A Sniper in the Tower by Gary M. Lavergne
Authors: Gary M. Lavergne
Tags: United States, General, History, True Crime, State & Local, Murder, test, Southwest (AZ; NM; OK; TX)
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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 the 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 in the absence of C. A.; after a few weeks Patrick returned to Florida. 4
The troubled family was dysfunctional, at best. The whole messy affair just added to the pressures of a tormented young Charles Whitman. The Lake Worth problems had moved to Austin and had become inescapable.
By May, Margaret made a firm decision to make a complete break. At that time she returned to Lake Worth to get more of her things. Evidently, another painful clash took place between the elder Whitmans. An unidentified neighbor recalled that C. A. tried to remove Margaret's ring before she left him, but he could not get it off her finger. Whether or not Charlie witnessed the struggle is not known. The elder Whitman did make repeated and serious attempts to get Margaret to return to him, including a barrage of phone calls to Charlie.
I'm not ashamed of the fact I spent a thousand dollars a month on the phone bill, begging her to come back. I loved
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my wife dearly, my sons dearly, and I wanted our home to be happy. I kept begging Charlie to come back to me, too. I promised Charlie that if he'd only persuade his mama to come back, I'd swear never to lay a hand on her. But my wife was a fine woman, and she understood my nature, and even when she left me in Maywe'd had a clash and she said to me, "I'm leaving because you've been too good to us all." She told me that was where the thing had gone wrong. 5
And so again, C. A. Whitman associated love with brutality. In his mind, his goodness and generosity caused his family's problems. Charlie and Margaret both lived in Austin with new cars purchased by C. A. Whitman, but Margaret could justifiably argue that she was responsible for a good part of the success of the Whitman business. Through her brother, she contacted a West Palm Beach attorney to begin negotiations with C. A. to arrive at a property settlement.
Despite evidence of his generosity, C. A's admitted domineering and overbearing personality should not be underestimated. On 5 June 1966, Margaret wrote to her father: "I don't know whether you know it yet or not but Charles and I have separated and I am getting a divorce. I hate it but I just couldn't take it any longer." She never mailed the unfinished letter.
Margaret's Austin roots grew deeper when she applied for and accepted a position as a cashier at Wyatt's Cafeteria in the Hancock Shopping Center. She reported for her first day of work on 8 April 1966. Three months earlier the University of Texas had reclassified Charlie as a resident of Texas. The Whitmans were becoming naturalized Texans. 6
Kathy knew how depressed Charlie could get and she was afraid to leave him alone. He could get frighteningly unhappy and often languished in a state of anxiety Dr. Dana L. Farnsworth, a Hygiene Professor and Health Services Director of Harvard University, would later observe:
He indicated to friends that he had been depressed from time to time because he felt that something was going on inside him he did not understand. He had a fear of his
Page 68
impulsive behavior. He became more and more vulnerable to the accumulated stresses with which he was dealing in a less and less satisfactory manner.
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 in the absence of C. A.; after a few weeks Patrick returned to Florida. 4
The troubled family was dysfunctional, at best. The whole messy affair just added to the pressures of a tormented young Charles Whitman. The Lake Worth problems had moved to Austin and had become inescapable.
By May, Margaret made a firm decision to make a complete break. At that time she returned to Lake Worth to get more of her things. Evidently, another painful clash took place between the elder Whitmans. An unidentified neighbor recalled that C. A. tried to remove Margaret's ring before she left him, but he could not get it off her finger. Whether or not Charlie witnessed the struggle is not known. The elder Whitman did make repeated and serious attempts to get Margaret to return to him, including a barrage of phone calls to Charlie.
I'm not ashamed of the fact I spent a thousand dollars a month on the phone bill, begging her to come back. I loved
Page 67
my wife dearly, my sons dearly, and I wanted our home to be happy. I kept begging Charlie to come back to me, too. I promised Charlie that if he'd only persuade his mama to come back, I'd swear never to lay a hand on her. But my wife was a fine woman, and she understood my nature, and even when she left me in Maywe'd had a clash and she said to me, "I'm leaving because you've been too good to us all." She told me that was where the thing had gone wrong. 5
And so again, C. A. Whitman associated love with brutality. In his mind, his goodness and generosity caused his family's problems. Charlie and Margaret both lived in Austin with new cars purchased by C. A. Whitman, but Margaret could justifiably argue that she was responsible for a good part of the success of the Whitman business. Through her brother, she contacted a West Palm Beach attorney to begin negotiations with C. A. to arrive at a property settlement.
Despite evidence of his generosity, C. A's admitted domineering and overbearing personality should not be underestimated. On 5 June 1966, Margaret wrote to her father: "I don't know whether you know it yet or not but Charles and I have separated and I am getting a divorce. I hate it but I just couldn't take it any longer." She never mailed the unfinished letter.
Margaret's Austin roots grew deeper when she applied for and accepted a position as a cashier at Wyatt's Cafeteria in the Hancock Shopping Center. She reported for her first day of work on 8 April 1966. Three months earlier the University of Texas had reclassified Charlie as a resident of Texas. The Whitmans were becoming naturalized Texans. 6
Kathy knew how depressed Charlie could get and she was afraid to leave him alone. He could get frighteningly unhappy and often languished in a state of anxiety Dr. Dana L. Farnsworth, a Hygiene Professor and Health Services Director of Harvard University, would later observe:
He indicated to friends that he had been depressed from time to time because he felt that something was going on inside him he did not understand. He had a fear of his
Page 68
impulsive behavior. He became more and more vulnerable to the accumulated stresses with which he was dealing in a less and less satisfactory manner.
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