The Whitaker Family Murders of Sugar Land, Texas
A double homicide reveals a tragic conspiracy.
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December 10, 2003 was to be a day of joy and celebration for the Whitaker family of Sugar Land, Texas. Kent, 54 years old, the comptroller of a family-owned construction business, and his wife Patricia, 51 years old, a former elementary school teacher, were thrilled to hear that their oldest son, 23-year-old Bart, was graduating from Sam Houston State University with honors. The trio, along with 19-year-old Kevin, drove 10 minutes or so from their home in the Sugar Lake subdivision to nearby Stafford to dine at the popular Pappadeaux seafood restaurant. During the festivities, Kent and Patricia gifted Bart with a $4,000 Rolex watch.
Upon returning back to the family home, Bart went to his Yukon to collect his cell phone and check his messages. Kevin, who had driven, was the first to enter the home after unlocking the front door and as he entered the dining room was shot once through the chest, falling to the floor, the car keys in his hand landing beside him. The bullet penetrated his heart. Patricia, behind Kevin, was shot in the chest as she entered the home. Kent heard the shots that struck his wife and his son as he himself was struck. As he was on the front porch and at an angle from the shooter, the bullet passed through his chest and into his shoulder, shattering his humerus bone. Its pathway had been less than six inches from his heart. Bart rushed in behind his father and, in a struggle with the masked gunman, was shot in his upper left arm. He then chased the gunman out the back door.
The Whitfields’ neighbor, Cliff Stanley, rushed to the scene and used his own shirt to staunch Kent’s wound. Stanley also called 911 and was on the phone with the operator while Bart called 911 from his own phone, explaining that he had been shot in the arm and had chased the shooter out the back door. When asked to describe the assailant, he said he didn’t know but possibly black. Interestingly, his father would tell authorities that he was white skin around the eyeholes of the mask.
