True Crime with Kendall Rae - How Kent Whitaker Forgave His Son for the Murder of His Family

Episode Date: November 17, 2022

How hard would it be to forgive the person responsible for murdering your family? What if that person was another family member yours? After 24-year-old Thomas Bartlett Whitaker killed his mom, brother, and almost father, it was his father who found it within himself to forgive his attacker–his now only son. Shop my charity merch! https://milehighermerch.com/ All profits from this charity merch will be donated to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children: https://www.missingkids.org/ This episode is sponsored by: Stitch Fix Function of Beauty Check out Kendall's other podcasts: The Sesh & Mile Higher Follow Kendall! YouTube Twitter Instagram Facebook Mile Higher Zoo REQUESTS: General case suggestion form: https://bit.ly/32kwPly Form for people directly related/ close to the victim: https://bit.ly/3KqMZLj Discord: https://discord.com/invite/an4stY9BCN CONTACT: For Business Inquiries - [e-mail]

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Hello everyone and welcome back to my channel. Today's case is very, very interesting. I am so looking forward to seeing what you guys have to say on this one in the comments section. If someone murdered one of your family members or murdered your entire family, do you think you would ever be able to forgive them? What about if that person was also a family member? Would that make it even harder? Do you think you'd be able to find forgiveness? Lots of things to ponder as we go into this one. So let me start out by telling you about Bart Whitaker So Thomas Bartlett Whitaker who went by Bart was born on December 31st 1979 in Houston, Texas to his mother Patricia and his father Kent and when Bart was about five years old his parents had another son named Kevin

So their family of four lived just outside the Houston area in Sugarland, Texas now This wasn't the kind of place that children grew up around violence. And Barton Kevin had a very idealic upbringing with parents who loved and supported them every single day. Their mother Patricia, who went by Trisha most of the time, actually used to work as an elementary school teacher. And she was great at that and loved her career,

but she decided to give all that up to raise her sons and everything that made her an incredible teacher, also made her an incredible mother. People who had Tresha as a teacher say that she was one of those teachers that you always remember, that you just felt safe with and enjoyed your time in their classroom. I'm sure we all have at least one teacher, hopefully, that kind of reminds us of that. So obviously as a teacher, being a caretaker is something that came naturally to Trisha. And when she became a mother, that also came very naturally and she loved being a mother.

Her friend said that she always made an excuse to talk about her sons and how wonderful they were. And from everyone's account, the Whitaker family was kind of living the dream. Kent, who worked as a comp-trailer for her family-owned construction business, was also a very loving and dedicated father. He spent, you know, countless hours with his sons really honed in on every hobby or sport that they were into and, you know, supported them in every way he could. Once Kent actually taught Bart to ride a bike

as many parents do, and that really started something for them. They enjoyed doing it together so much that they ended up riding over 15,000 miles together on training and organized rides. Kent said that growing up, Bart was always a very witty, fun, outgoing kid. He was described as respectful, he worked hard in school, but Kevin, on the other hand, was kind of the more shy one of the two. He was more sensitive and extremely devoted to his faith, and he was also known for speaking up against injustice. Now, even though Bart was said to work really hard in school, when he was growing up, things kind of changed when he started high school at Clements High School.

So in 1997, Bart was only 17 years old, and he really got into some trouble. He had been caught in a series of burglaries, where he enlisted the help of his friends to help him steal several computers from school property. And he received a criminal conviction for his offenses. So after that, his parents decided to send him to a private Christian academy. Of course, his parents hoped that he would change.

Hope that this was a phase. I mean, teenagers do get in trouble. And religion was extremely important to the Whitaker family. And they thought more of it would help Bart, you know, he could really focus in on his morals. And forgiveness was something that meant a lot to their family. It was really the root of everything they believed. So after all this, his parents are still supporting him.

And he ends up going to college. He goes to Baylor University in 2001, and they were very proud of him. They continued to show him love and supported him all throughout school. But the son that they loved and thought they knew was not who they thought he was. [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪

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He had transferred there from Baylor, and his parents were absolutely thrilled that he was going to be graduating. I mean, they were worried about him at some points along the way. So to have their first son, graduating in college, was a big deal for them and they were very proud. But still wary. Friends of his mother said around this time, she felt like it just wasn't real that he could actually be graduating. And she was kind of waiting for the shoot to drop, you know. But Bart said that he would be graduating very soon. And obviously they were elated. And he also told them that he wanted to go and get his master's degree. He was studying criminal justice and he wanted to take it up the level. So Bart

tells his parents that he would like to go out and celebrate his upcoming graduation with the whole family including his 19 year old brother. And so they did and they really went all out for this celebration. His parents actually bought him a Rolex which was a very nice gift and then the four of them went out to dinner at Poppato's seafood kitchen, which was only 10 minutes from their house. And to Kent, Trisha and Kevin dinner truly felt like a celebration. They even ordered Bart's favorite dessert, which was bread pudding. And they even had one of the

server's right congratulations along the side of the plate. And in these photos, you can tell that this was a very happy moment for their family, but they never would have guest with the next hour of their life would look like. So when the Whittakers got back home, Kevin, Trisha and Kent began walking into their house while Bart lagged a few feet behind them, claiming that he left his phone in the car. Kevin was the first to step into the house, and then his mother, then his father. But within just seconds of Kevin stepping into the house, there was a gunshot, and Kevin was shot in the chest.

And then seconds after that, another gunshot rang out, and that was followed by third and then a fourth. Kevin, Trisha, and Kent were all shot in the chest, and Bart was shot in the upper arm. And even though he himself had been shot in the arm, he was still able to call 911. Sure, 911. Say, sure, where you see? I see a shot. Who's been shot? It's my mom and my dad. She was going to hold on one second, son. Engine one, all we have one subject right now, apparently the whole family's been shot.

Stand by. Is this Trisha or Kent? This is Bart, this son. OK, Bart, where is your wound? In the arm, my shoulder. I think I can't. OK, who else has been shot in the house with you? I can't see.

Who else was in the house with you? We were walking in the house. My brother. How long have I got? OK. And you just hang on, Bart. I've got help on the way, OK? Do you know who shot you?

No. OK, your neighbors were telling me that he had a mask on. Is that true? No. I think I was barking here. OK, do you think telling me that he had a mask on. Is that true? No. I think I was barking here. OK, do you think he was burglarized in your home or are you guys having problems with somebody? Oh, God.

I don't know. How many shots did he fire, Bart? I don't know. Can you tell me anything about him at all? Did he sound black, white, Hispanic, and the leaster? No, you're black. I don't know. I couldn't... Okay, when he left, Bart, did he leave out your back door?

Yeah, I twisted that way. He let you chase him out towards the back door? Yeah. Okay, Bart, where were you when he shot you? Uh, in the living room. Oh. Floating on, okay? They're on the way. Where are you in the house right now?

I'm in the living room. You're in the living room? For work. Uh, going to here. Okay, do you sit off through Bart? Yeah. Where are you in the house right now? I'm in the living room. You're in the living room? Or... Oh, go on clear. Okay, do you see the officer's part? Yeah. Okay, that's the officer's coming in. I'm going to go ahead and disconnect with you, okay?

And like I said, Sugarland is a pretty safe area for the most part. So when the lead detective of the Sugarland Police Department heard that there had been a quadruple shooting, he actually didn't even believe the dispatcher. Obviously emergency services was dispatched to the house right away, and it took about five minutes for them to get there, and in the meantime a neighbor actually came over and was able to stop some of Kent's bleeding with a t-shirt. And probably because of that, Kent was able to survive, but it was too late for Trisha and Kevin. Kevin was announced dead as soon as paramedics arrived. Trisha was life-lighted to the nearest hospital, but she succumbed to her injuries on the way. But like I said,

Kent actually survived, which was a miracle, to be honest. I mean, it was a pretty gnarly gunshot wound, probably would have been fatal, but his neighbor helping him not to bleed out probably saved his life, and he was stabilized at Memorial Hermann Hospital. And Bart, of course, was shot in the arm, so he did survive. Kent and Bart recovered at the same hospital, so they both would be able to talk to investigators about the attack, and from the jump,

when Kent got to the hospital, at first he was angry about what happened, but very early on, he started speaking about wanting to forgive whoever did this, even though at the time he had no idea who did it. Ken said that he prayed to God in his hospital bed to be able to forgive the person who was responsible for his son and wife's death and Ken claims that as soon as he asked God to grant him the ability to forgive a warm wave rushed over his body and the anger just subsided. Of course, he was devastated to lose his loved ones and wanted justice to be served on their

attacker, but he said that the anger he first felt was just completely gone. So Ken spoke to investigators that night to try to explain what had happened at their house. He said that the gunshot was almost unrecognizable at first, and for the first few seconds, when this masked man came in the doorway of their house, he thought it was a friend of one of the boys who had just come over to possibly play a prank with a paintball gun. It wasn't until Kevin completely collapsed on the floor, and the second gunshot rang out that Kent realized what was happening. And then he talked about

how surreal it was to be shot himself, and how it took a moment to really register what had happened to him. So Bart clearly got the least of the injuries here and he was able to talk to investigators right away as well. Bart said that the masked shooter ran right out the back door very shortly after shooting the four of them. He said that this person was a male and that they were possibly black. Of course, of course, investigators also asked him about that night, what they were doing, personal questions about him, his family, and he explained that he was graduating from Sam Houston State University, and their family had gone out to celebrate.

So based on the initial descriptions of night by Kent and Bart, it seemed like their family had been the victim of a burglary gone wrong. During the initial search of their home, there were cabinets and drawers that had been the victim of a burglary gone wrong. During the initial search of their home, there were cabinets and drawers that had been opened as if someone had, you know, rummaged through them, looking for things to steal. But they only had been opened about two to three inches

and none of the contents inside were disturbed. So that made things get confusing quick. So then the Fort Bend County Sheriff's Department also brought in nationally recognized descent bloodhounds who tracked from the back door where the intruder had left to the main street. But they lost their scent shortly after. And the deeper detectives got into the investigation, the whole burglar theory to start to make less and less sense. They realized that all the valuable items in the home were left in place. Nothing had been touched. The house looked perfect.

They did find one black leather glove, a gun, four spent bullet casings, and a gun safe, which was located on the opposite side of the house, and that had been pride open. Detectives immediately identified the gun as belonging to Kevin and realized that the safe had been pride open, and then the gun was used to attack the family. So it didn't take investigators long to figure out that there was some major foolery going on here, and that the burglar theory just did not make sense. I mean, if their family had come home and someone was burglarizing the house, you know,

in progress, and then realized that they were there, they would not have had time to run to the other side of the house, pry open the gun safe, grab the gun, and be back to the front door area within seconds, because they were shot in their doorway. So it became obvious that whoever killed Kevin and Trisha and shot Kent and Bart did so intentionally. So the next step for investigators is to look into this family more carefully. And it did not take long to figure out that Bart had not been telling the truth. In the hospital, Bart explained that the family went out to dinner because they were celebrating his upcoming graduation from Sam Houston State University.

Well, turns out not only was Bart lying about graduating, it turns out he was not even enrolled as a student. Your challenge, if you choose to accept it, is this. Let's go, let's go! Show up on day one, work out with us for 30 minutes, feel good right away. Go! Repeat five days a week for three weeks. Wear a body and we call that a body block.

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The most common side effects were nausea and sleepiness. My hope is that by sharing my migraine story and the relief I get from ubrelvi, it can help someone else. Ask your doctor about ubrelvi. The anytime anywhere migraine medicine, find more product information at you, Braille V.com or call 8444UBRELVY, sponsored by ABV. That's right, guys. Completely lying to his parents about even being in college and going as far as to tell them he was about to graduate and then go get his master's degree.

And his mom was totally right when she knew something was off. Investigators learned that he had been placed on academic probation as a freshman for skipping almost all of his classes and he never returned to school after that. So not only was Bart already lying to the investigators, but he had been lying to his own family for years. Obviously that makes you think. If he's willing to lie about that, he's capable of keeping up a big lie like that.

What else is he lying about? So, investigators obviously bring this up to him, question him. Bart, you weren't graduating. You weren't even enrolled in school, like what gives? And that's when Bart explained that he was so afraid of disappointing his parents that he did not have the courage to tell them he was no longer in school. He said school was just too difficult and too stressful and the pressure he felt from his family

was completely overwhelming. So they go and tell Kent, hey your son has been lying about being in school all these years, but Kent didn't even really care. He was just happy that his son was alive. Now Kent may have been able to look past his son's dishonest past, but investigators saw straight through him. And only five days after the attack, Sugarland police were giving crucial information that completely confirmed their suspicions. That Bart was somehow involved in the murder of his family members.

Around 1130 on December 15, the lead detective was told that someone was at the police station and needed to talk to him as soon as possible. So he goes in and he meets with someone in the parking lot. He was a pretty young guy named Adam Hipp, who was a bank teller in Dallas, and he told him that he knew for a fact that Bart was involved in the shooting. Turns out Adam had known Bart since high school, and he said that he had been planning his family's death for years. And he said that he knew this because back family's death for years. And he said that he knew this,

because back in 2001, Bart had asked him to help him kill his whole family. And Adam and him had talked about it quite a bit, but they had never really gotten past the talking phase. They never actually put a plan into motion or had anything set in stone, but he said Bart had clearly put a lot of thought into ending the lives of his mother,

father, and his brother. Adam even drew a diagram for the detective that laid out Bart's original plan, and not surprisingly, this plan was a near perfect match for what had happened just five days earlier in the Whitaker house. So I'm sure you're wondering why? Why would he want to kill his whole family? Why had he been planning on this for years? Well, it was for the money. He was after his parents share of their construction business, which was estimated to be worth about $1.5 million. But obviously that doesn't explain why he wanted to kill his brother, but his plan in 2001 was to take his family to dinner during which Adam would slip into the back door and wait for them to return.

And like I said, this plan never made it past the talking stages, but that is exactly what happened to the Whittaker family five days before Adam is telling them all of this. So clearly there was just no way. It was a coincidence. Detectives did look into Adam of course and made sure that he had a rock solid alibi for that night. He was far away from their house and couldn't have possibly been involved.

On December 16th, less than a week after the attack, over 1,000 community members got together to mourn the loss of Kevin and Tricia. And no one could have expected that Bart, at this point, was a suspect. Not only were they looking at him, he was now their number one suspect. The only person there that was slightly aware that Bart was on police's radar

was his father Kent and he was so sure that his son would never do something like that that he couldn't even wrap his mind around it. I mean, he didn't think it was even remotely possible that his son was behind it all. So just a few days after this, Bart is brought into the station to talk to investigators and he tries to throw them off his trail. He believed that he was there to talk to police about what had happened that night. The events leading up to the attack, the attack itself,

the events after the attack. He was going to kind of help them re-enact the whole night. But little did he know, investigators felt pretty confident that he was their guy. No matter what version of the story he told, Bart wasn't commencing at all. He kept saying things like, well, this might have happened, or I think it went down like this, but he never had just one version of events. But obviously detectives can't arrest Bart based on that suspicion and what Adam had told them. They needed evidence, but they could, however, use Adam's story to their advantage.

If Bart had tried to implicate his friends in his plan back in 2001, he'd likely did the same thing this time around. So investigators started looking at Bart's closest friends. And that's when they came across the names Chris Brashear and Stephen Champagne. Chris and Stephen were friends of Bart through their jobs at the Bentwater Country Club, and sources say that Bart and Chris were also roommates, and that Stephen lived not far from the two of them. And because of the supposed close connection

between the three of them, detectives brought in Chris and Stephen for questioning. And like I said, if Bart was willing to implicate close friends in the past, who's to say you didn't do it this time around? So Chris and Stephen are brought into the station and they both give DNA samples. And then these samples are gonna be used to cross-reference against any evidence

that is found at the scene. Then the bloodhounds that originally were at the house were brought in again, and they identified Chris's scent on the gloves, the drawers in the house, the gun, and the gun safe. So things are not looking good for Chris at this point, and his name is pushed the top of the suspect list. But of course, when they confront him about it,

he denies any involvement. So police get the idea to work with Adam. And this is the friend that he originally plotted to kill his family with back in 2001, but didn't. So they ask Adam if he could have a conversation with Bart that they could record that would hopefully implicate him and Steven and Chris in the murders. And obviously what's in it for Adam? He then is able to sign a non-proscution agreement for his

conspiracy to commit murder back in 2001. So the plan is for him to talk to Bart, so he gives him a call. He tells Bart that the Sugarland Police Department had contacted him and that he would be traveling from Dallas to do an interview in person. And even though Bart didn't fully implicate himself, he did offer to pay Adam $20,000 to lied to the police. He tells him he's going to send it to this PO box and little does he know the police are monitoring this PO box. And little does he know, the police are monitoring the PO box. On April 1st, 2004, an envelope containing $240 in cash was received and the return address was a match for Bart's address in Willis, Texas. Now, obviously, this money doesn't necessarily implicate him in the murders, but sending Hush money to someone who's going to be talking to the police is definitely a strong start. So things are really starting to heat up for Bart.

And he knows it, he knows the police are probably on to him. So in June of 2004, he gets the fuck out of dodge. One evening, he tells his father Kent that he's headed out to a local club. And after that, he never returned. And on June 28th, his Chevy Yukon was found abandoned with the engine still running, which is when detectives realized that he had fled. So it would take over a year for Bar to be found. And obviously his disappearance really through a wrench in the investigation.

And in addition to looking for Bar during this time, they're also looking into Chris and Stephen more and more. And in addition to looking for Bart during this time, they're also looking into Chris and Stephen more and more. And in August of 2005, they actually wiretapped Chris and Stephen's phones. They were really hoping that the conversations between the two of them would finally prove that they were involved in the murders, but unfortunately the communication between them just wasn't enough to warrant an arrest. And they were starting to feel really frustrated.

But then on August 25th, 2005, Stephen Champaign agreed to meet with them, and he spilled it all. He told investigators that Bart had agreed to pay them each percentage of his family's inheritance, if they helped him kill his parents and brother. And Stephen explained to them how it went down. He said that he was the getaway driver and that Chris was the actual shooter. And he said that after they drove off, he and Chris disposed of any remaining evidence in Lake Conroe. And then afterwards, he actually took investigators to the spot at the lake where they

had disposed of all the evidence. And they were able to find ammunition, two cell phones, and the chisel used to crack the gun safe all in the lake. So after that, Chris and Stephen were arrested for their involvement. And after that, all that was left was finding an arresting Bart Whitaker. So then there was another major breakthrough in September of 2005, when a man named Rudy Rios contacted Sugarland Police and let them know that he knew where Bart was. Rudy was a former co-worker of Bart's and he said that he had been paid $3,000 to help him escape. He explained that he drove Bart to Suralvo, where he and his family lived, and let him take on his identity. And from there, Bart moved again to Monterey,

where he began developing a whole new life for himself. And under his new identity, Bart was known as a very charming, nice, handsome guy. Many of the locals grew fond of him and he started dating this girl named Cindy Liu and the two of them actually had a pretty long like a year-long relationship and in the time that he was gone he became incredibly close with her family. So much so that her dad said that he thought of Bart as a son and Bart had fed them a loadable shit about where he had come from and his life leading up to this and why he was shot in the arm. He actually told Cindy Lou and her father and their whole family that he was an AWOL soldier

who had been, you know, shot when he and a bunch of his men were attacked and most of them were killed. And he decided at that point he didn't want to kill anymore. So he fled. And their family really loved Bart. I mean, they treasured this man that they thought he was. Rudy Rios, but Little did Bart know his days as Rudy Rios were numbered. Because the real Rudy Rios had made the police report

and a team of officers went down to Monterey and made an arrest. Now, Cindy Lue's father was extremely shocked to figure out that Rudy Rios was actually Bart Whitaker, and that he was not at all who he said he was. But sources say that Cindy Lou wasn't all that shocked. Apparently there was an instance over the last year where she and her parents got in a huge fight, and Bart suggested that they kill them to get rid of their problems. So when they arrested him and brought him back, there was very little that could be done for him.

I mean, there was a very strong case against Bart and his defense team knew that there wasn't much they could do to prove that he was innocent. So instead, they had to take their chances in court and let the jury decide Bart's fate. And in December of 2005, the district attorney announced that they would be seeking the death penalty for the charge of Capitol murder.

Chris and Stephen would not be facing the death penalty. And Stephen was actually offered a deal for a lighter sentence for testifying against Bart. Ken was obviously totally shocked and heartbroken to hear that his son actually was involved in his attempted murder, in the murder of his wife and his other son. I mean, imagine raising this child. And they turn turn into someone who would want to kill your whole family. I mean, how do you even come to terms with that? Kent

said that he kind of always knew his son was a narcissist, that he was very self-absorbed, but he just never would have imagined he would do something like this. And I'm sure it was very painful to hear how long this plan had been in Bart's mind. So the trial didn't start until March of 2007, and Bart made it clear at that time that he was not going down with that fight, even before his trial during his arrangement hearing Bart wouldn't enter his own plea. All he had to say was guilty or not guilty, but he just sat there in silence, forcing the judge to enter a not guilty plea for him. [♪ Music playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, everyone through the horrific events of December 10th, 2003 that led to the death of his wife and

his son. He talked about how scary it was and how it felt being shot himself, not knowing if he was actually going to survive. I'll be circling back to Kent in a minute, but first I want to go through the rest of the trial. So the prosecution brought forth forensic evidence, a crime scene analysis, and a handful of other witness testimony in order to prove that part was guilty. And like I mentioned previously, Steven was offered a deal for testifying a Gens-Bart during the trial. So he was called to test fine a third day of the trial and he explained how it all began. So it turns out Bart had approached him and Chris in the summer of 2003,

with a not so serious plan to kill his family. Like he was talking about it, but they didn't know if he actually really wanted to commit to doing this. Stephen claimed that he tried to back out of the plan as it was starting to develop. He felt less and less comfortable with it. The idea of really being involved in this murder was really starting to freak him out, but Bart threatened him and said that he had to fall through it because he had already been involved in the planning. So he could be, you know, in trouble for conspiracy to kill. So he might as well just fall through the plan. So on the day of the attack, Steven said that he parked outside of the Poppito's seafood kitchen

and waited there for the family to leave. And then as soon as their family finished up dinner and headed out to the parking lot and left, he calls Chris and let them know that the family was on their way home. And then he explained that after the quadruple shooting, Chris hops in Steven's getaway car and the two of them drive the remaining evidence to the lake. Then Steven told everyone that a few months after the attack, Bart came to them and said the job was not finished because his father Kent was still alive. And Bart wanted him dead.

Even months after seeing the pain that everyone in the community, everyone in their family was feeling he still wanted his father dead, which just shows you a lot about Bart. Now of course we know that a second attempt was not made to kill Ken, but it sounds like Bart was definitely toying with the idea. Adam Hip, his friend from high school, also testified against Bart and told everyone about the plan to murder his family back in 2001 and how the plan back then was almost identical to what happened in 2003. So he really made it clear to the jury that Bart had been planning

to kill his family for years. It had been something that was on his mind for a long time. And get this, Adam wasn't the only one to testify that Bart had tried to enlist his help. Bart's college roommate, a guy named Justin Peters, testified that back in December of 2000, Bart had enlisted his help and the help of a kid named Will Anthony to kill his parents. And he claimed that that plan failed and that's why Bart went to Adam HIP in 2001 to try again. So now the jury is aware of three different plots that Bart had to kill his family. And so they had more than enough evidence

at this point to convict him of capital murder. So after closing statements, the jury went to deliberate and it only took them 12 hours to come to their conclusion. And I'm sure you guys think that everything that I have said in this video so far is absolutely insane. Well, just buckle in because it gets crazier during the punishment phase of Bart sentencing There were several attempts by his own family members to sway the jury against giving him the death penalty Bart's uncle bow was one of the family members who pleaded with the jury to spare his life in his statement

He said that Bart had experienced so much pressure that he'd just. And Bart even took the stand in his own defense and claimed that the reason he did what he did was because his family led him to do it. He said that he had always felt like an outsider in the home and that it wasn't money that led him to do this, although he definitely wanted to inherit a decent amount. He said that this hatred really developed from feeling like he was never good enough for them. Obviously, by sharing this bar, is hoping that this would spark some type of sympathy from the jury. But the most surprising statements of all during the trial about sparing Bar's life came from his father Kent. With this point, his son had plotted his murder three separate occasions that we know of, but Kent explained

that he just simply could not lose another family member that seeing his son be put to death would be more than he could handle. He begged the jury to save his son's life, but in the end it was not enough. After the 12 hours of deliberation, the jury ended up sentencing Bart Whitaker to death in March of 2007. So Bart remained at the Polonsky unit in Livingston, Texas as he awaited the announcement of his death date. But remember earlier, how he talked about forgiveness, and how I mentioned that Kent had asked God to

allow him to forgive the person responsible for the attack, well he was definitely true to his word, and he became his son's biggest advocate. Barton Kent tried to appeal the death sentence at the state and federal level and each time they were unsuccessful. They even appealed to the Supreme Court but the appeal was denied and year after year Kent rallied to save his son's life. He actually visited him in prison all the time and this is pretty surprising but the two of them became really close. He said they became best friends during this whole experience. Closer than they had ever been in their lives, which is not what any of us would really expect in this situation. Obviously, if you're questioning how could Kent possibly forgive his son and

you're not alone, but Kent has been extremely vocal about his efforts, explaining that the death of Bart would only further victimize him. And if you think about it, sendencing Bart to death would be killing off Kent's last family member. And he said he just couldn't stand by and watch that happen. Kent actually eventually remarried and wrote a book. And he and his wife toured the country talking about the shooting. And it's aftermath and how the Lord allowed them to forgive. You may ask, how is it possible that I could ever forgive someone who had taken so much?

Well, as it turns out, that someone was my son Bart. He has been convicted for having arranged and orchestrated the entire plot. Today, he resides on Texas Death Row. In my new book, Murder by Family, I walk you through every painstaking step of this grueling ordeal, including my own journey to forgiveness and the rocky road that led to Bart's redemption. And he made it his mission to petition the state to reduce his son's sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole, but his efforts were unsuccessful. And on November 1st, 2017, Bart's death warrant was signed, and he was scheduled to be executed by lethal injection

on February 22nd, 2018. Now, Bart himself actually started up a blog, and I was scheduled to be executed by lethal injection on February 22, 2018. Now, Bart himself actually started up a blog, and I did not know you could do that on death role, but he did. And it was called Minutes Before Six, and it detailed some of his time on death row. So with the date approaching, obviously the efforts to save Bart's life only intensified. And four prison guards actually wrote letters in Bart's favor. They said that he was a model in me, who had shown that he was capable of change. And during his time on death row, Bart completed his bachelor's and master's degree

and has apparently shown extreme compassion to other inmates. So as February 22, 2018 is approaching Kent made his final plea. Just two days before Bart was supposed to be executed, Kent petitioned the Texas Board of Partens and Pearls begging for clemency. And in his plea, Kent cited the Old Testament story of Cain, who after killing his own brother was marked but not killed by God. He made references to this story and talked about how it was against God's will for Bart to be killed for his sins. And obviously in a situation like this, you want to take the victims'

thoughts into consideration. So shockingly, the board made a unanimous recommendation that Bart's sentence be commuted to life imprisonment. But the board doesn't get to make the final call. Even though it was their recommendation for his sentence to be reduced, this would ultimately be up to Governor Greg Abbott. Now, Greg Abbott, very controversial dude. He has granted the executions of over 30 inmates. He has never taken someone off of death row until Bart Whitaker. That day Kent was obviously hoping his son

would be pulled off of death row, but he was expecting and preparing to see his son get executed. He actually wanted to be there with him during the lethal injection. That day he and his wife went and kind of said they're good buys to bar because it wasn't

looking good. But then 30 minutes before he was supposed to be executed, Greg Abbott made a shocking statement. Governor Greg Abbott was commuting his sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole. At 6 o'clock tonight, Thomas Bart Wittaker was supposed to be executed here inside the walls of what's known as the walls unit in Huntsville, but Governor Abbott commuted his sentence

much to the relief of his family, especially his father can't. And this was only the third time in over four decades that a Texas governor granted clemency to a death row inmate on humanitarian ground. And Governor Abbott put out a statement saying Mr. Wittaker's father, who survived the attempt on his life, passionately opposes the execution of his son. Mr. Whitaker's father insists that he would be victimized again if the state put to death his last remaining family member. The governor cited three reasons for his decision.

First, Bart Whitaker will never be released. Second, the actual shooter in this case didn't get the death penalty. He got life in prison and finally, Whitaker's father. He said he would be victimized again if the state executed his son. Like I said, when this news came in, Kent and his wife were literally at the execution chamber preparing

to say their final goodbyes. Touched hands through the glass and we said our good buys. Bart had been transferred to the cell next to the gurney where the execution would take place and been given his final meal according to his lawyer.

Kent and other family members had undergone execution orientation. And at that point I put it on speaker and let everybody hear it and the whole room erupted. Now Bart Whitaker will be sentenced to life in prison without parole. Whitaker doesn't know the next time he will be able to talk to his son again, but he

knows he won't have to worry about an impending death sentence the next time he sees him. So it was very down to the wire and very intense all around. And this brings me back to my question from the beginning. If your family member or your child had killed another one of your children and your wife or any of your family members, do you think you'd be able to find forgiveness? Would you be able to find forgiveness for a stranger? I'm very curious on your thoughts on forgiveness

in a situation like this because it's very, very difficult and I really can't imagine being in that position. So Bart Whitaker is now serving a life sentence at the McConnell unit in Bville, Texas. And he will never see life outside of those prison walls. As for Chris and Steven, Chris pled guilty back in 2007 and received life in prison with the possibility of parole after 30 years, and Steven was given a 15-year sentence in exchange

for his testimony against Bart. So again, I really want to know your thoughts on this one. I know there will be a lot of opinions in the comments this time time and I am looking forward to seeing what you guys have to say. Obviously this is a very sad story and it's really surprising to hear how long Bart had this in his mind and how many times he really was going to try to kill his whole family. Personally, I think the right move was made granting him clemency. I think that the victims' thoughts should definitely be taken into consideration. And, you know, I wouldn't want to see his father further victimize. I think it's amazing that he was able to, you know, work through all this

fine forgiveness, become closer with his son than ever. I mean, who could have imagined that ending? And seeing your child put to death would be very, very traumatizing on top of everything else he went through. It's really, really eerie to think about what that family dinner was like and what must have been going through Barts Head during that time. I don't know, man, it's just crazy how fake people can be and to hide this all from your family

for so long and lying about college, I mean, it's just wild. That is gonna be it for me today, guys. Thank you for joining me for another episode. And make sure you follow the show on Spotify and Apple podcasts. It really does help me out. If you want to watch the video version of this show, you can find it on my YouTube channel,

which will be linked, or you can just search Kendall Ray. I will be back with another episode soon, but until then, stay safe out there.