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Charles Whitman was a former Marine and sniper who killed 16 people at the University of Texas in 1966.
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Play NowCharles Joseph Whitman. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved 10:24, May 18, 2013, from http://www.biography.com/people/charles-whitman-11495598.
Charles Joseph Whitman. [Internet]. 2013. The Biography Channel website. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/charles-whitman-11495598 [Accessed 18 May 2013].
"Charles Joseph Whitman." 2013. The Biography Channel website. May 18 2013, 10:24 http://www.biography.com/people/charles-whitman-11495598.
"Charles Joseph Whitman," The Biography Channel website, 2013, http://www.biography.com/people/charles-whitman-11495598 [accessed May 18, 2013].
"Charles Joseph Whitman," The Biography Channel website, http://www.biography.com/people/charles-whitman-11495598 (accessed May 18, 2013).
Charles Joseph Whitman [Internet]. The Biography Channel website; 2013 [cited 2013 May 18] Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/charles-whitman-11495598.
Charles Joseph Whitman, http://www.biography.com/people/charles-whitman-11495598 (last visited May 18, 2013).
Charles Joseph Whitman. The Biography Channel website. 2013. Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/charles-whitman-11495598. Accessed May 18, 2013.
Synopsis
Born on June 24, 1941, in Lake Worth, Florida, Charles Whitman served as a Marine before enrolling in the University of Texas. Suffering from mental illness and acute fits of anger, Whitman killed his mother and wife and on August 1, 1966, went atop a 300-foot tower, targeting people in the vicinity. He would kill 16 and injure many others before he was killed by police, who stormed the tower.
Contents
Early Life
Mass murderer Charles Joseph Whitman was born on June 24, 1941, in Lake Worth, Florida. Taught at an early age to handle guns, Whitman was a model student and Eagle Scout who left home early to escape a violent father. He joined the Marine Corps to be a sharpshooter and then entered the University of Texas, where he met his future wife, Kathryn Leissner. (They married in 1962.)
Mass Murder
After called back to active service because of poor academic performance, Whitman returned to the Marine Corps in 1963. In December 1964, he was discharged. Whitman went back to the University of Texas at Austin in the spring of 1965.
By 1966, he was suffering from severe headaches and consulted a therapist at the university to discuss concerns he had over his mental health. The doctor recommended Whitman attend another session the following week, but he never returned.
Also in 1966, his mother finally left his father after suffering years of abuse. She got an apartment in Austin, not far from her son. This move would prove fatal for her. Sometime on the evening of July 31, Whitman went to his mother's home and stabbed and shot her. In a note left with her body, Whitman explained that he was "truly sorry that this was the only way I could see to relieve her sufferings but I think it was best."
After killing his mother, Whitman went home. Sometime after his wife went to sleep, he stabbed her to death. He typed a note before her death, stating that he was going to kill her. He said that "I love her dearly. . . . I cannot rationally pinpoint any specific reason for doing this." He thought it might have been his own selfishness or his desire to spare her from facing embarrassment over his actions.
On August 1, 1966, Whitman, along with an assortment of weapons and supplies stored in a trunk, entered the University of Texas tower, wearing overalls. He headed up to the observation deck, killing a receptionist and two others along the way. Once he reached the deck, he began shooting at the people below. The rampage lasted less than two hours with most of the deaths and injuries occurring in the first 15 to 20 minutes.
Death
A trained sniper, Whitman shot most of his victims near or in the heart. In total, he killed 16 people and wounded 30 more on the campus before being shot and killed by two police officers. The officers were assisted by a civilian with military experience who deputized at the scene.
In one of his writings, Whitman stated that he wanted his brain examined after his death to check for signs of physical cause of mental illness. His request was granted in the form of a police autopsy, which showed that he had a brain tumor. But medical experts disagreed over whether it had any effect on Whitman??s actions.
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