Charles Whitman

COMING SOON!

Although happily married, 25-year-old Charles Whitman was a worried man. He knew that he was in the grip of a terrible compulsion and on the verge of doing something appalling. Finally, on 31st July 1966 his self-control snapped and after killing his wife and mother so that they would be spared the shame he climbed the white granite tower of the University of Texas administration building, and started shooting at anyone who moved below. Fifteen people died and thirty were injured before police assault teams got close enough to gun him down.

Biography

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Charles Whitman
born: 23-06-1941
birth place: Florida, USA
died: 01-08-1966

His psychiatrist, Dr. Heatly, came under intense scrutiny, when his records revealed the fantasy killing spree that Whitman had outlined during their session, but he was never held accountable for his failure to act.

Interestingly, when Whitman’s body was autopsied, doctors did indeed discover a small tumour in his brain, as he had feared, but experts concluded that this was unlikely to have caused his subsequent actions. Given that brain science was not as advanced in the mid-sixties, it would be interesting to know if today’s specialists would have drawn the same conclusions.

The observation deck at the Texas tower was reopened soon after the shoot-out, following some repairs, but was forced to close in 1974, following a string of suicides. It was finally reopened again in 1999, with enhanced security which included a metal detector, security guards on the ground floor and the deck itself, and a steel lattice guard to prevent further suicides.

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Links relating to this biography:
Crime & Investigation Network