A Sniper in the Tower (30 page)

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Authors: Gary M. Lavergne

Tags: #History, #United States, #General, #State & Local, #Southwest (AZ; NM; OK; TX), #True Crime, #Murder, #test

BOOK: A Sniper in the Tower
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4. Courtesy (Generally show respect for seniors but lets personal feeling towd. indiv. show) [sic]
5. Organize yourself and your work so that the insignificant is not a major crisis
6. When time permits exhaust all effort to find answers before asking the simplest of questions
14
IV
Meanwhile, Austin was hot. "It's damn hot! Hotter than a two-dollar pistol," could be heard during the last week in July when temperatures were right at or above 100 degrees. The relentless heat
 
Page 89
radiated from streets, sidewalks, and cars. Drivers burned their hands on steering wheels; occasionally, windshields of sealed, parked cars shattered. Drivers were warned that the heat inside cars could quickly kill children and pets locked inside. Searing car doors or seats often burned the arms or thighs of occupants wearing skimpy summer clothing. Walking on pavement without shoes was just plain stupid. It meant burns and blisters. Exposure to direct sunlight, even for short periods, could result in sunstrokes or heat exhaustion.
Charlie's little house on Jewell Street lacked air conditioning. Without an occasional breeze the stagnant air made the home an insufferable oven. Occasionally Charlie sat on the front porch hoping for relief. Sometimes he studied and worked at Margaret's air-conditioned apartment. At night he and Kathy slept nude in a bed positioned near a window.
In an attempt to mentally battle the heat, the City of Austin prepared for the Fifth Annual Aqua Fest, a ten-day carnival celebrating water, to be held during the first week of August. A beautiful young actress named Melody Patterson, best known as "Wrangler Jane" on the hit comedy television series
F Troop
, would serve as the Grand Marshall of the parade down Congress Avenue. Austinites anxiously awaited her arrival. Other guests for the event included actor Fess Parker, star of the series
Davy Crockett
. In the next few days Austin would see a number of celebrities. At the Paramount Theater, Adam West and Burt Ward, stars of the hugely popular
Batman
television series, would soon make a special appearance.
15
The week of 25 July 1966 was uneventful for Charlie. He attended classes as usual and dutifully tended to his job as a research assistant. On Thursday, 28 July, he asked a classmate, Tom Brightman, to return some class notes he had lent to him. Brightman remembered Charlie as kind and gracious, explaining that he needed the notes to study them himself. On the same day he placed a payment on a class ring he had ordered from Zales Jewelry in Austin. Clearly, on 28 July his studies were still a source of concern and he had notions of completing his studies at the University of Texas.
16
The next day, Friday, 29 July, would be Charlie's last day of classes. It would also be his last day of work. His supervisor, Dr. Clyde Lee, observed, "[Charlie] was prompt and asked real mature questions. Other students said he was in good spirits on Thursday and Friday
 
Page 90
and appeared to have no real reason to be depressed." Charlie's performance on the job had always been satisfactory. On Friday, he made a routine visit to a Gulf Mart convenience store and asked an employee, Roy Hester, if the store stocked distilled water in plastic bottles. When told they did not, Charlie thanked Hester and left without incident. Hester thought Charlie seemed "perfectly normal."
17
No one suspected that he was within two days of a complete and violent breakdown.
On Saturday, 30 July, Charlie relaxed. He took an afternoon nap on the living room couch. Someone, probably Kathy, snapped a picture of him as he slept with Schocie curled contentedly at his feet.
18
It is the last known picture of Charlie Whitman alive.
It was probably Kathy
Whitman who took
this photo of a sleeping
Charles Whitman
and their little dog
Schocie only two days
before he climbed the
tower. 
Austin Police
Department Files, from
film left in one of
Whitman's cameras.
V
On Sunday, 31 July 1966, it was hot. Kathy Whitman reported to work at Southwestern Bell Telephone in downtown Austin. Charlie drove her there just before 8:30
A.M.
, when she began a split shift that lasted until 1:00
P.M.
Sometime after 11:00
A.M.
he stopped by a 7-11 store on Barton Springs Road and purchased canned meat and other food items. He handed the cashier, Jessie Alvarez, a check for $10.00 to pay the $6.65 bill. He also went to Academy Surplus where he purchased a Bowie knife for $5.44 and a pair of binoculars for $18.98. The cashier did not ask for an ID because Charlie looked
 
Page 91
like "such a nice young man."
19
The Barton Springs 7-11 was located very near the Whitman's Jewell Street home, and $6.65 of groceries hardly suggests anything more than a routine trip for household supplies. But the Bowie knife and the binoculars would figure prominently in his plans for the next twenty-four hours. It was the first indication of a decision to become a murderer.
At 1:00
P.M.
Charlie drove back to Southwestern Bell and picked up Kathy. They went first to a movie and then to Wyatt's Cafeteria in the Hancock Shopping Center, where they joined his mother, Margaret, for a late lunch.
20
Their arrival during her break indicates that the three had arranged to meet. By all accounts they had a pleasant meal, and Charlie and Kathy seemed to enjoy each other's company on their last afternoon together. No one suspected that he was within three hours of a breakdown.
After lunch with Margaret, Charlie and Kathy drove to north Austin where they surprised their friends John and Fran Morgan. The Morgans afterward remembered that Charlie acted strangely; he was unusually quiet. Afterwards they may have gone home, or Charlie may have taken Kathy directly to work to complete her split shift. No evidence of any unusual happenings exists. Kathy reported back to work at 6:00
P.M.
and no one at Southwestern Bell remembered anything in her behavior to indicate trouble. On the contrary, all remembered a happy, upbeat employee. Charlie returned to his perfectly ordered home on Jewell Street. Kathy had always been neat. If Charlie went straight home from the telephone company (and there is no evidence to suggest otherwise), he must have gotten home at approximately 6:15
P.M.
Within the next half hour, whatever doubts he may have had were gone. He made a firm decision to become a mass murderer. From that moment on he became extraordinarily and uncharacteristically focusedon killing.
VI
Later, people who saw Charlie on the evening of 31 July 1966, would describe him as unusually calm. For once Charles Whitman had no doubts, no insecurities; he was uniquely qualified for what he intended to do. He had the background and training, and he knew the terrain.

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