A Sniper in the Tower by Gary M. Lavergne Page B

E. Holloway, who had been hospitalized in Houston and had required a transfusion, he donated blood to the Travis County Medical Society Blood Bank six times

 

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within a ten-month period. On all but one occasion his blood pressure was measured, and none of the measurements was high. 13
With frequent calls from C. A. constantly reminding him of how much he hated his father, and at the same time how much he was like him, Charlie successfully maintained the nice facade through, as the National Observer later wrote, his "fierce will power to suppress his strains and vices." 14 Kathy must have been encouraged when he finally succumbed to her pleas and sought professional help at the University of Texas Health Center. On 29 March 1966, about three weeks after Charlie had moved his mother from Florida to Texas, he saw Dr. Jan D. Cochrum, a general practitioner who had been on staff for only a year and a half. Dr. Cochrum prescribed Valium, a mild sedative, and referred him to a staff psychiatrist. Cochrum described the visit as routine and unremarkable. He remembered treating Charlie only after seeing a picture of him four months later, when he commented that Charlie was "every bit as nice a guy as he looked in the picture." 15
Dr. Maurice Dean Heatly, the staff psychiatrist at the University Student Health Center, was generally well-regarded. He came from a prominent family; his brother served as the Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee in the state legislature. Dr. Heatly engaged in a number of volunteer and part-time activities. 16 However, Heatly's style and manner did not impress all of his patients. One former student, Bill Helmer, wrote of visiting Heatly for marital problems and depression. Helmer described how he sat and listened to the doctor talk on the telephone to a driller engaged in the installation of a well on the Heatly ranch. Heatly's treatment reportedly consisted of a prescription for Librium. 17
Before seeing Dr. Heatly, Charlie completed an information sheet. He neatly printed his curt answers. When asked about his chief problem, he answered, "That's why I'm here." When asked if college work was hard, he replied, "Some of it." He also replied to a question about hobbies and interests by listing hunting, karate, and scuba diving, but he also added, "Main interest [is] how to make money." 18
Heatly's first impression was that Charlie was a "massive, muscular youth" who "seemed to be oozing with hostility." He later characterized Charlie in a way that would haunt him and the University of Texas for decades: "There was something about him that

 

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suggested and expressed the all-American boy." For approximately one hour Charlie opened up and became as candid as he would ever be about his own state of mind and true feelings. He did refer to several commendable achievements as a marine, but he tended to dwell on his lack of achievement and what he saw as impediments to reaching his goals. Heatly noted a self-centered and egocentric patient, but one who made clear he wanted to improve himself. Charlie became emphatic; something was happening to him and he didn't seem to be himself. 19
Heatly surmised that the real reason for the visit was Charlie's distress over the separation of his parents. Charlie described the "gross disharmony" of the Whitman household and his summons to Florida to retrieve his mother. He then related how C. A. Whitman phoned frequently and relentlessly in vain attempts to convince Charlie to intercede with his mother. The invectives against C. A. Whitman continued. Charlie included a clear enunciation that he was just like his father, especially in the manner in which he treated his wife. Charlie admitted to assaulting Kathy on two occasions, though he added that she feared him less now because of his greater efforts to control his violent behavior. He described his father as a semi-literate but demanding near-perfectionist who had achieved a great deal. Therein lay a