MICHAEL

A TRIBUTE FROM HIS MOTHER

by Sandra Connizzo

©1999 Sandra Connizzo

               Michael   Schroeder

June 12, 1963 - February 28, 1993

On February 28, 1993 the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, And Firearms raided a religious community in Waco, Texas called Mt. Carmel Center.  Mike Schroeder and two others who were members of the Branch Davidians were not in the building at the time.  As soon as they heard the news they set out to return to their home to join their family and friends inside the Church complex.   On the way to the Church the three men separated.  Two of them were later taken into police custody.  Mike Schroeder was said to be missing. 

During the early Negotiations between the BATF and the Branch Davidians, the authorities repeatedly lied about the whereabouts of Mike Schroeder. The Davidians later learned through the media that one man had been shot trying to return to the Church.  

When Mike's Mother and Step-Father heard the news about the raid they left their home in Florida  to go to Waco in an effort to find their son.  Upon arrival in Waco Mike's Mother repeatedly called the BATF, the FBI, and the Texas Rangers concerned about her son and grandchild, but her phone calls were not returned.  They tried to make their way to Mt. Carmel only to be stopped along the away by the Federal authorities.  With a machine gun pointed in their car they were asked why they were there and were turned away.   Later that evening they were notified by Federal authorities that their son, Michael Schroeder, had been killed by Federal authorities ten days before.

Since 1993 Sandra Connizzo has had many questions concerning the death of her son.  Upon returning home from Waco she began her quest to obtain information on her son's death.  For the next eighteen months she tried in vain to get access to the records from the Texas Rangers.  At the same time she requested information from The United States Federal Government.  A year and a half later she recieved an edited autopsy report. But still she kept persuing information.  In 1999 she contacted Dr. Peerwani who was the Medical Examiner who had conducted the autopsy, The Justice of the Peace of McLennan County, and the Texas Rangers.  The Texas Rangers stated that shortly after the raid on Mt. Carmel they were officially sworn in as duly authorized Federal Agents for the case.  In essence, they were working for, and under the jurisdiction of the United States Federal Government - which was a conflict of interest and would halt any chance of an independent investigation by the State of Texas. It was suggested that she go to the Federal Authorities for the files on her son's death.   Again Sandra Connizzo requested all of Mike's files from the Justice Department through the Freedom Of Information Act (F.O.I.A.).  The response she received was a stonewall - that is - she was directed to go back to the Texas Rangers.  After going in circles one more time her request was finally granted.  To her horror, the files that she received  from the Federal Government were not complete. They were a redacted version which left more questions than answers concerning Mike's death.

To date the Federal and Texas State authorities have released extensive and detailed information on the death of all the Branch Davidians except Michael Schroeder.   We want to know why.

I  and others are committed to helping  Sandra Connizzo and Kathryn Schroeder to obtain the complete record of Mike's death.

Lastly, I am grateful to Sandra and Kathryn for sharing personal information with me concerning Mike and allowing me to be a part of sharing information to the world concerning his life and death.

Justice will be done. 

...Mark Swett  May 29, 1999

Michael Dean Schroeder was born June 12, 1963 at Edward Hospital in Naperville, Illinois at 11:17 p.m. He was the third son of Kenneth R. Schroeder and Sandra J. Schroeder. What a wonderful child he was. To keep from disturbing his sleep during the day we left the radio near his bed. Of course, at night when we wanted to sleep and turned the radio off, he had a problem. We learned to sleep with the radio on.

As he grew and we tried to teach him things, he was so much fun. We would ask him to go across the room and pick up the red pillow and bring it to us. All the time he was doing exactly as told, he let us know he did not want to do it. Guess it was just the terrible two's with a twist.

Then came little league! This kid had more optimism than anyone I had ever known! One time his team was losing a game by 25 to 0 and his comment was "If we only had lights, we would have a chance!"

When he played over center in little league football, even though he was the smallest person on the field, he spent more time in the other teams backfield than they did. The other team would put two kids on him to prevent such behavior. What determination!

 
Michael grew, albeit slowly, into a wonderful teenager.At age 13, he moved to Florida with his mother. He was always willing to go anywhere and try new restaurants, beaches, or even simply take a ride to see where a road went. Within months his brothers joined them in Florida.

While in high school in Zephyrhills, Florida, he met Kathryn. They were both in the high school band. She played the flute and he the drums. They even marched together in one of Tampa's Gasparilla Day Parades.
At age 16, Mike went to spend the summer in Illinois with his dad. He stayed with his dad and graduated from high school in Illinois. In high school, Michael developed his talent as an artist, winning awards with his pallet knife paintings, and continued his musical training.

An ambitious young man, Mike worked at a craft store where he could put his artistic ability to good use and also held a job at a gas station. He went to the College of DuPage where he studied music.

Mike moved to Florida once again. This time to Miami where he worked with his brother for a landscape maintenance company. After about a year, Mike's brother moved back to Tampa and Mike was put in charge of the company's mall maintenance interests in Miami.

While alone in Miami, Michael developed an intense yearning for understanding of the Bible. He went to a Baptist church and was baptized there as an adult. (His first baptism was as an infant in the Lutheran Church) He discovered that at the bible studies the people spent a short time reading and discussing the bible then went on to other irrelevant discussions. So he moved on to what he believed to be a more bible based group only to find similar results of the Bible studies although he reported they spent more time in the word. Finally, Kathryn suggested he visit the Seventh Day Adventist Chruch. He was content in their zeal for the word and spent many hours studying. Even during his lunch hour and at his breaks at work, he would get out his Bible.

It was during this time in his life he and Kathryn rekindled their friendship. It wasn't long after that Mike had written a song to propose to Kathryn and made her a ring. He had Kathryn pick him up at the Tampa Airport making sure to park on the top of the parking garage. When he was about to put the luggage in the trunk he pulled out his guitar and sang his proposal to her right there under the stars. The next July 13 they were married. Kathryn refers to Michael as her soulmate.

Kathryn and her three children moved to Miami. They all attended the Seventh Day Adventist Church and studied their bibles. It was there, at the Seventh Day Adventist Church they met Steven Schneider. Steve's message interested them so much they made plans to go to Texas over the next Festival Days to hear this Vernon Howell and his message personally. When they got to Texas they learned Vernon was in California and they traveled on to hear him. They came back believing this Vernon was on to something. 

Michael and Kathryn went to Texas one more time before making up their minds to sell everything and move to Mt. Carmel.

When they finally moved to Texas, they left in a broken down van. Mike, Kathy (now pregnant with Bryan), Scott, Jake, Chrissy, Kathy's mom, Joan, and sister, Sam, all traveled to Texas, three vehicles in this caravan of transition in their lives. I was so fearful they would not make it to Texas and even more fearful they would not come back.


Shortly after arriving in Texas, "David" had his “new light” revelation, and Michael was sent to California with many of the others to work. Mike worked for a school district doing landscape maintenance. He studied the bible and played his drums. He did not return to Texas until Bryan was six months old.

While they were at Mt. Carmel, I called them. Most of the time the message was given and they returned the call. They told me of the conditions under which they were living. I did not go there for fear the conditions were worse than I imagined. However, please remember that every time I spoke with them, they exuded happiness. They felt they were part of a wonderful LARGE family there. Everyone loved everyone else and they all worked together for a common goal.

There are not many photos available from those three years of Michael's life. If you will notice his wonderful, beautiful smile shows through in each and every picture. Mike was very content and happy with his family.

I know Michael was a very proud dad and loved all the kids. I did have the opportunity to watch him with his three stepchildren and his gentle nature won them over right from the start. He played with the kids, taught them the bible and how to draw.

Little did I know that my prayers for Michael to find a Church and the right people, while he was alone in Miami, would prove deadly!

Many have asked how I feel about David Koresh and if I blame Michael's death on him. In my personal opinion, David Koresh 's powerful influence did in fact keep Mike and Kathy there at Waco. For that I can blame him. However, Michael was raised to think for himself and consider others. So I must say I am disappointed in his decision to stay at Waco. Mostly though, I blame the ATF. Particularly the two men in charge who did not follow their superiors orders to abort the raid if the surprise element was lost. Where else but in the U.S.A. could an officer totally ignore orders, cause so many deaths and try to blame subordinates, then get what amounted to a six month paid vacation and no loss of benefits and no mark on his record?  The men who were responsible needed more than to be fired, they should have been prosecuted!  But what happened?  They were reinstated with full back pay, benefits, and all references to the Waco incident was purged from their records. What an insult!  The  Justice Department of the United States is anything but "just" concerning the events in Waco, Texas.

There is much that I need to know about Michael's death. Why has the United States government lied to me and to the American people by covering  up the circumstances of his death?  Even now, six years later, it is still withholding truthful answers to my questions. I have gone through all the necessary legal channels such as The Freedom Of Information Act  to obtain the information, but the United States Federal Government will not release it to me. Why?  What are they hiding?  What are they afraid of?  

As Michael's mother, I have the right to obtain and to have access to conformed copies of his entire autopsy file to learn how and why my son died.

On February 28, 1993 Federal Agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco And Firearms shot and killed my son as he tried desperately to return to his home and Church to be with his wife, children and friends.  As a mother and citizen of The United States of America, I demand the right to know why.

Sandra Connizzo

Son - Brother -Husband - Father - Christian - Friend - American

WHY?

A Poem From A Mother's Heart

For  Michael

The Cord

We are connected, my child and I,
By an invisible cord  not seen by the eye
It's not like the cord  Thats connects us 'til birth
This cord can't be seen By anyone on earth

This cord does it's work  Right from the start
It bonds us together  Attached at the heart
I know thats it's there Though no one can see
The invisible cord From my child to me

The strength of this cord It's hard to describe
It can't be destroyed.   It can't be denied.
It's stronger than any cord Man could create
It withstands the test Can hold any weight

And though you are gone, Though you're not here with me
The cord is still there. But no one can see
It pulls at my heart I am bruised....I am sore
But this cord is my lifeline As never before

I am thankful that God Connects us this way
A mother and a child  Death can't take it away!

(Author unknown)