gain and the desire to eliminate witnesses. Waters used his familiarity with the O'Hair family and their organization to organize a prolonged kidnapping that ended with multiple murders and the concealment of the victims' remains.
The Murder of David Gibbs
Waters committed his first known murder when he was approximately 17 years old. During the early morning hours of December 13, 1964, Waters was with 16-year-old David Gibbs and several other teenagers in Peoria, Illinois. Reports concerning the case state that the group had been drinking whiskey and inhaling ether when an argument developed.
The confrontation escalated into a violent group assault. Gibbs was beaten to death, and Waters was arrested in connection with the killing. He was convicted and received a prison sentence, beginning a long cycle of incarceration and criminal activity. The murder later became important to the investigation of Waters because Madalyn Murray O'Hair publicly revealed details of his violent past after discovering that he had stolen money from her organization.
Employment with American Atheists
During the early 1990s, Waters obtained employment with American Atheists, the organization founded by Madalyn Murray O'Hair. He initially performed printing and typesetting work and later became an office manager. His position gave him access to internal financial information and allowed him to learn the habits, business practices and vulnerabilities of the O'Hair family.
Waters eventually embezzled approximately $54,000 from the organization. He pleaded guilty to the theft in 1995. O'Hair was angered by what she considered an inadequate punishment and published an article exposing Waters' criminal record, including his teenage murder conviction. According to people familiar with Waters, the public disclosure humiliated and enraged him. Investigators later concluded that revenge, combined with his knowledge of the family's finances, helped motivate the kidnapping plot.
The Disappearance of the O'Hair Family
On August 27, 1995, Madalyn Murray O'Hair, her son Jon Garth Murray and her granddaughter Robin Murray O'Hair suddenly disappeared from Austin, Texas. A typed notice placed at the American Atheists office claimed that the family had been called away because of an emergency. Their abrupt departure immediately appeared suspicious. Medication, personal belongings and household animals were left behind, suggesting that the three had not planned to leave voluntarily.
Waters had recruited Gary Paul Karr and Danny Raymond Fry to participate in the scheme. The conspirators held the three victims captive at a motel in San Antonio. During their confinement, the victims were forced to cooperate with financial transactions and were pressured into obtaining hundreds of thousands of dollars in gold coins. Telephone conversations with employees were used to create the impression that the family was traveling voluntarily, although those who heard the calls later described their voices as strained and unnatural.
Extortion and the Gold Coins
Jon Garth Murray was directed to arrange the purchase of approximately $600,000 in gold coins. The conspirators ultimately obtained about $500,000 worth of coins. Waters believed that the gold could be divided, concealed and sold without creating the same paper trail as cash transferred through financial institutions.
The plot began to unravel after the coins were placed in a storage locker protected by an inexpensive lock. While Waters and his associates were spending part of the proceeds, most of the remaining gold was stolen from the locker by unrelated thieves. The loss deprived Waters of much of the money for which he had organized the kidnapping, but it did not save the captives. The O'Hair family members had seen their abductors and could identify them, making them permanent threats to the conspirators.
The Murders in San Antonio
On September 29, 1995, Madalyn Murray O'Hair, Jon Garth Murray and Robin Murray O'Hair were murdered in San Antonio. Evidence developed during the investigation indicated that the victims were strangled. Their bodies were dismembered to make transportation and concealment easier, wrapped and taken to a remote ranch in Real County, Texas.
The remains were buried in a shallow grave and remained undiscovered for more than five years. Because the victims had apparently vanished with a large amount of organizational money, some observers initially believed they had fled the country or staged their own disappearance. Waters benefited from this uncertainty and repeatedly denied involvement.
The Murder of Danny Raymond Fry
Danny Raymond Fry had helped Waters and Karr hold the O'Hair family captive. After the family was killed, Fry became a dangerous witness who knew the identities of the conspirators, the location where the victims had been held and the details of the murders. Waters and Karr therefore had a strong reason to prevent him from speaking to investigators.
Fry was murdered on October 1, 1995. He was shot, and his head and hands were removed in an attempt to prevent identification. His body was abandoned near the Trinity River outside Seagoville in Dallas County, Texas, where it was discovered on October 2. Because the most identifiable portions of the body were missing, the remains were not positively identified as Fry's until years later through genetic testing.
Known Victims
- David Gibbs, 16 — Murdered on December 13, 1964, in Peoria, Illinois. Gibbs was beaten to death during an altercation involving Waters and other teenagers.
- Madalyn Murray O'Hair, 76 — Murdered on September 29, 1995, in San Antonio, Texas. She was kidnapped, held for approximately one month, forced to assist in the transfer of money and gold, and then killed.
- Jon Garth Murray, 40 — Murdered on September 29, 1995, in San Antonio, Texas. He was O'Hair's son and the president of American Atheists at the time of his death.
- Robin Murray O'Hair, 30 — Murdered on September 29, 1995, in San Antonio, Texas. She was Madalyn O'Hair's biological granddaughter and adopted daughter.
- Danny Raymond Fry, 42 — Murdered on October 1, 1995, near Seagoville, Texas. Fry participated in the kidnapping but was later killed because he could implicate Waters and Karr.
The Investigation
The disappearance remained unresolved for several years. The investigation was complicated by the O'Hair family's controversial public reputation, their control over organizational finances and the apparent withdrawal of a large amount of money. Some investigators initially considered the possibility that the family had voluntarily disappeared.
Journalists continued examining the case and focused increasing attention on Waters. His embezzlement, knowledge of the organization's finances and anger toward O'Hair gave him both motive and opportunity. Investigators also learned that Waters had spoken about taking revenge after O'Hair publicized his criminal record.
Federal authorities eventually assembled evidence linking Waters, Karr and Fry to the family's captivity in San Antonio. Financial transactions, motel records, witness statements and the movements of the conspirators helped reconstruct the kidnapping. Karr was located and questioned, and evidence obtained during the investigation strengthened the case against Waters.
Arrest and Prosecution
Waters was arrested in March 1999 after investigators found ammunition in his residence. As a convicted felon, he was prohibited from possessing it. The firearms-related charge allowed authorities to hold him while the larger kidnapping and extortion investigation continued.
Gary Paul Karr was prosecuted for offenses connected to the O'Hair plot and received a lengthy prison sentence. Waters faced federal charges involving conspiracy, kidnapping, robbery and extortion. Rather than risk a trial that could have resulted in a life sentence, he entered into a plea agreement with federal prosecutors.
Under the agreement, Waters admitted his role in the conspiracy and agreed to reveal the location of the victims' remains. In January 2001, he led investigators to a remote ranch in Real County, southwest of San Antonio. Excavation of the burial site uncovered the dismembered remains of Madalyn Murray O'Hair, Jon Garth Murray and Robin Murray O'Hair. The missing head and hands of Danny Fry were also discovered there.
Identification of the Remains
The condition of the remains made identification difficult. Investigators used dental records and DNA testing to confirm the identities of the victims. Madalyn O'Hair was also identified through the serial number of an artificial hip, which was matched to her medical records.
The recovery of the remains finally disproved the theory that the family had disappeared voluntarily. It also confirmed that the kidnapping had been planned as an extortion scheme and that the victims had been murdered after their money was taken.
Sentence and Death
On March 30, 2001, Waters was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison under the terms of his plea agreement. He was also ordered to pay more than $543,000 in restitution to the victims' estates and organizations affected by the crime. The sentence was limited by the negotiated agreement that secured his cooperation and the recovery of the remains.
Waters did not complete his sentence. He developed lung cancer and was transferred to the Federal Medical Center in Butner, North Carolina. He died there on January 27, 2003, at the age of 55.
Legacy of the Crimes
David Roland Waters' crimes combined personal revenge, financial exploitation, kidnapping and the systematic elimination of witnesses. He used knowledge obtained through a position of trust to target the O'Hair family, hold them captive and seize their assets. He then participated in concealing their murders and in killing one of his own accomplices.
The case remained mysterious for years because Waters and his associates created the appearance that the victims had left voluntarily. The eventual recovery of the bodies resulted from persistent investigative work, financial analysis, witness cooperation and Waters' plea agreement. Although he was not convicted in separate murder trials for each of the 1995 deaths, the evidence and his admissions established him as the organizer of one of the most elaborate kidnapping and extortion murders in modern Texas history.
