[citation needed], On Friday, March 2, 2007, the State of Texas[who?] A bullet hole is seen from inside of the feed room at the Moselle Road property on March 1, 2023. He is to be admired. Bart had also said he always felt he couldnt live up to his parents expectations (a halfway decent explanation for lying about college, but way short of mitigating murder). got to do with justice (justice includes fair and equal treatment for all under law)? If I were Governor I know I would be seeking reasons to offer clemency but I do not think I could find them in this case As an opposer of execution I would have to come to terms with that. The exact date and time of the jury trip has not been scheduled because it is dependent on how many witnesses the prosecution calls in its reply case. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Decisions, as in US, were private, but limited information about decisions will be made public. In his haste to exit the scene, Brashear gathered up Barts cellphone instead of the gun. I respectfully submit that in terms of what is public knowledge, at least, Mr Whitakers crime should merit execution to respect fairness that those who plead for clemency have nothing substantive to claim. WebThe Whitaker Family Murders True Crime Creepers. Rebecca I love your updates, thank you so much for keeping these updates and these cases alive. How horribly absurd and why the death penalty must go, PS Relative homicide rate, UK v US: 1 to 4.7 per 100,000 (with southern states generally higher). This post is sponsored by Open Road Media. He shouldve got life for murder and causing severe, permanent harm to his unborn child but served just 18 years. WebAlex Murdaughs son Buster describes family relationship at fathers double-murder trial February 21, 2023 12:51 PM Day 21: Murdaughs defense revives two-shooter theory as At it again. The recommendation of the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles, and my action on it, ensures Mr. Whitaker will never be released from prison. Cliff was very fond of his new neighbors. (I live nr-ish Rutland ). I too am writing from UK (maybe you gathered). Good for you for writing to a condemned prisoner. That factor alone may not warrant commutation for someone like Mr. Whitaker who recruited others to commit murder. [44] Ira Wells, in particular, points to Whitaker's participation in the program to exemplify the questions, declaring Whitaker's prison writing powerful in its ability to "shock readers into a sensory appreciation of the radical strangeness of [his] life lived". All to cover up another web of lies.Love Killer Instincts but hate the ads? [44], In 2007, Whitaker founded an inmate blog, originally created with the assistance of his father, now maintained by volunteers, entitled Minutes Before Six; it has published his work and trial records, and articles, poetry, and art from inmates held in prisons in the United States. Write all you want, Bart, but youre a true sociopath just playing all the angles, and youre never, ever getting out. Definitely, the guy needs to stay where he is. I don't have the benefit of the materials you have," Crosby said. Mr Whitaker premeditatedly arranged the murder of three family members, including his own injury to throw suspicion from him. [citation needed] Whitaker had enlisted an individual named Chris Brashear to carry out the shootings, and a Steven Champagne to be the getaway driver for Brashear. [16] Evidence was presented that Whitaker had recruited two individuals, Steve Champagne and Chris Brashear, ages24 and 25 at the time of the 2007 trial, respectively,[16][11] Champagne to be the getaway car driver and Brashear to carry out the shootings in Whitaker's plan to murder his immediate family. [citation needed] They drove to the nearby Pappadeaux restaurant in Stafford for a celebratory dinner. Directly next door to the Whitakers home on the east side, their relatively new neighbor, Clifton Cliff Stanley, sat in his recliner in his familys living room. Tricia and Kevin died from their gunshot wounds, but Kent survived. WebThe tour of the crime scene happened before jurors were to head back to court in Walterboro to hear closing arguments in the closely watched murder trial. [8]:Ch.10[pageneeded], The early testimony from Hipp[when?] This seems to me the only potential mitigation against execution. He also paid someone to drive the getaway car for the assailant, while Bart would stay on the scene and pretend as though he had fought the intruder off himself. Prosecutors also called back to the stand the pathologist who did the autopsies on the victims and their expert who studied the crime scene. Cliff immediately headed in the direction of Kent Whitaker, his own safety not crossing his mind. Also wounded, Bart made a Sugar Land Apparently he skipped a lot of classes, then stopped going entirely, and blew his tuition funds on some form or recreation; its not clear what kind. Staggering snowfall in California mountains leaves residents trapped for days, SpaceX launches new crew on flight to space station, Prosecution wraps case at Alex Murdaugh murder trial, Explosive found in checked luggage at Pennsylvania airport, feds say, FDA authorizes first at-home test for both COVID and flu, Couple accuses fertility clinic of implanting embryo with cancer genes, Several hospitalized after Lufthansa flight diverted to Dulles due to turbulence, Colon cancer rates rising in younger age group, study finds, Firefighter dies battling blaze in downtown Buffalo, mayor says, Arguments conclude in Alex Murdaugh's murder trial, Evidence shown in Alex Murdaugh's trial for murder shows the Colleton County property where the Murdaughs lived, at the Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro, S.C. on Thursday, Feb. 2, 2023. Phones bugged. Brashear shot Kent, Patricia, and Kevin as they entered the house and then gave Bart his courtesy wound in the arm. [16] Randy McDonald, attorney for the defense, rested their case on the same day, without calling witnesses, and the judge[who?] He said testimony from psychiatrists and the familys investigators who [had stated that] Bart was manipulative was disregarded. As if, for me, the death penalty isnt capricious enough, cases like this make an utter tragic farce of it. Texas Governor Gregg Abbott ruled that Thomas "Bart" Whitaker should instead spend the rest of life in jail for masterminding the murders of his mother Tricia, 51, and brother Kevin, 19, at the the family's suburban home in Houston, Texas, in 2003. He described her as just a very, very sweet person.. In a jailhouse interview with Lisa Ling in 2014, Bart said he committed the murders because he felt inadequate and thought his parents didnt love him. He told the police that he would forgive the man who shot his Yes! Millions of Americans nearing retirement age with no savings, Top McCarthy aide, House Oversight chair each met with Ashli Babbitt's mother, South Carolina double murder trial of Alex Murdaugh, 100 other charges including financial crimes. I am writing as a member of the public with no connection to the above, his relatives, or his crime. Both victims appeared to be surprised with their hands down. It was conducted before a judge[who?] He argues that he is to be re-made a victim if his son is executed. [8]:Ch.50[pageneeded] Whitaker began attending Baylor University in 2001, transferring from there to Sam Houston State University (SHSU), where he was thought by his parents to be in attendance in late 2003, and from which he was expected to graduate. They were also excited to have their eldest son, Brandon, home from college for the holidays. I sent this regarding his clemency plea: Gov. That is, if it is a scandal that anyone is judicially executed, it is so if some are and some are not merely given the contingency of special pleading. Tanya also accompanied Kent for court proceedings related to Barts fate. Kent rushed in and was shot in the shoulder with the bullet shattering his humerus. Then, things took a horrifying turn for Kent. Want to keep reading? The overwhelming forgiveness offered by one victim is not of the order of distinctness necessary. Bart is still one very lucky man. I heard yelling and shooting, Brandon stated. [39] These are reported to have been earned while he was on death row. [citation needed] At trial, it was noted that Whitaker had access to an $80,000trust fund from his grandparents, although he testified that he did not know he could access it. Im curious to find how the community in and around the familys home in Sugar Land, Texas, reacted when the justice system bared the id of the respectable-seeming young man in their midst. Bart never paid his accomplices for their hit man services. I am South African. Kent had expressed how excited he and Trish were to attend Barts graduation that next Saturday, and how proud they were of their son. Now, Thomas Bartlett Whitaker, 38, convicted in this case, is facing death by lethal injection on Thursday, Feb. 22. It was natural instinct. Unfortunately, he was afraid to move her body in case her blood had already started to clot up; he didnt want to break up the clots and cause her to bleed even more. WebGetty. But what the Whitakers didnt know was that Bart wasnt going to graduate at all. So he hired a hitman to kill his parents and brother, and to non-fatally injure him. Today, Bart resides in the William G. McConnell Unit, or McConnell for short, in Beeville, Texas. Marcus I totally agree. WebTexas Governor Gregg Abbott ruled that Thomas "Bart" Whitaker should instead spend the rest of life in jail for masterminding the murders of his mother Tricia, 51, and brother Kevin, Texasll probably be the last to lose it if it does! Brandon walked down the steps and insisted, Then its outside. The couple had two sons, Brandon and Dane, who had gone off to college. [16] Hipp, who admitted on cross-examination that his participation in Whitaker's schemes had been "motivated by money" police testified that Whitaker stood to inherit the family estate, valued at $1million further testified that in December2000, prior to the murders of which he stood accused, Whitaker had made another preempted plan, this time to "ambush his parents and brother as they entered their home after a dinner outing", a plan noted by the Houston Chronicle to be "virtually identical to the one [Champagne would soon testify] was actually carried out three years later. Thomas Bartlett Whitaker was born on Dec. 31, 1979, to Kent Whitaker, a comptroller for a family-owned construction business, and Patricia, known as Tricia, who gave up a career as an elementary school teacher to stay at home with Bart and his younger brother, Kevin. The bag contained a chisel with paint matching that on Kevins gun safe. She had previously taught at nearby Lakeview Elementary School and was acting as a volunteer there on occasion. I dont oppose it absolutely (ie, I cant claim it to be unquestionably wrong in cases where there is no question of guilt); but because (i) its unequally applied even between cases of certainty in the same state; (ii) it costs a fortune to execute someone due to necessary legal safeguards money that could be better spent; (iii) it typically takes at least 15 yrs to do it often much longer making it something of a farce; (iv) it harshly punishes the innocent loved ones of the perp, victimising them just as the perps victims loved ones were, it makes little sense. Related: Linda Wolfe: The Author Behind the Definitive Book on The Preppy Killer. Its telling that Bart offered no real excuse for arranging the murder of his family. You can watch the entire 48 Hours episode about the case online on a CBS news site. He had dropped out of Sam Houston State University as a freshman, and had been lying to his family about being a student there for three years. He and his wife, Darlene, had moved into the home just six months earlier. I dont want you getting shot.. During her teaching days, Tricia was known for her kind and fun-loving approach to her job, according to friends who appeared on 20/20. WebThe Murders: On December 10th, 2003, the Whitakers were out celebrating their son Barts graduation at Sam Houston State. Prosecutors brought Crosby back to the stand to talk more aboutMurdaugh stealing millions of dollarsfrom his clients and the firm the Murdaugh family founded more than a century ago. Abbott accepted the state parole boards rare clemency recommendation. Then, Brashear entered a getaway car driven by Champagne, and they dumped the bag with the murder items in the water. And finally, I checked into where Barts young accomplices are today. After the shootings, Bart did a good job of pretending that he was happy that EMTs saved his dads life, but at some point, he told Champagne he wanted to finish off the job and really kill his dad the next time, according to 20/20. Prosecutors have pounded Murdaugh for various inconsistencies and lies, including not saying he was at the kennels the night of the killing when he could be heard heard on video recorded by his son. I think his father was partly responsible for the death of his wife and son by buying Barts story the first time and not protecting them from him. Im no race or class warrior just concerned. Greg Abbott has chosen to commute the execution of the Sugar Land man convicted in the 2003 murders of his mother and brother. But he arrived to find a real firearm, not a paintball gun, on the scene and four people with one bullet wound each. Homicide detective Marshall Slot, who appeared on both Forensic Files and the 20/20 episode about the murders, recalled that he thought the operator was joking when she said a shooting of four people had taken place in Sugar Land. The field trip came as prosecutors made their closing arguments in the weekslong trial where Alex Murdaugh stands accused of murdering his wife, Maggie, and son Paul. Brashear was the shooter, he said, and Bart had promised to cut both of his buddies in on a $1 million life insurance payout he would receive after his familys death. Bart Whitaker, it seems, was born rather than made a sociopath. Quite the opposite, his parents were kind and generous by all accounts. He looked at Kent and asked, What happened?, Kent looked at his friend with pleading eyes and reiterated, Im bleeding, Cliff.. Cliff could sense that she was going downhill rapidly. He simply understood that his friend was in trouble and needed his help. From how the plan was hatched to Barts trial, sentence, and the stunning new development in the case, this book provides all the details. Thats all for this post. She was in a kneeling position with her head on the front porch, near the slight step leading into the house. Thomas Bartlett Whitaker (born December 31, 1979) is an American man convicted under the Texas Law of Parties of murdering two family members as a 24-year-old. Thats privileged white Justice. "I did not because I felt comfortable with my determination," Riemer said. Chris Brashear pleaded guilty in 2007 and received life with the possibility of parole after 30 years. Harpootlian then asked Crosby if he thought Murdaugh killed his wife and son. Nor am I moved by a persons progress in prison. The nearby Pappadeaux restaurant in Stafford for a celebratory dinner commutation for someone like Mr. Whitaker who recruited to. Is seen from inside of the feed room at the Moselle Road property on March 1, 2023 William! 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