A Sniper in the Tower: The Charles Whitman Murders

5: Oozing with Hostility

5 Oozing with Hostility 64 I Some of the finest behavioral scientists in the world would one day conclude that Charlie Whitman was "intelligent, intense , and driven," qualities that should result in success and satisfaction . But Charlie found frustration instead. The nice facade became harder for him to maintain; eventually he concluded that he could not master the forces work.ing against real achievenlent.He took. no initiative to seek.meaningful help for his academic or psychological problems. He behaved inconsistently towards Kathy, although his serious loss of control was more infrequent. His bouts of depression were probably more troubling to Kathy; it would have been in her nature to try to keep Charlie happy. During the spring of 1966,- she began to gently guide him towards professional counseling. Charlie believed he suffered from some physical malady Specifically , he thought something was wrong with his head; and he also feared that he was sterile.1 Those suspicions seemed to torture his mind, but there exists no evidence of his wanting professional help. Instead, he chose to wallow in self-doubt and personal dissatisfaction . For all his talk. about the need for others to achieve and get ahead and in spite of his harsh words for his brother Patrick.'s refusal to get help for his problems, Charlie Whitman stalled himself by his own inability to deal with self-inflicted problems. Other sources of stress would result in a complete surrender to his frustrations and anger-and in tragedy The grades Charlie earned in his courses during the spring and fall of 1965 were significantly improved from his earlier matriculation at the University of Texas. In the spring he made three Cs, one B, and one A. During the fall, after his summer at NASA, he earned three As and one B, but had to drop calculus. Charlie had, at last, become an honor student." He had learned hard lessons and paid for his foolishness, and he now had Kathy. For some time she had been universally lauded by Lanier students, fellow teachers, school administrators, and Southwestern Bell Telephone operators and supervisors . Her loyalty and determination to make her marriage work and her emotional support for Charlie were extraordinary; In Lake Worth, Florida, a different Whitman wife had given up. After enduring more than twenty-five years of a difficult marriage, Margaret decided she could take no more. On 2 March 1966 at 9:30 P.M. someone called the Lake Worth Police Department reporting a disturbance at 820 South L Street. "They are going to kill each other" the complainant said. But by the time officers arrived all was quiet. Less than two hours later, at II :20 P.M., LWPD received another call, but this time the caller identified himself as Charles J. Whitman of 100I Shelley Avenue, Austin, Texas. According to the police report, Charlie informed the dispatcher that "Mr. Charles A. Whitman of 820 South L Street had threatened to do bodily harm to his mother. He advises that he is enroute to this city at this time to pick" up his mother." Obviously, Margaret had called Charlie for help. Most likely he convinced her to leave his father and once she agreed he immediately set out to cover the 1,400 mile trip to Lake Worth. He arrived on 4 March to find his entire family in complete disarray. By 4:05 P.M. Margaret had been firmly convinced of the wisdom of moving to Austin. She called the LWPD and requested that all officer be dispatched to 820 South L Street to stand by while she removed some of her personal effects. The two officers, Lieutenant Sargent and Officer Arbour, reported standing by for an hour and fifteen minutes observing C. A. and Margaret arguing and "giving each other all kinds of trouble for tile entire time, all nonsense."3 Very shortly Charlie and Margaret were in Austin. Charlie reputedly made the entire trip without any sleep. Soon afterwards Patrick arrived; before the end of March he had moved in with Charlie and Kathy Within a few weeks Pat relocated to 1404 West 12th Street, an apartment very near Margaret. He found a job as a truck driver and salesman for Big Three Welding and Gas Equipment Company. While in Austin, however, Patrick" began to feel neglected, and developed a feeling that Margaret favored Charlie. Anger and strained relations haunted the Whitmans even...