Going West: True Crime - Bart Whitaker // 33

Episode Date: July 29, 2019

When a desperate neighbor calls 911 in hopes of saving the beloved family next door from a shooting, only 2 out of 4 survive. But after the eldest son is questioned in the hospital, police become incredibly suspicious. Then, an important tip comes into the station that turns this case upside down and solidifies the detective's inkling. This is the case of Bart Whitaker. Do you have anxiety, stress, insomnia, or lack of energy? You need to try Lumi! Get 10% off your order at lumicbd.com using promo code goingwest. OR click this link! https://lumicbd.com/?afmc=3m&utm_campaign=3m&utm_source=leaddyno&utm_medium=affiliate Get 20% off your first Hunt a Killer subscription box using promo code going west at huntakiller.com  Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What is going on True Crime fans? I'm your host Heath, and I'm your other host Daphne, and you're listening to Going West. Today we want to say thank you so much to the following people who left us some awesome reviews on Apple Podcasts say thank you so much to the following people who left us some awesome reviews on Apple podcasts. Thank you so much to Kaylyn from Oklahoma and Michelle from Indiana. And then we have Courtney from Kansas and Ashley from Buffalo, New York. Big thanks to Jessica from Apex, North Carolina and Big Re from Chicago. Thank you to Jamie from Mill Creek Washington and Kurt from Mustang, Oklahoma. And last but not least thank you so much to Meg from Buffalo, New York and Krista from Lawrence, Kansas. And of course we have to give a shout out to our

newest patron Mary Kate. Thank you so much. Yes thank you so much. If you guys want to help support the show check out patreon.com slash going west podcast. We come out with a bonus episode every month and special content so make sure to check that out like I said it really helps out the show and we also donate 10% of the proceeds to the National Center for Missing and Exploded Children. So not only do you get to help out our show but you're also doing a really great thing. All right guys this is episode 33 of going west so let's get into it. I'm going to get you a little bit more. I'm going to get you a little bit more.

I'm going to get you a little bit more. I'm going to get you a little bit more. I'm going to get you a little bit more. I'm going to get you a little bit more. I'm going to get this is just a shot. Hang on, just a second. We got them calling on another line. Shira, 911 station, where you see? I'm in shock. Who's been shot? It's very long, and like, that's my brother.

Hold on, one second, sir. Engine 1, all we have, one set, just right now, apparently the whole family's been shot. Stand by. Is this cursor or can't? This is art, this is art. Okay, Bart, where is your wound? In the arm, my shoulder. I think I can't run.

Okay, who else has been shot in the house with you? Huh, I can't see. Who else was in the house with you? We were walking in the house. My brother, I'm on my guard. Oh, God. And you just hang on Bart, I've got help on the way, okay? Do you know who shocked you?

No. Okay, your neighbors were telling me that he had a mask on. Is that true? No. I think I'm stuck in here. Okay. Do you think he was burglarized in your home or are you guys having problems with somebody? No.

God. I don't know. How many shots did he fire? Bark. I don't know. Can you tell me anything about him at all? Did he sound black, white, Hispanic, and the leaster? Very black. I don't know. I couldn't say. Okay, when he left, Bart, did he leave out your back door? Yeah, I did. He let you chase him out towards the back door. Yeah. Okay, Bart, where were you when he shot you?

Uh, I'm in the living room. Oh, floating on. Okay, they're on on the way where are you in the house right now? I'm in the living room. You're in the living room? Or... Oh, come on clear. Okay, so you said off the mark? Yeah. Okay, that's off. Just coming in, I'm going to go ahead and disconnect with you, okay?

Okay. Thank you. Thomas Bartlett Whitaker, known as Bart Whitaker, was born on December 31, 1979 in Houston, Texas, to parents Patricia and Kent. The family was pretty well off financially since Kent worked as a construction executive while Patricia, who went by Trisha, worked as an elementary school teacher. They all practiced Christianity and were active members of the local church. Bart was the only child in the family until March 1984, when his younger brother Kevin was born. According to Bart, he and Kevin could not be more different, but they complemented each other in that way. They got along really well and were good friends growing up, but Bart was definitely the more mischievous one of the two, and he

got in trouble throughout his teenage years for burglarizing various students. After these incidents, Bart was kicked out of school and then evaluated by a psychologist. His evaluation brought on some interesting information. The psychologist stated that Bart appeared to be experiencing the clinical symptoms of someone with a delusional disorder, also known as someone with psychosis. Despite this, Bart had done fairly well in school before he left, and people thought he had a great sense of humor and was fun as well as respectful. Bart's parents were very generous with him, and they were all incredibly close. Bart states that he and his family had a great relationship all throughout his life.

He and his dad both had a passion for biking and they enjoyed doing that together. His parents bought him luxury cars, took him and his brother on numerous family vacations and paid for his tuition to attend Baylor University as well as Sam Houston State University. They even bought him a lakeside townhouse in Willis, Texas, which is just about 50 miles or 80 kilometers north of the family's home in Houston. At the age of 23 in 2003, Bart told his family that his college graduation was coming up. His father Kent said that Bart planned to go to graduate school afterwards with an interest in going into law enforcement. On December 10, 2003, Bart told his family he finished his finals and wanted to go out.

So his family planned a dinner just the the four of them, at a seafood restaurant called Papadu. At dinner, Bart's parents gifted him with a $4,000 Rolex watch, and for dessert, they got him his favorite, Praelene bread pudding, with congratulations written in chocolate on the plate. They all took photos together, smiling and laughing. When they finished eating, they all went back to the Whittaker's Georgian style home in Sugarland, Texas. The restaurant was just about 10 minutes away from their home. When they arrived in the driveway, Bart hung back a moment because he supposedly left his

cell phone in the car. His brother, Kevin and his mother, Tr Trisha were the first to casually walk into the house. Suddenly a masked gunman shot Kevin from inside the house as Kevin entered the foyer. He was shot in the chest at Point Blank Range. Trisha yelled, oh no, and then was shot in the chest too. Then Kent got shot in his right shoulder and he fell to the floor outside of the house. So unlike his wife and youngest son, he was coherent and was understanding what was happening. He started yelling out to the family, asking them if they were okay, and Kevin was silent. Trisha let out some gurgling coughs because it's sadly all she could make out. Bart then ran into the house to chase the gunman as he started to flee, and that's when

Bart was shot in the upper left arm. Bart then called 911 and explained that there was a masked man in their house and that he just been shot in the arm. The 911 operator asked him who shot him and he said he didn't know. She then asked if he could tell her anything about the shooter and if he sounded white, black or Hispanic and Bart quickly said that he sounded black. Right next door to the Whittakers was the Stanley family. They had moved to the neighborhood

just six months prior to the shooting and they had a great relationship with the Whittakers. The Stanley's two sons had gone off to college, so it was just Cliff and his wife Darleen in the home. Cliff described Trisha as a very, very sweet person. The four would often go out to lunch together or catch a movie as a double date. Since Bart lived in his townhouse in Willis, Texas, the Stanley said never met him, but Cliff said that Trisha was very optimistic and excited about Bart and his future. Since it was December, their oldest son Brandon was home from college, and on the night of December 10, Cliff and his wife were watching TV. Brandon

told them that he heard yelling and shooting and asked if it came from the TV. Cliff said no, because they were watching a family show. That's when they knew it came from the TV. Cliff said no because they were watching a family show. That's when they knew it came from outside. Cliff and Brandon headed outside and immediately looked towards his friend's home, the Whittakers. Cliff noticed that Kent was laying on the front porch, but he couldn't tell if he was dead or alive. Cliff yelled out to Kent asking if he was okay and Kent responded saying, I'm bleeding Cliff, help. Without thinking of whether or not the perpetrator

was still around, Cliff ran to Kent's side. That's when Cliff noticed Trisha and Kevin, and he yelled at his son Brandon to get back into their home and call 911. Cliff then noticed that Kevin was moaning in agony alongside Trisha, and he yelled to his son again to get something to help him stop the bleeding so he could try to save this family. Unfortunately, Cliff couldn't do

much for any of them, so he said a prayer. Within minutes, police were on the scene. So Sugarland, Texas is a very affluent area, and little crime is committed there. It's the kind of place where you know all of your neighbors. So when Detective Marshall Slot was getting home from church on December 10th, and he got a call about a quadruple shooting, he asked if it was a joke. That kind of thing just didn't happen there. When police arrived to the house, Kevin had already passed away from his injuries.

Trisha was airlifted to the hospital and was dead on arrival. Kent and Bart were alive and also taken to the hospital where they were treated for their wounds. Initially, police believed it appeared to be a burglary gun wrong. That maybe the masked man was surprised when the family came home so he fired. But as detectives searched throughout the house, the pieces just weren't adding up. First of all, the gun was left in the home, which is really strange, and a single black glove was found on the sidewalk outside of their home. The bedrooms looked a bit ransacked, but almost in a way that seemed planned. Like all the dresser drawers were opened all the way to the same distance, so it didn't

necessarily look like someone was quickly rifling through them. Because burglars don't really take care when they're doing this kind of thing. They like pull out the drawers and throw everything out of them, but in this case the rooms weren't tussled like that. It was then that detective slot thought the scene may have been staged. And by the way, when the whittakers came home that night, the door was locked, so when they entered the house, they thought everything was normal, like they didn't suspect someone was inside at all. So let's talk about the victims for a minute here.

Kevin graduated from Fort Bend Baptist Academy in 2002, where he played baseball and ran track. He was also a part of the student council and was elected junior class president. Some of his favorite activities included fishing and being outdoors. After college, he began studying at Houston Community College before attending Texas A&M University, where he was planning to graduate as a member of the Corps of Cadets. He was 19 when he died. Trisha was born and raised in Houston, Texas, and she graduated the University of Houston with a Bachelor's of Arts degree in education.

She then went on to be a kindergarten teacher, and she was known to be an incredibly sweet and compassionate woman. She met Kent on a blind date that was set up by their friends, and they totally hit it off. She loved her kids and students as well as being outdoors, either water skiing or horseback riding. She was a teacher for many years before retiring and becoming a full-time mom, and she was 51 years old when she died. Back at the hospital, Kent and Bart were told that Kevin and Trisha didn't make it, and Kent described that it was an

absolute nightmare and that he was very adamant to find out who ever did this to his family. Kent had told police that he had barely seen the shooter, but he did notice that his skin was white. Although the shooter was wearing a ski mask, he said he could see around his eyes. But Bart had confidently told police that the shooter was black earlier, so these accounts didn't add up. Police questioned Bart about the incident and Bart explained everything that had happened that night, that they were at dinner celebrating his college graduation from Sam Houston State University, and that they had come home to an intruder.

The following day, investigators learned from Sam Houston State University that Bart was no longer enrolled as a student. He had attended the college as a freshman, but was put on academic probation. So, for years, Bart had told his parents that he was attending college when he wasn't, and he definitely hadn't graduated like he made them believe. Police started to become really suspicious of Bart because they didn't understand why he would lie to them. They told Ken the news and he was furious. He went to Bart's room in the hospital and asked him why he would lie about that.

Bart told him that school was causing him a lot of stress and he just couldn't handle it, but he didn't want to disappoint his family. But Ken said that Trisha kind of knew that he wasn't in school. She wasn't sure, but she had a feeling for years that he wasn't attending. It doesn't seem like she ever acted on it though,

because she never questioned Bart or called the university. Five days after the shooting, a call came into the police department for Detective Marshall Slot. The man on the other line said he had something to tell him, but that he wanted to meet in person. Detective Slot met him in the parking lot behind the police station that night.

His name was Adam Hip, and he introduced himself as an old friend of Bart's. Apparently, a few years earlier, Bart had approached him regarding a plan to murder the Whittaker family. He even drew Detective Slot a diagram that he and Bart had come up with where Adam would be waiting in the house for the family to come home, and he would shoot them as they came through the door. Adam even told Slot that Bart wanted to get shot in the shoulder to throw off police so he wouldn't appear to be involved. Detective slot was blown away because this entire story sounded exactly like what happened just days earlier. Now six days after the murders the town of Sugarland got together to celebrate the lives of Trisha and

Kevin. Over 1,000 people showed up to the memorial, and many of them shared memories. Police questioned Bart again, and he was giving them very vague information regarding the shooting. He couldn't remember most of what happened, kept going back and forth with the facts. The detective told Kent that they believed his son was potentially a suspect in this case. At first, Kent didn't believe them at all. As they explained what they knew, he started to consider it slightly, but he still didn't understand how it would be possible. Bart promised Kent that he had nothing to do with it, and that he loved his mother and

brother. After Detective Slot had heard what he heard from Adam Hipp, he was convinced that Bart had something to do with it. Since Slot knew Bart had asked friends to help him with the murder plot years before, he thought maybe he did that this time too. So he decided to question Bart's best friends, Chris Brashear and Steven Champagne. The three worked together at a country club just before the murder occurred and they were all very close.

And actually, Chris and Bart were roommates in their townhouse and Stephen lived a few doors down. Now, slot got smart here. He knew it was a long shot to get a confession out of them, so he asked them to provide scent samples. He hoped that giving their scent to bloodhounds would potentially give him his answers. They obliged and slot took these samples back to the Whittaker House alongside a few canines, and there was a match. Do you suffer from anxiety, stress, lack of energy, insomnia, pain? You need to try loomie. They have a variety of products from tinctures to my personal favorite, CBD and aromatherapy

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And to be clear, it's all vapor, so inhaling these natural and medicinal qualities isn't harmful to your body at all. Get 10% off your order using promo code GOINGWEST on their website, loomecbd.com. That's l-u-m-i-c-b-d.com using promo code going west. What's up gang, Heath here. Are you an armchair detective just like me? Have you ever wanted to know what it's like to solve a murder case? Then you need to try the revolutionary game Hunt a Killer.

It's a monthly subscription box that allows you to sift through documents, maps, audio files, and more while eliminating suspects until you finally catch the killer. It's an awesome game you can play with your family and friends, play it on date night, or crack the case by yourself. Daphne and I love this game game and we know that you will too. Hunt Achiller also donates part of their proceeds to the cold case foundation which we think is really cool. Right now you can use promo code GoingWest that check out to receive 20% off your first

box. That's promo code GoingWest for 20% off your first box. Happy hunting guys! Detective slot obtained scent samples from Bart's two best friends, Steven Champagne and Chris Brashear. He took those samples to the crime scene along with bloodhounds and there was a match. Chris Brasheer's scent was found on the drawers that we discussed earlier, the master bedroom dresser drawers that had been opened.

It was also found on the murder weapon, the gun that was left on the living room floor. Please knew that they had their perpetrator in Prime suspect. Detective Slot brought Chris Brashear in for questioning and grilled him about the evidence. Chris denied everything. He said he had nothing to do with the crime and that he would never commit murder, despite the fact that the detectives were telling him that they have clear cut evidence that he was there the night of the murders. Although he was denying everything, his face said otherwise. Apparently, he looked panicked. Months went by and nothing was coming to fruition. They knew that Chris Prashear was involved,

and although they had evidence, they needed more. About seven months after the murders, Kent and Bart were healed from their injuries and out of the hospital. One night, Bart told his father that he was going out to a club with his friends and that he would be home the following day. At this point, Kent still didn't believe that his son was involved in the death of Trisha and Kevin. The next day came and Bart didn't come home. Days went by and Ken didn't hear from Bart at all. He couldn't reach him and he had no idea where he would be. So Ken told the police who quickly became angry at the whole situation

because they knew that Bart was involved and they kind of just felt like they let him get away. Detectives continue to question Stephen and Chris over and over again hoping that one of them would just tell them what really happened. Finally, after months of questioning, Stephen's campaign confessed. He told Detective Slot that he had been the getaway driver, and that Chris Persier had committed the murders.

He also mentioned that Bart was the mastermind behind it all. In to top it all off, Steven Champagne took detectives to the bridge where he and Chris had thrown the evidence. The night of the murders, they went to the bridge over Lake Conroe, which was near all of their homes in Willis, Texas, and through a chisel, which was used to break into the Whitaker's gun safe, ammunition from the gun, and two cell phones. The cell phones were burner phones that were given to Steven and Chris while they were plotting the murders. Bart didn't want anyone to know who those phones belonged to so they could talk at any time without suspicion from police once the investigation began. Apparently Bart had told the two that he was going to pay them to carry out this plot, but he never did. Police searched for the bag of evidence and eventually discovered it with all of the items Steven had mentioned

now decomposing. In the bag included a water bottle, and after waiting months for DNA evidence to come back, the DNA profile on the lip of the bottle matched that of Chris Bershear. The bullets in the bag matched those of the gun used in the murder, a single black love that matched the one that had been left at the crime scene, the chisel that turned up as a match against the marks made at the Whitaker's gun safe, and the two cell phones. Since this bag had been sitting in the lake for over a year and a half, a very high-tech data reconstruction process was done on the phones in a lab in England to discover that the owner of the phones was indeed Bart Whitaker.

In September 2005, so almost two years after the murders, Steven Champagne and Chris Brashear were arrested for the murders of Trisha and Kevin Whitaker. But police knew that they needed to arrest the man behind it all, too. Bart Whitaker. But they still couldn't find him after he disappeared a year earlier. Not only was everything pointing to Bart, but the fact that he ran off made him look even guiltier. At this point, Kent pretty much knew that Bart was guilty and he was heartbroken. Unknown to police, Bart fled to Mexico in 2004 and he'd been hiding out there. He was residing in a town called Suralvo, which is only 40 miles or 65 kilometers away from the Texas Mexican border. And if this didn't make you look guilty, I don't

know what would make you look guilty. I kind of just feel like he knew that he was going to get caught, so he was like, screw it, I'm just going to go. Exactly. Yeah. And like fleeing to Mexico is a pretty common thing when people commit murder or other crimes. So the fact that he did this was just so typical. Well, just like in our episode from a couple weeks ago on Kenya Munghe, Travis fled to Mexico too. Either way, we've seen this before and this is a very typical thing that criminals do when they have no other option or no other way out. And it's just kind of, it's just kind of like Hollywood-esque, like something that you

would see in a movie. I mean, it's kind of smart for yourself, obviously, you're a piece of shit, but I mean, if you committed a crime and you know you're going to go down for it, it's like you may as well leave. Obviously, I'm not advocating for that. I'm just saying saying it makes sense. Bart had bought an ID off a man named Rudy Rios and that's how he was able to enter Mexico without police knowing. So he went by that name Rudy Rios while in Sarolvo and had $7,000 cash that he had stolen from his family home. Bart ended up getting an apartment in town and became employed at a local furniture store. So he was trying to fully embrace life

in Mexico and make it his new home because he was fully aware of the fact that he couldn't return to the United States or else he would be caught. Bart knew a little Spanish so he could communicate with people in town, but they all knew that he was American. They just didn't know that he was lying about his identity. Everyone he knew in Mexico thought he was charming and friendly and had a way with the ladies. He actually attended church there and actually made a lot of friends. While at church, Bart met a guitarist named Cindy LuCelina. She thought he was absolutely gorgeous and the two started

dating and that's actually when Bart got the job at the furniture store because her dad and family owned it so her dad was the one that got him a job. Her father, Omero Selinas, said that he was a great worker and that he was really well liked and he began to love him like his own son. Bart told Cindy Liu that he was an only child and that he didn't have a good relationship with his mom. He also told her that he never loved his mom because she didn't love him. He told her that his family only gave him money and never loved.

But he also mentioned that his mom was a sex worker. So we know that Bart's mom was not a sex worker, but it seems like a lot of the other parts of the story that he told Cindy Lou were true, in a sense, because he technically wasn't only child because he had his brother killed, and she just didn't know that part. But it's very possible that Bart didn't feel loved by his family. We know that they did give him a lot of money and supplied him with pretty much everything he could ever want, but maybe he felt neglected in other ways. And we've seen this happen in other families where somebody doesn't feel like they're getting

the attention that they feel like they deserve or the love that they feel like they deserve. And yeah, it's true. There are a lot of families like parents who think that they can buy their child's love. I think in this case, it maybe almost seems to me like Bart is trying to put the blame on somebody else other than himself. But back to Bart's life in Mexico, Bart had actually told

his new friends that he was a soldier that had gone AWOL because he didn't want to return to war after he'd been shot. And he was kind of using that bullet wound that he had as, oh, I got this from the war. Right. So, one night while Bart was at his girlfriend's Cindy Luzhouse, she got into a huge argument with her mom and smashed her guitar. Bart tried to console her by saying everything was fine and she shouldn't be angry with her parents, but if she wanted to, he could help her kill them.

And granted, these people have welcomed Bart into their lives and given him so much love and helped him make Seralva a home for him, and he was suggesting to murder them. So it kinda goes to show you what kind of person he was, and maybe his real family hadn't neglected him at all, because here he is having the same feelings about this new, loving family. Right, and Cindy Liu was also freaked out by this comment, but she didn't think he really meant it, so she let it go.

Shortly after Stephen and Chris were arrested for the murders, the real Rudy Rios called police and told them that Bart Whitaker had bought his ID off him a year prior and that he'd been living in a small village in Mexico. Rudy and Bart knew each other after working together at a restaurant in Houston. And Bart had been the one to contact Rudy, telling him that law enforcement was suspecting him of murdering his family because he knew that Rudy had family in Mexico, so he kind of asked him for some help. Bart paid Rudy $3,000 to get him to Cirolvo. And it turns out the real Rudy was only in it for the money, because that's why he called police to tell them that he knew where Bart was,

because there was a $10,000 reward for information that would lead police to Bart. While Detective Slot and Bart were driving to the police station, once they get to Houston, he asked Bart flat out. How did you convince your friends to murder your family? And Bart completely confesses. He doesn't even try to hide it anymore because he knows he's been caught. Very casually, he says that he just offered them the money to do it and they agreed. But like we mentioned earlier, Bart didn't pay them anything.

When Bart saw his dad, he apologized for everything and said he was going to try and make the rest of the process painless for everyone because he had so much guilt. Kent couldn't believe that his own son had actually done this, but surprisingly, Kent forgave Bart, and Kent's eyes Bart was completely remorseful of what he had done, and that was enough for him. The night of the murders, Stephen Champagne followed the Whitaker family to the restaurant to make sure that everything was going as planned. He stayed in the parking lot while the family enjoyed dinner.

Meanwhile, Chris Brashear was hiding in the Whittaker's SUV for a while at their house. Once he knew that they had gotten to the restaurant, he entered the house with a key given to him by Bart and turned off the alarm with a code also given to him by Bart. That's when he staged a burglary. After dinner, Steven followed their car home. When they drove into the driveway, Stephen kept driving and circled around, waiting about a block away for Chris to come out. After Stephen heard four shots, Chris walked out the back door of the house and then casually went up to Stephen's car before getting into the backseat. Then Chris told Stephen how it all went down, which Stephen explained to police in his confession.

Bart says it was his idea for Chris to shoot him in the arm so that it would make it impossible for someone to think that he was guilty. Bart explained later that during his graduation dinner, he was numb. He also said that during the shooting, he didn't feel anything at all. I think it's kind of easier for us to look at the situation and think, your parents who love you just took you out to a nice dinner and gave you a graduation gift when they likely knew that you hadn't even graduated and you still want them dead by the time the night's over. Like that's what's going through my head. But it's interesting to know that he was just hollowed out at that point psychologically, like he didn't

have any emotion whatsoever that night. He smiled in photos and acted like everything was good even though he knew what was going to happen when they got home, which is the most terrifying part of this case to me. And I also think it's interesting that years after the crime, he recognizes that he was an empty shell back then, and it just kind of makes you wonder how someone with a seemingly wonderful and loving upbringing can turn out like this. So Bart explains that the reason for wanting his family dead is because it was their fault

that he was alive, and that it was their fault that he had turned out the way he did. He looked at his younger brother Kevin as this incredibly loved and successful young man, but Bart didn't feel that way about himself. He felt depressed and worthless, and at the time he felt like the only thing that would make everything better would be his family dying. Despite the fact that he claims they had a great relationship and that he cared for them. But to him, they took care of him on a materialistic level, not on an emotional level. Bart says that it wasn't about money, but he would inherit $1.5 million if his family died. Bart wasn't going to school and he didn't have much going on for him as a career.

So it would definitely make sense that he did this, at least in part, so that he could live carefree for the rest of his life. I also read that Bart stated the only life insurance policy that would have been in effect was for his dad and it was for $50,000, but I don't know if that's true or the 1.5 million is true, because I've read a lot true or the 1.5 million is true, because I've read a lot more about the 1.5 million and only that one place on the 50,000, but I wanted to mention it. Yeah, I mean, regardless, I think that because I've mentioned before, I think he is a spoiled

person, I think that money had a lot to do with it, because I think that that was kind of the motive. I don't think that it was just like, oh, life's gonna be so much better if my parents are and my parents or my brother are dead Because at that point like why would you kill your brother? I think that it was really more so about the life insurance policy and the fact that he was going to inherit this money Regardless of the amount. I mean think about think about a person that's Bart's age and he's stuck in a situation where he doesn't have very much money. His parents are paying for everything. He's not graduating from college so he's not going to get a good job like he thinks he is and he's kind of desperate at

this point. So even if it's $20,000, I still think that he goes through with his plan. I definitely agree and I think that Bart will say that he hates money but I think this entire thing was driven by money, maybe not just the fact that he wanted to get money but the fact that he was so angry about how money affected his life even though like you said, he's a spoiled brat. I mean, he had jobs, he worked for sure but I think he complained about having it so hard when, you know, he grew up in a loving family who gave him everything that he wanted and there are people out there who have a life nothing like that.

So I think he definitely was a little brat and he was just pissed off about money. Also just from what I can see, it seems like he probably lacks ambition and maybe he feels like a failure and he looks at his brother and starts comparing himself and that's never healthy. That and I think that there may have been some expectations from his parents. I mean, I don't really know for sure. I can't speculate too much on that, but I feel like in these certain situations, there are a lot of parents who have a lot of high standards for their children and maybe Bart just simply could not live up to those expectations and so he felt like killing his

family was easier than actually stepping up to the plate. Also we can't forget to mention the fact that he was clearly diagnosed with some sort of psychosis so I think along with, everything else that was going on in his life led to a very dangerous combination. At Bart's trial in March 2007, prosecutors pointed to the fact that although Bart wasn't the one to pull the trigger, he was responsible for the murder of his family. He was found guilty of first-degree murder of Kevin and Trisha and sentenced to death by a grand jury. Chris Brashear received a life sentence and Steven Champagne was given 15 years for being

an accomplice. Kent even took the witness stand to plead the jury not to give his son the death penalty because he was the only family member that he had left, but they didn't decide to spare Bart's life. In 2008, Kent went on to write and publish a novel about the murderist titled Murder by Family. To this day, he is the biggest advocate for Bart's release. In the book, he describes the devastating incident regarding his life partner Tr Trisha, and adoring son, Kevin, but also wrote a message to Bart saying, my son, I love you, all is forgiven. Bart sat on death row for almost 11 years, but on

February 22nd, 2018. Just 45 minutes before his scheduled 6 p.m. execution, Governor Greg Abbott changed Bart's sentence to life imprisonment without parole, thanks to Kent Whitaker's constant pleads. To this day, Bart Whitaker remains in prison for to this episode of Going West. Yes, thank you so much everyone and next week we'll have an all-new case for you guys to dive into. If you want to check out photos regarding this case or any other case, check out our Instagram at Going West Podcast or our Twitter at GoingWestPodcast, or our Twitter, at GoingWestPod. And don't forget to check us out on Facebook at GoingWestTrueCrum.

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