Sheila J. Martin
American Branch Davidian / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sheila Judith Martin (born 1947[1]) is an American Branch Davidian and a survivor of the Waco siege. She was the wife of Douglas Wayne Martin, a Harvard-educated lawyer, who died in the April 19, 1993, fire that destroyed Mount Carmel Center.[2] Four out of her seven children died in the fire: Wayne Joseph, 20; Anita, 18; Sheila Renee, 15; and Lisa Martin, 13.[3][4] In September 1993, she received custody of James Martin (1982–1998[4][5]) who has cerebral palsy and is blind because of a meningitis infection at 4 months old.[4][6] By 1994, she obtained custody in Texas state court of her two other children – Daniel (born c. 1987) and Kimberly (born c. 1989).[3][4]
Martin grew up in Boston, Massachusetts.[7] Her African-American family attended services at an Episcopal Church, but she became interested in Seventh-day Adventism through boarders who rented rooms from her parents. She moved to New York City and met Douglas Wayne Martin. She married him and had seven children with him in total.[1]
In the miniseries Waco (2018), she was played by Darcel Danielle.[8]