The Perpetrator: Charles Joseph Whitman
Associated Press
Born June 24, 1941, in Lake Worth, Florida, to Margaret and Charles Adolphus Whitman. Charles Jr. had just turned twenty-five years old at the time of the mass murder. He had two younger brothers, Patrick and John.
He was a healthy child who was a avid achiever and displayed a remarkably high IQ when tested on several occasions. His childhood was marred by domestic violence committed by his poorly educated, but financially successful, father, who was a gun-enthusiast
At the age of eighteen, Whitman joined the Marine Corps to escape his father's abuse and gain financial independence. He was deployed to Gitmo (Cuba) and thrived in this environment. He was awarded a military scholarship and chose the mechanical engineering program at UT at Austin, where he met his soon-to-be-wife, Kathleen Leissner.
Charles and Kathy had the usual challenges of a young couple. His grades weren't adequate for the Corp's requirements, and he was eventually ordered back into active duty at Camp Lejeune, NC. Whitman was court-martialed and found guilty of several non-violent offences (gambling, usury). He served his sentence, which included hard labour and demotion in rank, and completed his enlistment, Whitman was given an honourable discharge and returned to Kathy and UT at Austin to continue working on his degree.
Charles pursued studies in architectural engineering, and Kathy graduated with a degree in education and started teaching a biology course at a local high school. Despite being poised for productive and meaningful lives, Charles began a downward spiral. He started to experience emotional lability, variable academic performance and progressive headaches. The evening before Charlie committed the mass murder, the Whitmans enjoyed sequentially socializing with two different couples who were good friends. No one other than Charles had the slightest idea about what would soon transpire.
