A Cult in the Heart of Texas
In the late 1980s, the quiet city of Waco, Texas, became the unlikely backdrop for one of the most bizarre and sinister stories in the state’s history. A group known as the Devil Lovers, composed of middle-aged men and women from prominent families in Central Texas, emerged as a secretive cult engaging in satanic rituals and operating one of the largest illicit methamphetamine labs in the state. The cult’s activities were shrouded in mystery and fear as they conducted their ceremonies in an industrial warehouse, hidden from the prying eyes of the public.
The Charismatic Leader: David Russell Zell
At the center of this dark organization was David Russell Zell, a figure who seemed to have stepped straight out of a horror novel. Described by former federal prosecutor Bill Johnston to me on the True Crime Reporter® podcast as “a little spooky,” Zell arrived in Waco from Ohio with a few petty crimes under his belt and a desire to find gullible followers.
“David Zell was just a guy, sort of a nerdy fellow, who committed a few petty crimes here and there and found his way to Texas,” Johnston explained. Zell frequented local bars and restaurants, charming his way into the lives of local business owners, real estate agents, students, and others with his talk of the dark side and its supposed power source.
Zell’s pitch was intoxicating to those who heard it. “He would attend certain bars and restaurants and ultimately got a little following. The following got bigger, including a number of people who would meet him for dinner, meet him for drinks, that were local business owners, real estate agents, students, and others. They listened to his talk, you know, over drinks, about how the dark side was really where it’s at,” Johnston recounted. Zell’s appeal lay in the novelty and shock value of his message, which included Satan worship and a dash of witchcraft to keep things interesting.
Rituals and Secrecy
Every Wednesday night at 11 PM, the Devil Lovers gathered in their warehouse. They would don floor-length satin robes emblazoned with names like Black Warlock and White Witch and engage in rituals that involved pricking their fingers and letting drops of blood fall onto an open Bible. These ceremonies, led by Zell in his robe adorned with a five-star mystical pentagram and the title “Master,” were designed to bind the members together in a pact of loyalty and secrecy. Zell’s influence over his followers was profound, as he convinced them to dedicate themselves to him and the dark side.
The Meth Empire
Zell’s ambitions extended beyond the occult. Seeking a way to make easy money, he turned to drug production. Initially dabbling in marijuana, Zell soon realized that methamphetamine was far more lucrative. “They first started dealing with marijuana. It was not that profitable for him. So in those days and these days too, what cost $100 a gram—in other words, a little Sweet’N Low package worth of meth is worth $100, and pounds are worth tens of thousands or tens of thousands,” Johnston explained. To operate a large-scale meth lab, Zell needed an expert, which he found in Roy Wells Junior, known as the Professor. Wells, despite his eighth-grade education, was a master meth cook with a formula capable of producing large quantities of the drug.
The DEA Takes Notice
The Devil Lovers’ activities eventually attracted the attention of law enforcement. The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) had an excellent narcotic service at the time, renowned for its investigative prowess. Johnston, who prosecuted many cases in Waco, described how the DPS got involved. “What happened in this case was there was an informant of a DPS narcotics agent that was buying some meth from someone. Once she would turn it over to the agent as she was supposed to do so it could be tested and logged in, it was still a little wet and had a very strong smell. And what that meant at the time was it was close to the lab. That meant it’s fresh when it’s still because methamphetamine, the old style of methamphetamine, as we talked about in the prior episode, was a phenylacetic acid-based meth. And not to get too scientific, but that’s a very pungent—that’s used in perfumes. So phenylacetic acid really smells,” Johnston elaborated.
This clue set off a chain of events that led to the surveillance and eventual raid of the Devil Lovers’ warehouse. Agents observed the group meeting late at night and followed them north on Interstate 35 to the large industrial warehouse. With probable cause established based on the distinctive smell of meth production, law enforcement prepared for a raid.
The Raid
On the day of the raid, law enforcement discovered an arsenal of weapons. “What they saw as they went under the door and looked at first of all were weapons everywhere. There were 61 firearms, every kind of firearm you can imagine. Eight machine guns, just everything, sawed-off shotguns, every firearm they had. We proved this at trial. Every firearm they had was loaded. Every firearm they had had a chambered round, and every firearm they had was off safety—every one of them,” Johnston described the scene.
The raid revealed the extent of the operation. In addition to the weapons, agents found four five-gallon drums of acetone, a crucial ingredient for meth production, and 61 pounds of meth in solution. The presence of such large quantities of chemicals and drugs made the situation extremely dangerous. “A gunshot could have sparked an explosion—the whole city block would have gone up,” Johnston noted, referring to a DEA agent’s close encounter with a young woman reaching for a gun during the raid.
The Aftermath and Zell’s Capture
Despite the raid’s initial success, David Zell was not found at the warehouse. He had vanished, leaving law enforcement scrambling to track him down. Within days, they received a tip that Zell had been arrested and released in Arizona under a fake name.
This lead eventually pointed them to Las Vegas, where Zell was hiding. Texas Ranger John Aycock, a seasoned fugitive hunter, was instrumental in Zell’s capture. Aycock teamed up with the FBI to search the casinos of Las Vegas. They found Zell at a poker table in Circus Circus, cheating with the help of his son.
Aycock’s approach was straightforward. He whispered in Zell’s ear, “I’m John Aycock with the Texas Rangers, and you’re under arrest.” The scene quickly turned chaotic as the FBI apprehended Zell’s son, who tried to escape.
Zell was taken into custody and eventually confessed to his crimes. “I asked the Ranger, I said, “This guy is a head devil of a group. He’s the master. He controls all these human beings. He literally has them under a spell. Why is he talking to you?’ He said, ‘Hell, he was impressed. He said we got out there the day we got to Las Vegas, and the Rangers caught him. He was impressed. So he confessed,’ Johnston recalled.
Trial and Conviction
The trial of David Zell and his associates was a spectacle. The courtroom was filled with a mountain of firearms and overwhelming evidence of drug production and distribution. Johnston described the scene: “By the time the last few firearms were placed on the stack, they would bounce off, rattle down to the end of the stack—it was a mountain of firearms. The evidence of the drug part was overwhelming. We had chemists and people come in. And we had, I think, one of the cult members turned and testified against the rest. So it was an overwhelming case. And the jury quickly convicted them all”.
The jury was understandably terrified by the dark and bizarre nature of the case. They requested assistance from U.S. Marshals to safely get to their cars and leave the courthouse, fearing retaliation from the cult. But their courage prevailed, and justice was served. David Zell was convicted and imprisoned, his meth empire dismantled, and his cult disbanded.
Reflections on a Dark Chapter
Reflecting on the case, Johnston highlighted the cunning and manipulation that defined David Zell’s leadership. “The psychology of David Zell was he was just a phony. He could have been selling vacuums door to door as well as selling Satan. He was just full of bull. Really, what he wanted was an easy life and a lot of money,” Johnston said. Zell’s ability to exploit and control his followers was a testament to his skill as a conman, but ultimately, it was his greed and hubris that led to his downfall.
In a gripping second trial under the federal armed career criminal law, former federal prosecutor Bill Johnston brought to justice Roy Lee Wells, the infamous meth cook known as the Professor. Wells, with a notorious rap sheet of violent crimes and drug trafficking, sought to overturn his forty-year prison sentence by claiming incompetent legal counsel. His defense argued that the inclusion of damning cult testimony—detailing his use of women as sexual gifts and his eerie knowledge of voodoo—was mishandled. However, the appeals court firmly rejected Wells’ plea.
As of June 2024, Roy Lee Wells has reached the age of 70 and is residing in the Bureau of Prison’s federal medical center in Springfield, Missouri. His release is scheduled for 2040, when he will be 86.