Charles Whitman

Charles Joseph Whitman was an American engineering student at the University of Texas, former U.S. Marine, and a mass murderer who killed 16 people. In the early morning hours of August 1, 1966, Whitman murdered his wife and mother in their homes. Later that day, he brought a number of guns, including rifles, a shotgun, and handguns, to the campus of the University of Texas at Austin where, over an approximate 90 to 95 minute period, he killed 14 people and wounded 32 others in a mass shooting in and around the Tower. Whitman shot and killed three people inside the university's tower and eleven others after firing at random from the 28th-floor observation deck of the Main Building. Whitman was shot and killed by Austin police officer Houston McCoy. Just prior to Whitman’s clock tower massacre, Richard Speck, labeled America's “first mass murderer,” killed eight student nurses in July 1966. The killings are characterized as a new type of violence. University life: Whitman entered the mechanical engineering program at the University of Texas at Austin on September 15, 1961. Whitman was initially a poor student whose grades were largely unimpressive. His hobbies included karate, scuba diving, gambling and hunting. Shortly after his enrollment at the University, he and two friends were observed poaching a deer: a passer-by noted Whitman's license plate number and reported them to police. The trio were butchering the deer in the shower at Whitman's dormitory when arrested. Whitman was fined $100 for the offense. Whitman acquired a reputation as a practical joker in his years as an engineering student, but friends also noted he made some morbid and chilling statements. On one occasion in 1962, as he and a fellow student named Francis Schuck Jr. browsed the bookstore in the Main Building of the University of Texas, Whitman remarked: "A person could stand off an army from atop of it the Tower before they got him." Marriage: In February 1962, Whitman met Kathleen Frances Leissner, a teaching student two years his junior. Leissner was Whitman's first serious girlfriend. The couple courted for five months before announcing their engagement on July 19. On August 17, 1962, Whitman and Leissner married in a Catholic ceremony held in Leissner's hometown of Needville, Texas. The couple chose the 22nd wedding anniversary of Whitman's parents as the date for their wedding. Whitman's family drove from Florida to Texas to attend the event, and his younger brother Patrick served as best man. Fr. Leduc, a Whitman family friend, presided over the ceremony. Leissner's family and friends approved of her choice of husband, describing Whitman as a "handsome young man." Although Whitman's grades improved somewhat during his second and third semesters at the University of Texas at Austin, the Marine Corps deemed his academic performance unacceptable in terms of the scholarship. The Corps returned Whitman to active duty in February 1963. Whitman returned to active duty at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina to serve the remainder of his five-year assignment. Camp Lejeune: Whitman apparently resented the fact that his college studies had ended. He was automatically promoted to the rank of Lance Corporal. On one occasion during his service at Camp Lejeune, Whitman and two other Marines were involved in an accident in which their Jeep rolled over an embankment. After single-handedly lifting the vehicle to free a fellow Marine, Whitman fell to the ground unconscious from the effort. He was hospitalized for four days. He had a reputation among his peers as an exemplary Marine, but Whitman continued to gamble during his time at Camp Lejeune. In November 1963, he was court-martialed for gambling, usury, possession of a personal firearm on base, and threatening another Marine over a $30 loan, for which he had demanded $15 interest. Sentenced to 30 days of confinement and 90 days of hard labor, he was demoted in rank from Lance Corporal to Private. Documented frustrations: In 1963, as he awaited his court martial, Whitman began to write a diary titled "Daily Record of C.J. Whitman". He covered his daily life in the Marine Corps and his interactions with Kathy and other family members. He also wrote about his upcoming court martial and contempt for the Marine Corps; he criticized them for inefficiencies. In his writings about his wife, Whitman often praised her, and wrote how he longed to be with her. He also wrote about his efforts and plans to free himself from financial dependence on his father. In December 1964, Whitman was honorably discharged from the Marines. He returned to the University of Texas at Austin, enrolling in the architectural engineering program. To support himself and Kathy, he worked as a bill collector for the Standard Finance Company. Later, he worked as a bank teller at the Austin National Bank. In January 1965, Whitman took a temporary job with Central Freight Lines as a traffic surveyor for the Texas Highway Department. He also volunteered as a Scout leader for Austin Scout Troop 5 as his wife Kathy (having begun her career as a teacher) worked as a biology teacher at Lanier High School. Two close friends of Whitman, John and Fran Morgan, later told the Texas Department of Public Safety that he had told them of striking Kathy on two occasions. They said that Whitman had despised himself for the behavior and confessed to being "mortally afraid of being like his father." Whitman lamented his actions in his journal, and resolved to be a good husband and not to be abusive like his father. Separation of Whitman's parents: In May 1966, Margaret Whitman announced her intention to divorce Whitman's father because of his physical abuse. The younger Whitman drove to Florida to help his mother move to Austin. Whitman was reportedly so afraid that his father would resort to violence while his mother was preparing to leave that he summoned a local policeman to remain outside the house as his mother packed her belongings. Whitman's youngest brother, John, also chose to leave Lake Worth and move to Austin with his mother. The middle Whitman son, Patrick, remained in Florida. He worked with his father in the elder's plumbing supply business. In Austin, Whitman's mother found work in a cafeteria and moved into her own apartment. She remained in close contact with Charles. Whitman's father later admitted to having spent over a thousand dollars on regular long-distance phone calls to both his wife Margaret and Charles, pleading with his wife to return and trying to enlist his son to convince her to return. During this stressful time, Whitman was abusing amphetamines and began experiencing severe headaches. He later described these headaches as being "tremendous." On the eve of the shootings at the University Tower, Whitman wrote in his journal, reaffirming his love for his wife Kathy. These final entries were written in the past tense, suggesting he may have already killed Kathy and his mother.