Atheist Murders Revisited

The Grande Dame of Atheism -- Picture courtesy Wikipedia

by blogSpotter
Madalyn Murray O'Hair is well-known as the woman who took prayer out of American public schools in 1963. As a champion of Church-State separation myself, I feel that she was undeserving of the title "America's Most Hated Woman". O'Hair was the director of the American Atheist Society headquartered in Austin, Texas for many years. Her son Garth, and twenty-something granddaughter Robin also helped in the administration of the group. O'Hair was not known for diplomatic phrasing or delicate words. She could be pretty scathing in her broadsides to perceived enemies, or even to cohorts that she felt were incompetent. Her undoing came in the mid 90's when she hired a violent ex-convict 53 year old, David Waters, to be her office manager. No telling what the background check involved but it was clearly inadequate. Waters was caught embezzling money from American Atheists and was fired. Madalyn wrote a scathing retort about Waters in the Atheist newsletter afterward. Waters saw the newsletter and he was reportedly enraged by it.

The rest of the story is rather gruesome and I'll sum it up quickly. In 1995, Waters and two cohorts kidnapped the O'Hairs from their home in Northwest Austin, and took them to a hotel in San Antonio. They forced Garth to cash large sums of money from personal accounts, and then they summarily killed all three O'Hairs. The details of this ugly deed are not known, and probably better left that way. It’s not known if they had to endure torture, because their bodies were so dismembered and decomposed when they were later discovered. Waters was eventually apprehended and sentenced for his deed -- he died shortly into his prison term from lung cancer. My main point in writing this article is to discuss how surrounding people dealt with the horrific event.

William Murray O'Hair was O'Hair's eldest son. William was actually a protestant minister and very much estranged from his Mother and family. Even so, I find it very odd that he didn't report his Mother missing for one year. The O'Hairs had left behind food cooking in the kitchen, beloved pet dogs and diabetes medicine in their house -- there was ample evidence from the get go that foul play had occurred. The Austin police refused to research it as a crime for a year or so, until several newspapers including the Dallas Observer had done so much leg work, it was painfully obvious a murder had occurred. Likewise, the FBI was very distant from the case until overwhelming data was produced by other parties.

Worst of all, some fellow Atheists mused about whether the O'Hairs had simply run away, possibly with funds from the organization. The reaction by family, cronies and law enforcement is absolutely astounding to me. When Waters was finally apprehended, it was for charges way less than 1st degree murder -- he was given 20 years for reduced charges. The lethargic and even hostile reactions, especially by law enforcement, make me wonder. I passionately embrace the idea of a Higher Power, but the God of my understanding would never condone what Waters and his cohorts did. Neither would the God of my understanding condone the hostile indifference that so many reputedly Christian people showed toward this crime. They seem to believe that it’s “just desserts”. It is possible for a believer to start out as an atheist (has anyone heard of Amazing Grace?) and come around to believing. To God, an atheist might be like unsculpted clay -- that which can be shaped into a beautiful sculpture of enlightenment in very short order. Even if someone is a diehard atheist to his last deathbed ramblings, it is up to God and not to us to decide on the worthiness or fate of that person's soul.

There are a few people who were rightly concerned about what happened. Even William Murray O'Hair finally came around and realized that nobody should countenance what was done to his family members. To people who felt menaced by Madalyn's presence in the world, or weirdly vindicated by her horrible murder -- shame, shame, shame. My own theistic perspective says we are always being watched by a Higher Power. His heart is gladdened by people who do the right thing, and saddened when people do otherwise. Condoning a sadistic murder probably falls into that second 'otherwise' category.

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