212: The Whitaker Family Slayings

In December of 2003, 23-year-old Bart Whitaker had just finished his finals and was about to graduate from college. That night, he went to dinner to celebrate with his parents, Tricia and Kent, and his younger brother Kevin. As they returned home and walked through their door, they were ambushed by a masked gunman. Initially, authorities suspected that this was a burglary gone wrong. But before the funerals had even taken place, detectives discovered that Bart had lied about graduating. And that was just the beginning. 

Hosted and produced by Erica Kelley 
Researched and written by Andrea Marshbank and Erica Kelley
Original Graphic Art by Coley Horner 
Original Music by Rob Harrison of Gamma Radio
Edited & Mixed by Brandon Schexnayder and Erica Kelley 
Suggested by Jessica, Donna, Michelle, and Kyle

Sources: https://southernfriedtruecrime.com/whitaker-family-massacre

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Episode Transcript

(00:04):
Southern fried True crime covers cases thatare not suitable for young listeners, and
there may also be some explicit languageused. Listener discretion is advised. It
was nearly eight thirty in the eveningon December tenth, two thousand and three,
in Sugarland, Texas. The sunhad been down for hours, The

(00:30):
wind, which reached a wopping twentyfive miles per hour that morning, had
finally calmed down, and the worldseemed almost peaceful, albeit a little chilly
at forty four degrees. It wasWednesday, which was and is church night.
In places like Sugarland, many peoplehave some sort of Bible study they

(00:53):
would just be getting home from,including Fort Benn County Detective Marshall Slot.
Slot had barely walked through his ownfront door after attending church when he was
paged the Sheriff's department needed him ata crime scene. There was a shooting
in an upper class suburban home.A family of four was attacked by an

(01:15):
armed intruder with a gun. Itlooked like a burglary gone wrong. Detective
Marshall Slot was shocked. This typeof major violent crime was rare in Sugarland
even today. Twenty years later,Sugarland's rate of violent crime is more than
seventy five percent lower than the nationalaverage. It's a well worn trope to

(01:40):
say things like this just don't happenhere, but in this case it's true.
As the on call detective Slot rushedinto the suburban home, what he
saw was devastating. The murder weaponhad been stolen from a gun safe in
the house, locked gun safe thathad been hidden in a bedroom cross base.

(02:04):
How had the intruder known where thegun was from the jump. Slot
suspected things were not as they seemedin the deaths of Kevin Whittaker and his
mother, Tricia, and he wasright. Things were in fact, far
worse. Welcome to episode two twelve, The Whittaker Family Slayings. Patricia Ann

(02:35):
Bartlett was born in January of nineteenfifty two to parents Bill and Nettie Bartlett
in Houston, Texas. From childhood, she always went by the nickname Tricia.
Tricia and her younger brother were primarilyraised in Texas, just like their
parents had been before them. Wedon't know much about Tricia's childhood, However,

(02:58):
we do know that her mother,Ned was a religious woman at the
time of ninety one year old Nettie'sdeath in twenty fifteen. She was known
for playing bridge at her local Methodistchurch. Perhaps Nettie's Christian beliefs were passed
down to Tricia, because all herlife Tricia was a regular churchgoer herself.

(03:19):
Eighteen year old Tricia Bartlett graduated fromHouston's Westchester High School in nineteen seventy.
She then enrolled in the University ofHouston to earn her bachelor's degree in education.
The friendly young woman joined the DeltaGamma sorority. Following college, Tricia
taught children at various elementary schools.According to those who worked with Tricia,

(03:44):
she was an excellent educator. Shehad a great rapport with children. Both
parents and staff adored her. Onefellow teacher remarked that Tricia was so good
at her job. She felt likeTricia showed her how to be a better
teach and a better person all herlife. Tricia was energetic with a zest

(04:05):
for the outdoors. She liked towater, ski and snowski, and she
loved horseback riding. As I touchedon before, Tricia was a very religious
woman. Her friends and family describedher as godly, sweet, and a
compassionate Christian woman, Tricia regularly attendedSunday services, Bible studies, and women's

(04:29):
fellowship groups at the River Pointe CommunityChurch. The church is located in Richmond,
Texas, which was only a sixminute drive from Trisha's home in Sugarland.
Sugarland is a suburb twenty miles southwestof Houston, about a thirty minute
drive. It is home to abit over one hundred thousand people. It
was under seventy thousand when today's casetook place, and by most metrics,

(04:56):
Sugarland is a sweet place to livehun intended. In twenty twenty two,
the average median household income was onehundred and thirty two thousand. That's nearly
twice the average household income for theUnited States. The area is also known
for its great schools and gorgeous vistas. Sugarland got its name because it used

(05:17):
to be a major sugar producer.Starting back in eighteen forty three, the
Imperial Sugar Company's headquarters, sugar refinery, and distribution center were there, but
in two thousand and one, theImperial Sugar Company filed for bankruptcy. Two
years later, in two thousand andthree, they closed their operations in Sugarland.

(05:39):
Today, Imperial Sugar has been purchasedby US Sugar. In two thousand
and three, Tricia lived in afour bedroom house with two and a half
baths with a pretty brick facade anda lush front yard with her husband,
Kent, and her two sons,Kevin and Bart. Norman Kent Whittaker was
born in July of nineteen teen fortyeight, to parents Thomas and Velma and

(06:01):
Harris, Texas. From childhood,he went by Kent instead of his first
name, Norman. Kent's father,Thomas and his mother, Velma, were
high school sweethearts. They met inthe nineteen thirties, but, like so
many young American men, Thomas wasdrafted to serve in World War Two.
He enlisted in the US Navy.Fortunately, he returned home from the war

(06:26):
unharmed, and that's when he andVelma, who had been waiting for her
sweetheart, began their family in Houston, Texas. Thomas was a prominent electrical
engineer and later a college professor atthe University of Houston. Velma was a
newspaper editor and artist, successful rolemodels for Kent and his three siblings in

(06:49):
the early nineteen seventies, Kent Whittakerwent on a blind date. That's how
he met Trisha Bartlett. They hadan instant connection, bonding over many things,
especially their faith. Both were regularchurchgoers all their lives, and on
June twenty first, nineteen seventy five, twenty six year old Kent married twenty

(07:10):
three year old Tricia and Harris,Texas. Kent became the comptroller and part
owner of a construction company. Thecompany was very successful, so successful that
later Kent and Trisia's youngest son,Kevin, began working for the family business.
Kevin Michael Whittaker was born on Marchnineteenth, nineteen eighty four, in

(07:33):
Houston, Texas. During Kevin's highschool years, he attended the Fort ben
Baptist Academy. It's a private Christianschool. While there, Kevin played baseball
and ran track, but he wasn'tjust an athletic guy. He was also
very well liked by his peers.He was elected junior class president and was

(07:55):
awarded the Servant's Heart Award. Outsideof school, Kevin loved to hunt and
fish, and he, like therest of his family, was a regular
church goer. People who knew Kevinrecalled that he was a passionate Christian.
After graduating from high school in twothousand and two, Kevin attended Houston Community

(08:16):
College and Texas A and M Universityat different times. For a while,
Kevin's goal was to graduate as amember of the Texas A and M University
Corps of Cadets, a student militaryorganization. Kevin's friends and family explained that
he was a very mature young manwho appreciated justice. His friends would say

(08:41):
that Kevin was a faithful, loyal, and determined young man who never compromised
anything. A career in the USmilitary seems like it would have fit Kevin's
personality perfectly, but for the timebeing, Kevin was happy working in the
family business. In two thousand andthree, the Whittaker family appeared picture perfect.

(09:03):
Everything seemed to be going their way. Fifty one year old Tricia had
retired from teaching, almost fifteen yearsbefore normal retirement age. Fifty five year
old Kent's successful career meant that theydidn't need two incomes. Nineteen year old
Kevin was a sophomore in college andworking for his father and Kevin's older brother,

(09:24):
Twenty three year old Bart was attendingsam Houston State University in Huntsville,
Texas. Their home was beautiful,their family was beautiful. It looked like
their entire lives were beautiful. Noone could have expected the tragedy to come.
I'm going to pause now for ashort commercial break. On the morning

(09:54):
of Wednesday, December tenth, Bartcalled his family to share some exciting news.
He had just finished his final examsat sam Houston State University, which
meant he was about to graduate college. One of Tricia's friends recalled how meaningful
this moment was for Tricia. Shewas proudly looking forward to her son's graduation.

(10:16):
To celebrate, Bart asked if thewhole family could go out for dinner
that night. So the Whittakers droveabout fifteen minutes to a nice seafood restaurant
called Papado. It was in thenearby city of Stafford, Texas. They
had a great time at dinner.They joked around, told stories, and
took pictures. Bart was served aspecial dessert that had congratulations written in chocolate

(10:39):
syrup across the bottom of the plate, and his parents gave him a Rolex
watch, which is an extravagant giftnew rolexes were priced between three and six
thousand dollars back then. It wasa nice family celebration for a young man's
accomplishment. Around eight o'clock that evening, Kent, Trisha, Bart, and

(11:01):
Kevin made their way back home.They walked in the front door of their
Sugarland house at about eight twenty pm. That's when suddenly a mal intruder shot
all four members of the Whittaker familyas they walked in the house. Kevin
had gone through the doorway first.He was shot in the chest. His

(11:22):
mother was on his heels and wasalso shot in the chest. Then came
Kent. A bullet hit him inthe shoulder. The force of it pushed
him flat on his back out ontothe front porch. Bart, who was
the last Whittaker to enter the homebecause he had forgotten his cell phone in
the car, watched his family beslaughtered. He saw his brother Kevin gurgle

(11:46):
on his own blood as he laydying. He saw his mom and dad
cut down when the hot metal rippedthrough their bodies. Trying to help,
Bart rushed the shooter, but hecouldn't identify him. The shooter was wearing
a black ski mask and black clothing, though Bart could tell he was white.

(12:07):
He tried to wrestle the gun awayfrom the man. In the process,
Bart was shot in the arm.Then suddenly the intruder managed to get
away. A getaway driver had beenwaiting. The two criminals fled into the
night, leaving a whole family bleedingout in their own home. Kent later
told reporters that as he felt theblood drain out of him, he thought,

(12:30):
oh my god, he shot allfour of us. A neighbor named
Cliff Stanley heard gunshots of the Whittaker'splace and quickly ran over. He surveyed
the horrific scene and could tell rightaway that nineteen year old Kevin Whittaker was
dead. The other Whittaker family membersweren't in much better shape. Kent,

(12:52):
who was still lying on the frontporch, told Cliff that he was bleeding
badly. When Cliff asked what happened, Trisha moaned, he shot us.
Around this time, someone called nineone one. It's unclear who, though
it was likely Cliff. He toldKent, don't worry, buddy, help
is on the way, but Bartalso could have called nine one one.

(13:16):
Later on, several newspapers would requestthe nine one one call recording through the
Texas Public Information Act. Texas AttorneyGeneral indicated that authorities did not have to
release that information, and it appearsthat they never did. Regardless, someone
probably Cliff called nine one one,and within minutes several patrol cars were on

(13:39):
the scene. Moments later, otheremergency vehicles arrived as well. Fifty one
year old Tricia Whittaker was put ona life flight helicopter, but she was
declared dead shortly after she arrived atthe Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston. After
Tricia Kent was also flown by helicopterto the hospital. Twenty three year old

(14:03):
Bart was taken to a local hospitaland treated, but nineteen year old Kevin
was pronounced dead at the scene.Both Kent and Bart would fully recover from
their injuries, but they were leftwith the devastation that Tricia and Kevin were
gone forever. Tricia and Kevin's funeralservices were held at ten am on Tuesday,

(14:26):
December sixteenth, two thousand and three, at the Sugar Creek Baptist Church.
Mother and son were buried side byside in the Memorial Oak Cemetery in
Houston, Texas. Several other familymembers were buried in the same cemetery,
including Trisha's own parents. Tricia's tombstoneepitaph Reed's wife, mother, sister,

(14:50):
daughter, a teacher loved by all. Kevin's is engraved with son, brother,
friend, a man after Christ's heart. More than one thousand people attended
Tricia and Kevin's joint memorial, duringwhich several people made a point to tell
Bart how much his younger brother Kevinhad looked up to him. Britney Barnhill,

(15:16):
who went to senior prom with Kevin, told Bart you were his hero.
Meanwhile, Fort Benn County was hardat work investigating the case. Initially,
the authorities were pretty sure that thiswas a standard burglary gone wrong by
a stroke of bad luck. TheWhittaker family had walked in on an armed

(15:37):
intruder robbing their home. But theburglary theory soon felt hinky. The facts
were just not adding up. Takethe crime scene. At first glance,
the main bedroom looked like it wasransacked, but upon closer inspection, the
dresser and nightstand drawers had been openedneatly the exact same distance. Usually,

(16:00):
burglars are in a hurry, they'reyanking out the dresser drawers, often leaving
them dumped on the floor. Andthat wasn't the only thing. As it
turned out, no valuable items weretaken from the Whittaker home. The intruder
had not even stacked items near adoor. Sometimes that happens if the burglar
is filtering through things while preparing tobolt, but this burglar hadn't done that.

(16:26):
They hadn't even touched the Whittaker's laptopsor jewelry, two items that are
usually target number one for theft.Then there was the matter of the murder
weapon. The intruder had used anine millimeter glock handgun to shoot the Whittakers,
but he didn't bring the gun withhim. Instead, this intruder had
found a gun safe in a fairlyconcealed area of the Whittaker house. It

(16:51):
was well hidden in a bedroom crossspace that thief had used a tool to
pry it open. So this personknew to bring a tool strong enough to
open a locked gun safe, butthey didn't think to bring their own gun.
And how did they find the gunsafe? Had they been planning to
look for it all along? DetectiveMarshall Slot told forty eight hours this is

(17:15):
looking more and more like this personknew the gun was here and obtained it
for a specific reason. The nextlogical question is which of the Whittaker family
members owned this gun. It wasKevin's. It had been a gift from
his older brother Bart. Naturally,detectives were checking out Bart and Kent's stories
of that night. Bart told theauthorities how he and his family had gone

(17:40):
out to dinner to celebrate his impendingcollege graduation. It only took a couple
of phone calls to find out BartWhittaker had been lying to his family.
He had not finished his final examsfor sam Houston State University on December tenth.
In fact, Bart wasn't even enrolledin SHSU. He was on academic

(18:03):
probation. He had not stepped footinto a college classroom since the previous spring,
and according to his transcripts, hewasn't anywhere near graduating. Based on
Bart's credit hours, he was stilla freshman. Police always looked closely at
the family first in these situations,and Bart's huge lie about graduating made him

(18:26):
a suspect. The Fort Ben Countydetectives knew about Bart's deception before the funeral
services for Tricia and Kevin, andthey had informed Bart's father, Kent,
of their suspicions. Kent was determinedto find Tricia and Kevin's killer. He
cooperated fully with the authorities at alltimes, but he didn't take this allegation

(18:51):
against Bart seriously. According to hisinterviews with CBS, he couldn't fathom that
Bart would have heard his own family, and when Kent confronted his son,
Bart denied everything except about his upcominggraduation. He told his dad that the
stress of school was too much forhim and that he lied because he needed

(19:12):
a break from school. According toFort Ben County Assistant DA Jeff Strange,
Bart claimed he had shared the truthwith his mother before she was killed.
But Bart did deny any involvement inthe vicious attack on his family. He
himself had been shot, he insisted. Still, the investigating officers had a

(19:36):
feeling Bart was somehow to blame,especially after his police interviews. During the
questioning process, he was incredibly vague. He kept saying he had forgotten information.
His answers were littered with I guessesand I don't remembers. At the
exact same time, mourners were shakingBart's hand and giving him tyry eyed hugs

(20:00):
during the funeral of his mother andbrother. Detectives considered Bart the lead suspect.
There was every reason to think thatBart had somehow attempted to kill his
entire family, especially after an oldfriend of Bart's came out of the woodwork
with some shocking allegations. Detective MarshallSlot told forty eight hours, bells and

(20:23):
whistles started going off. Why isthis kid lying to us? What's he
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(23:03):
born on New Year's Eve, nineteenseventy nine in Harris, Texas. His
middle name was his mother's maiden name, and he went by the short nickname
instead of his first name. Inthe nineteen nineties, Bart attended Clement's High
School and he did well there.He was a smart guy. His classmates
remembered his quick sense of humor.A friend of the family said that he

(23:26):
was fun, witty, and respectful. Most people thought that Bart was a
good son. He was a goodson to both of his parents, but
was perhaps closer to his dad.Kent and Bart often bonded over their passion
for biking. They would frequently takelong bycrides together. Kent later stated in
interviews that he and his son talkedabout everything. Of course, parents often

(23:52):
have blind spots because Bart had hisfair share of secrets. In high school,
he had a friend named Adam hipOn at least one occasion, Bart
and Adam had stolen more than onecomputer. We don't have any details on
this crime. They might not haveeven been caught at the time. We
only know the minor details relating courtdocuments. After graduating from high school,

(24:18):
Bart studied at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. That's where he met two
other young men, Will Anthony andJustin Peters. Like Bart, they also
came from well off families and theywere high achievers. Will would go on
to pursue a career in the military, and Justin had been a National Merit
scholar in high school. The threecollege boys were described as clean cut and

(24:42):
all American, but Bart, Willand Justin were anything but clean cut.
According to court testimony, in Decemberof two thousand, Bart told Will and
Justin that he wanted to kill hisown family. He said that he them.
According to assistant DA Jeff Strange,Bart wanted to inherit his family share

(25:06):
of the construction business, but heknew he couldn't murder his entire family on
his own, so he asked Willand Justin to help. The plan was
simple. Will was going to bethe shooter. Bart would give him a
black shirt and a ski mask tohide his identity. Then, per court
documents, Bart would take his familyout to dinner at a restaurant. Meanwhile,

(25:32):
the masked Will would lay in waitand the Whittaker family home. As
Bart's family was entering through the frontdoor following the mill, Will would shoot
them one by one. Then Bartwould inherit his family's estate, which was
worth approximately one point five million that'smore than two point five million today,

(25:53):
and he would pay Justin and Willfor their troubles, though the agreed upon
amount was not clear. Everything wasset in place, but when Will was
attempting to break into the Whittaker homethrough a back window, a loud security
alarm went off. Will fled.Unfortunately, Justin's potential role wasn't published anywhere,

(26:17):
but we can assume that he wassupposed to be the getaway driver.
So this plan didn't work, butit certainly sounds familiar. About a year
later, Bart started discussing a similarmurder plot with his high school buddy Adam
Hip. Bart wanted Adam to bethe shooter this time. He even drew
Adam a diagram of the Whittaker home. This time, Bart knew he needed

(26:44):
to leave a door unlocked, andhe wanted Adam to shoot him in the
arm so he would appear to bea victim too. According to Eightya Jeff
Strange, Bart was going to geta gun for Adam from his old college
roommate Justin Peters. But in thisof two thousand and one, one of
Adam's friends heard about this murder plot. This friend, Jennifer, who knew

(27:07):
Bart too, approached him about thishorrific plan. When she asked Bart if
he was actually going to murder hisfamily, he responded in the weirdest way.
He gave her a hug and whisperedin her ear that everything was going
to be okay. Then Jennifer didwhat all of these people should have done.

(27:30):
She contacted the police. When theauthorities came to Bart's parents about his
plan to kill them with Adam Hip, they waved it off. Bart was
trying to kill them. Are yousure, our son, Bart? I
can practically, hear how ludicrous thatcould sound to a parent. The idea
that your flesh and blood could beplotting your death sounds insane. Bart's parents

(27:56):
had showered him in vacations, cars, gift college tuition, and more.
He had lived a lavish lifestyle comparedto most, not that all these material
things should matter. Tricia and Kentloved Bart. This was not a secretly
abusive household. Kent and Tricia Whittakercared about their sons. Ultimately, the

(28:22):
idea that Bart was going to killhis family was chalked up to a strange
misunderstanding. Soon Bart brainstormed yet anothermurder plot against his family. We know
about it because he told Adam hip. Adam later testified to it in court.
Allegedly, Bart was going to sethis family's lakehouse on fire. He

(28:45):
intended for his parents' brother and morerelatives to die inside the burning building.
Such a horrific way to die,and he was planning on hurting more people.
And like his other schemes where hethought an injury could save him from
guilt, he planned on getting burnedin the fire too. That way,

(29:07):
when he escaped alive, no onewould ask questions but according to Adam's testimony,
Bart never took any actions on thisplan. In two thousand and one,
Bart moved about one hundred and fiftymiles from Waco to Huntsville, Texas.
He was transferring from Baylor to SamHouston State University. In Huntsville,

(29:29):
Bart worked at the Bentwater Yacht andCountry Club. While there, he developed
a friendship with a coworker, twentyone year old Chris Alan Brisher. Bart
and Chris ended up renting a townhousetogether near Willis, Texas, and they
lived in the same complex as twentyone year old Stephen Wayne Champaigne. They

(29:49):
all became close. Bart even gotStephen a bartending job at the Bentwater Club.
By now you know Bart's son andDance. He wanted to murder his
family, and he wanted both Chrisand Stephen to help him do it.
Chris was to be the shooter,Stephen was going to be the getaway driver.

(30:11):
This time, Bart successfully orchestrated anattack on his family. Chris Brusher
was in fact the shooter and StephenChampagne was the getaway driver. Finally,
Bart Whittaker's horrible schemes came to fruitionon December tenth, two thousand and three.
He was there when his entire familywas ambushed. Getting the minor injury

(30:34):
as part of the plan, butkent surviving was not part of the plan.
On the night of the ambush,Chris ran from the Whittaker house and
jumped in the car with Stephen.When Stephen asked him what happened, Chris
said he had shot them all.Then, according to Eightya Jef Strange,

(30:55):
Stephen and Chris went drinking, usingthe money stolen from the Whittaker house to
their tab. Five days after themurders of Tricia and Kevin Whittaker, the
Fort Benn County Sheriff's Department received abig break in their case. Bart's old
pal, Adam Hemp, was nowa Dallas bank teller. After hearing about

(31:18):
the Whittaker family tragedy, he calledthe Fort Bend authorities. Adam wanted to
provide some important insight about Bart Whittaker. At eleven thirty pm on Monday,
December fifteenth, Adam met with DetectiveMarshall's Slot in a parking lot behind the
police department. According to court documents, Adam told the detective everything about Bart's

(31:41):
two thousand and one plot to killthe Whittakers, about the diagram Bart had
drawn him, about the potential lakehouse fire, about Bart's inexplicable hatred of
his family, and of course Bart'sincessant desire to inherit his family's estate eight
of one point five million dollars.Adam spoke to the detective for approximately three

(32:06):
hours, and that's how the investigatingofficers were damn near certain they knew who
their perpetrator was even before Tricia andKevin Whittaker were buried. I'm going to
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t r U E crime. Followingthe authorities conversation with Adam Hip, they
thought he might have been involved inthe plot to kill the Whittaker family too,

(36:12):
but he wasn't. Adam had beenworking at the bank late into the
evening of December tenth. With Adam'sairtight alibi, he was no longer considered
a suspect. After talking with Adam, the police found Bart's old roommate,
Justin Peters. Justin admitted to everythingtoo. The information Justin provided led the

(36:32):
authorities to Will Anthony. Meanwhile,Adam agreed to help the authorities under police
instruction. He called Bart several timesand recorded their conversations. Adam told Bart
that he was reaching out because thepolice were traveling to Dallas to talk to
him. Then Adam brought up thefailed two thousand and one murder scheme and

(36:54):
how it was oddly similar to whathappened to his family Sponts. Bart tried
to pay Adam to lie to thepolice. They agreed on a price of
twenty thousand dollars. In April oftwo thousand and four, Bart began mailing
small increments of cash to Adam.He used an old address on the mailers

(37:15):
and the pseudonym k SoSE. Accordingto Eightya Jeff Strange, one of Bart's
favorite movies was The Usual Suspects,which, if you aren't familiar, features
a criminal mastermind villain named Kaiser SoSE. But Bart Whittaker was no Kaiser SoSE.

(37:35):
He had left his fingerprints all overthe envelope containing the cash he had
sent to Adam. Additionally, investigatorslearned that Bart had a roommate named Chris
Brasher. Then they found out aboutBart and Chris's neighbor and co worker,
Stephen Champagne. When Sugarland detectives interviewedChris and Stephen, they had the two

(37:55):
men submit sense samples. While stephenssent samples didn't match anything, Bloodhounds alerted
that Chris's sent sample was in numerousconcerning locations, the murder weapon drawers in
the main bedroom, the gun safe, and a glove that had been recovered
from the crime scene. Initially,Chris denied any involvement in the Whittaker murders,

(38:21):
but when the detectives told Chris theycould definitively link him to the crime
scene, he appeared horrified and panicked. From the winter to the spring of
two thousand and three, Bart livedwith his father, Kent, in the
same Sugarland home where his mother andbrother were killed. Kent continued living with
his son because he did not believeBart was involved in the murders, despite

(38:45):
what authorities told him. Kent toldthe Houston Chronicle the police were carrying on
an investigation I felt was misplaced,and if they were right, what could
be more horrifying. In late Juneof two thousand and three, Bart could
tell law enforcement was getting closer tocharging him when Justin Peters called him.

(39:06):
Bart was spooted, so he ran. Bart told his father he was going
out to a club one night.He said he would see Kent the next
day, but Bart never came home. Instead, he stole ten thousand dollars
from Kent, and on June twentyeighth, two thousand and four, Bart's
Chevy Yukon was found abandoned in aparking lot in southwest Houston. For more

(39:30):
than a year, authorities had noidea where Bart Whittaker was. It was
like he had vanished into thin air, but they were still working the case.
They spent a lot of time monitoringthe phone calls of people Bart knew,
like Chris Brosher and Stephen Champagne.Chris still lived in the Houston area,
but Stephen had moved to the WestCoast. Twenty three year old Stephen

(39:53):
had graduated from Marine Intelligence School.By the summer of two thousand and five,
he was stationed at Camp Pendleton inCalifornia for months, investigators had been
hounding him for more information. Inlate August of two thousand and five,
Stephen made a trip back to Texas. There, he met with Fort Ben

(40:15):
Detective Marshall Slot at a Starbucks.After some hemming and hawing and pressure from
the FBI, Stephen finally admitted toeverything. Shortly after, he provided a
video recorded confession during which Stephen implicatedhimself, Chris, and Bart in the
murders of Tricia and Kevin Whittaker.After his confession, Stephen took the law

(40:39):
enforcement officers to a bridge that crossedLake Conrod. Stephen explained how he and
Chris had dropped a canvas bag withevidence there. The police soon recovered it.
Inside was a vacuum cleaner, alicense plate, money, a water
bottle with Chris's DNA on it,the chisel Chris had used to break into

(41:00):
the gun safe, the ammunition fromthe murder weapon, and two cell phones
that Bart had given to Chris andStephen to use while carrying out the plot
to kill his family. Following thediscovery of this evidence, arrest warrants went
out for Stephen Champagne, Chris Burscher, and Bart Whittaker. Stephen and Chris

(41:21):
were arrested by mid September. Theywere transported to Texas jailhouses, but Bart
was still at large until a manclaiming his name was Mike Jones called Detective
Marshall Slot. He said, Iknow where Bart Whittaker is. I helped
him get there. All Mike wantedin return was the ten thousand dollars reward

(41:43):
money. As it turns out,Mike Jones was actually Rogelio Rios. He
went by Rudy. Rudy met Bartwhen they both worked at a hotel restaurant
in Houston. Rudy was a busboyand Bart was a waiter. One day,
Bart was complaining to Rudy about howthe police were on his back,

(42:05):
so Rudy offered to help. Heexplained that he had family in Mexico.
They could get Bart out of theUnited States for a fee. Bart paid
Rudy three thousand dollars out of thatten thousand he had stolen from his father,
and began a new life in thesmall town of Serrovo, Mexico.
Siovo has a population of about eightthousand and is about four hundred miles southwest

(42:30):
of Sugarland, Texas. Now,Bart went by the name rudy Rius,
and he told people that he wasa wall from the United States military.
He claimed that he had served inAfghanistan until his team was ambushed in a
horrific firefight, during which Bart claimedhe was shot in the arm. That's

(42:51):
why he had fled and why hedidn't want to return to the US.
Bart lived in Mexico for fifteen months. There is no indication that he intended
to return to the States. Instead, he learned some Spanish. He rented
out an apartment from the real RudyRios's father, Andy, began dating a

(43:13):
young woman named Cindi lu Selinus,and Cindy helped Bart get a job at
her family's furniture store. Actually,Bart became really close to Cindy's siblings,
parents, and other relatives. Hetold the Salinases that they were the family
he never had. Bart told Cindythat he was an only child, and

(43:35):
he also told her that his motherwas a sex worker. He claimed that
he never loved his mother because shenever loved him. After the real Rudy
Rios contacted the Fort Bend authorities,Mexican officials captured Bart Whittaker, he had
fled from Seravo to Monterey, Mexicoto avoid capture, but law enforcement nabbed

(43:59):
Bart when he went to a jobinterview at a local restaurant. On Thursday,
September twenty second, two thousand andfive, twenty five year old Bart
Whittaker was arrested in Laredo, Texas. When Kent first laid eyes on his
son after his arrest, Kent said, well, you look like you're okay,
to which Bart replied yes, andthen Bart began apologizing profusely for the

(44:23):
entire ordeal. By December of twothousand and five, the Fort Ben District
Attorney's office announced that they would seekthe death penalty against Bart Whittaker. Fred
Felkman, the assistant DA who prosecutedBart's case, felt that he easily met
the criteria for it. According toFelkman, Bart had showed he was a

(44:45):
continuing threat, Plus there were zeromitigating factors in Bart's life that could explain
his behavior. After all, Barthad not been abused or neglected, or
suffered from any known mental illnes.In fact, he had experienced a childhood
many Americans dream of. Felkman toldCBS, I find it hard to believe

(45:08):
anybody wouldn't think he deserved it.One year later, in December of two
thousand and six, Bart sent eightyA Fred Fvelkman a Christmas card. He
wrote to Fred, keep your familyin mind during the holiday season. This
was interpreted by many as a veiledthreat against Fred's family. Since the double

(45:31):
homicide had occurred, Bart's father,Kent, had spoken publicly about how he
had forgiven his son Chris and Stephenfor murdering Tricia and Kevin. Kent attributed
his forgiveness to his Christian faith.He told the Houston Chronicle, it wasn't
human. This was a gift Ibelieve God gave me. Kent also said

(45:53):
to the Chronicle, I realized thatmaybe God had allowed me to live so
I could display that uncann additional love. Kent's Christianity was also a main factor
as to why he advocated against Bartreceiving the death penalty. While Kent agreed
that Bart should remain in prison forhis crimes, he did not understand why

(46:15):
Bart had to be put to death. While the state sought the death penalty
against Bart, they agreed not toseek the death penalty for the shooter,
Chris Brasher and the getaway driver,Stephen Champagne, had accepted a plea deal
in exchange for his testimony during Bart'strial. He would be sentenced to only

(46:36):
fifteen years in prison. I'm goingto pause now for a short commercial break.
Bart's trial began in March of twothousand and seven. He was held
in Fort ben County. He wasrepresented by defense attorney Randy MacDonald. As

(46:58):
far as trials go, this onewas pretty much open and shut. It
only took six days. And there'sno question as to why. The prosecution
had Bart's father Kent as an eyewitness to the murderers. They had bagged
the evidence from Conrod Lake, theyhad Bart's recorded phone calls with Adam Hip,
they had Adam Hip himself there totestify, and they also called to

(47:22):
the stand Justin Peters and Will Anthony. And of course the state had Stephen
Champagne's testimony as per his plea deal. During the trial, Stephen devastatingly revealed
that Bart was continuing to plan hisfather, Kent's murder even after the deaths
of Tricia and Kevin. When Stephenand Bart were eating dinner together in February

(47:46):
of two thousand and four, Bartsaid the job wasn't finished. Then he
outlined plans for Kent's death. Meanwhile, Bart's defense team all but conceded that
Bart had orchestrated the massacre of hisown family. They called zero witnesses to
the stand. The evidence against Bartwas so insurmountable that their only goal was

(48:10):
to try to get him life inprison rather than death. On March fifth,
two thousand seven, after two anda half hours of deliberation, the
jury convicted twenty seven year old BartWhittaker of capital murder for his mother and
younger brother. During the sentencing process, which in Texas is known as the

(48:31):
punishment phase, Bart himself testified.He said, as per court documents,
I am one hundred percent guilty forthis. I put the plan in motion.
If I had not done so,it would not have happened. Bart
agreed that he had robbed his motherand his younger brother of their lives.

(48:51):
He even agreed that he had robbedhis surviving father, Kent, of his
life in some ways. Bart claimedthat he felt remorse. When asked why
he did what he did, Bartsaid, I have come up with a
lot of reasons for how I gotto where I was going, but they
do not explain it. I alwaysfelt that whatever love they sent me was

(49:12):
conditional on a standard that I justnever felt I could reach, which sounds
like he is still blaming his familyfor their own murders. Selfish to the
rotten end. In an attempt todissuade the jury from giving him the death
penalty, Bart told them that hewas not going to be an ongoing threat.

(49:35):
He explained that the only people I'veever hated, and I know it
was not for the right reasons,but the only people I ever hated were
my parents and my brother Randy MacDonald. Bart's defense attorney responded, but the
irony of it all is that yourdad is actually the one that's come to
your rescue and puts you back ontrack, to which Bart said, he's

(49:59):
become my best friend in the lastyear. But Assistant District Attorney Fred Veelkman
didn't buy what Bart was selling.He later referred to it as crap.
During the court proceedings, Velkman assertedthat Bart was just playing the remorseful son
because he was trying to get outof the death penalty. If Bart hadn't

(50:20):
been caught, he wouldn't be sayingany of this. Felkman thought Bart was
just making the best of a badsituation by manipulating the jury. Velkman may
have been convincing, but it wasstill a difficult decision. The jury took
twelve hours of deliberation over the courseof two days before they returned the verdict

(50:40):
on Thursday, March eighth, twothousand and seven, that Bart Whittaker was
sentenced to death by lethal injection.For the record, I appreciate any jury
that deliberates that long over the deathpenalty. It may be the law of
their state and they had to bedeath penalty certified. But they clearly took

(51:00):
that momentous decision seriously. A jurortold the Houston Chronicle, we were almost
split evenly on whether or not hewas a continuing threat. Most jurors were
swayed because Bart had lived a lifeof extreme comfort. How could someone who
had so much want to murder thepeople who had given it to him.

(51:23):
Ultimately, the final juror who washolding out that Bart was not a continuing
threat folded. They realized that Bartwas driven by lies and deceit. This
holdout duror said of their changed mind. I think that the core person always
surfaces. After Bart's trial in Septemberof two thousand and seven, Chris Bresher,

(51:46):
the getaway driver, accepted a pleadeal. Rather than be charged with
capital murder, he accepted the lessercharge of murder, which other states refer
to as second degree murder. Asthe actual shooter, Chris was sentenced to
life in prison with the possibility ofparole in thirty years. I'm going to

(52:08):
pause now for a final commercial break. Following his trial and sentencing, Bart
appealed several times. None of theseappeals were successful. The U. S.
Supreme Court denied his appeal without explanation. In October of twenty seventeen,

(52:32):
after Bart exhausted his final options,his execution was scheduled for Thursday, February
twenty second, twenty eighteen, atsix pm in Huntsville, Texas. For
years, Bart's father, Kent,had continuously spoken to news outlets about commuting
Bart's sentence. Kent firmly believed thathis son should receive life in prison,

(52:54):
not death. Kent said to reporterswere not asking him to give him or
let him go. We just wantthem to let him live and incredibly,
Kent Whittaker's campaign for his son's lifeworked. A week before Bart's execution.
Kent spoke with the Texas Board ofPardons and Paroles two days before the execution

(53:16):
was scheduled. The seven member boardunanimously recommended clemency for Bart. The board's
decision Tuesday was seven to zero,and no one seemed more shocked than Kent
Whittaker. This is Texas, hesaid, this doesn't happen, and I
am just so encouraged that the systemhas worked. This was the right thing,

(53:38):
the right thing to do, butclemency could actually only be granted by
the Governor of Texas, Greg Abbott. When that fateful Thursday arrived, Kent
visited his son one final time tosay goodbye. Bart ate his last meal.
It seemed that despite all of Kent'swork and the board's decision, Bart's

(54:00):
death was near, But forty minutesbefore Bart was to be injected with lethal
drugs, Governor Abbot commuted his sentence. Instead of being executed, Bart would
remain in prison for the rest ofhis life without the possibility of parole.
In response to his commutation, Bartsaid, I'm thankful not for me,

(54:22):
but for my dad, any punishmentthat I would have or will receive is
just. But my dad did nothingwrong. The system worked for him today,
and I will do my best touphold my role in the system.
Bart's commutation was huge news. Itwas an extremely rare occurrence, as Texas
executes five times as many people asthe next closest death penalty state, which

(54:46):
is Oklahoma, and in nine yearsof being governor, Abbot has only commuted
one other sentence. It was thefirst time in more than a decade and
only the third time since the deathhe was reinstated in nineteen seventy six.
In explaining his decision, Governor Abbotcited the fact that Whittaker's co conspirator,

(55:08):
the triggerman, did not get thedeath penalty and that Kent Whittaker, the
surviving victim, quote, passionately opposedthe execution and would be victimized again by
the death of his last remaining immediatefamily member. He also pointed out that
Bart Whittaker had waived any possibility ofparole and would spend the rest of his

(55:30):
life in prison. Along with theboard's decision, Abbot said it was the
totality of these reasons which determined hisdecision. The prosecutor, Fred Velkman,
thought that this decision was inappropriately basedon Kent's forgiveness of his son. He
felt the governor and the board werenot considering the other people affected by these

(55:52):
murders. Veelkman also said they hadignored psychiatrists and investigator's testimony that indicate hated
Bart Whittaker was manipulative. In laterinterviews, Velkman suggested that Bart was a
sociopath. Today, the getaway driver, forty two year old Stephen Champagne,

(56:13):
served his fifteen years and is nolonger in prison, and if his parol
is granted, triggerman Chris Forsheer,will be fifty five years old when he
leaves prison in twenty thirty seven.Right now, he is forty one years
old and is incarcerated in the J. Dell Wainwright Unit. Bart Whittaker is
now forty four years old. Heis incarcerated in the William J. McConnell

(56:37):
unit in Beeville, Texas. Whilein prison, Bart reconnected with his Christianity
and todate. He has earned twobachelor's degree in English and sociology from Adams
State University. His master's degree isin humanities from California State University. Bart's
writing has been published in Guernica,The Washington Post Magazine, The Marshall Project,

(57:02):
and more, and he started afairly well known online journal entitled Minutes
Before Six. Originally it was justBart writing to his father, who would
then publish his work on the blog. Now, incarcerated people from across the
map published writing and art on theblog. Bart also wrote a book about

(57:24):
his views on the prison system,but it's out of print now, probably
due to the fact that in twentynineteen he faced a lawsuit about his book.
He was accused of trying to makemoney selling the book on Amazon.
In Texas, offenders cannot profit fromtheir convictions. I read a summary of

(57:45):
his book. Basically, Bart doesn'tlike prison the end. Bart's father,
Kent, retired from the construction industryand remarried in two thousand and nine.
He and his wife are motivational speakersdiscussed topics like Christianity, grief and forgiveness
all over the country. Kent hasalso written a book. It's entitled Murder

(58:07):
by Family, The Incredible True Storyof a son's treachery and a father's forgiveness.
I feel tremendously happy that mister Whittakerfound peace in forgiving his son and
has moved on with his life happilyremarried. It is rare that I can
report on a surviving family member's happinessin this way, especially one that was

(58:30):
wounded with their lost loved ones.Forgiveness is sacrisanct to many Christians, and
I respect that, but I personallyagree with Fred Fveelkman about Bart Whittaker's character.
This was no abused, suffering teenwho made a rash decision. This

(58:52):
was a manipulative grown man who coldlyplotted to murder his loving family for years.
Multiple time times he tried to enlistconspirators as he dreamed only of inheriting
his family fortune. He repeatedly toldthese people he hated his parents and brother,

(59:12):
blind unreasonable hate. I believe thecommutation gives Bart an unearned air of
redemption. It would have been morereasonable for the DA to take the death
penalty off the table to begin with, since Kent Whittaker was so opposed to
it. The jury voted for death, so I'm sure they would have given

(59:32):
him a life sentence without parole.He has that now, and he is
also now the forgiven son, unfairlybathed in a kind of absolution. I
don't like it. I don't believehe deserves this image. As much joy
as I feel for Kent in hisnew life, my heart still aches for

(59:55):
Tricia and Kevin. Kevin had hiswhole life ahead of him. He was
cut down so young, before hecould even decide what he wanted to be
in life, before he fell inlove, before he had his own family.
And Tricia had only just retired.She was probably immersed in things like

(01:00:15):
gardening, church groups, spending timewith friends, and just enjoying her well
earned rest and probably looking forward tograndchildren. Grandchildren that will never be.
Two beautiful lives stolen so unfairly,for such a heartless, selfish reason by

(01:00:37):
someone they loved so dearly. SouthernFried True Crime is hosted and produced by
me Erica Kelly. Today's episode wasresearched and written by me and Andrea Marshbank.
As usual, any editorial comments andopinions are my own. Southern Fred's

(01:00:58):
original music is by all Comparison ofGamma Radio, and the original graphic art
is by Kly Horner Today's episode wasedited and mixed by Brendan shechck Snyder of
Southern Gothic and Erica Kelly. Today'scase was suggested by Jessica, Donna,
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(01:01:22):
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