Foreword: Roadmap to a Rampage
“If there exists a God, let him understand my actions and judge me accordingly.”
—Charles Whitman wrote in a letter, “To Whom It May Concern,” after killing his mother on August 1, 1966, at 12:30 a.m. (from the Austin History Center Collection)
“Dreams do come true if we only wish hard enough. You can have anything in life if you will sacrifice everything else for it.”
—James M. Barrie, Scottish author (1860-1937)
In preparation for writing a new novel [working title Cerebral Dark Matter], I decided to review the information available regarding a historic series of crimes that occurred on the University of Texas (UT) at Austin campus on the first of August, 1966. The story has been told countless times over the years in the hope that additional information will arise and improve our understanding of the mysteries that still exist. The incident involved a series of killings that commenced with the stabbing murders of the perpetrator’s mother and wife and culminated in a sniping rampage from the top of the UT tower by the lone gunman, Charles Whitman. This massacre was the first to occur on a U.S. campus and was unprecedented in the degree of carnage. At the State of Texas level, this incident
Figure 1. UT Austin Tower circa 1580.
Photoby Larry D. Moore, CC 4.0, Wikimedia Commons (WMC).
was officially referred to as the Charles J. Whitman Catastrophe, a term used in the title of a report detailing the findings of an extensive investigation into the incident requested by the governor at that time, John Connally [yes – the John Connally who tragically had an intimate encounter with a sniper’s bullet released by another Marine]. The horrific series of events has also been referred to as the Austin Texas shooting rampage, UT Sniper massacre, UT Tower killings, Charles Whitman mass murder, and similarly descriptive labels. To keep the format consistent for the remainder of this book, I will refer to the series of crimes as the ‘events on 8-1-66’ (Whitman wrote that abbreviated date on a note posted in his home before leaving to commit the mass murder). The ‘sniping phase’ of the catastrophe lasted approximately one-and-a-half hours, and much of it was recorded live by TV news cameras – another first in U.S. history. Police ultimately killed Whitman, and when the enormity of the ‘events on 8-1-66’ became evident, a tsunami of inquiries and investigations was launched. Whitman had been unwell with chronic headaches and cognitive disturbances for some time prior to the ‘events.’ During his autopsy, a tumour was discovered impinging on a region of his brain, the amygdala, which processes emotional responses and is also involved in decision-making and memory formation. My unfinished fictitious tale will be about an unfortunate young man diagnosed with a devastating brain tumour who is driven to perform a herculean task to save humanity. One question I was trying to answer in researching this incident was, “Can a brain tumour result in the death of someone other than the patient?”
If you are a member of the next generation and not familiar with these events that occurred in Austin, it might be informative to know that the Mandalay Bay massacre in Las Vegas on October 1, 2017, was a copycat crime committed fifty-one years after the original. The ‘events on 8-1-66’ have intrigued investigators and the public for over five decades because some aspects of this case were, and remain, unresolved. In particular, questions regarding Whitman’s motives and whether his actions were influenced by his ‘organic brain disease’ (the brain tumour). Most
Figure2. Drawing of a coronalsection of a human brain by Henry Carter (1518). The arrow points to theamygdala. Public Domain (PD) on WMC.
people wondered, “How could this married, all-American, engineering student and ex-Marine kill his mother and wife and then, with military precision, conduct a sniping massacre that killed or wounded dozens of innocent strangers?” The evidence does not support the explanation that he just suffered overwhelming stressors, ‘snapped,’ and became a gun-crazed maniac. Rephrasing that question in a more confrontational manner: Why did an unprovoked, lethally weaponized, American male decide it was time to adjust his father’s attitude and gain international notoriety, using indiscriminate death and destruction before embracing a law enforcement-facilitated euthanasia?
My intent is to metaphorically look back through Whitman’s gun scope, through his eye to the retina, along his optic nerve, the optic tracts, into his occipital lobes, and expand into his tormented and vengeful brain. This journey will examine the events in Whitman’s life that may have poisoned his mind and led to his extremely deviant and completely unexpected behaviour. I will review the neuropathological findings obtained during his autopsy, in particular the characteristics of the small
Figure 3. UT Austin 15G3 Yearbook photo of Charles J Whitman.Austin Center History(AHC), PD. Optic pathway by Jonrichfield, CC 4.0 on WMC.
brain tumour,and evaluate the extent to which ‘organic brain disease’ contributed to this tragedy. In reality, Whitman was probably suffering from multi-factorial organic brain disease since it is well-documented that, in addition to the brain tumour, he had sustained repetitive head injuries and had indulged in the use of amphetamines. I also discuss the possibility that Whitman’s military service may have been responsible for him developing the tumour. During the official investigations into these crimes, it became apparent that the numerous medical experts could not draw a firm conclusion as to whether the tumour was, at least partially, responsible for Whitman’s heinous acts. No consensus was reached regarding the question, “Would Whitmanhave committed the crimes if the brain tumour hadn’t existed?” This book will review the evidence to determine if Whitman’s violent behaviour was intentional (premeditated homicide), a consequence of a neurochemical imbalance and neuronal misfiring (psychiatric), or brain malfunction due to the progression of a ‘disease of the mind’ (organic brain disease). Since the police killed Whitman, the question becomes rhetorical, but the issue can stimulate debate about the assignment of guilt in future cases where the perpetrator is diagnosed with organic brain disease.
Much of the information regarding the ‘events’ in Austin that I reviewed was derived from source documents, which were easily obtained through Internet searches. The most informative documents were the Report to the Governor, Medical Aspects, Charles J. Whitmore Catastrophe, September 8, 1966, the Charles Whitman autopsy report, and records and photos from the Austin Police Department. I found the extensively researched and comprehensive work on
Figure 4. “Why? Eye” by Maria Eklind, CC 2.0 on Flickr. Background by Emile Morter on Unsplash.
this subject, A Sniper in the Tower: The Charles Whitman Murders, written by Gary Lavergne and published in 1997, invaluable as a source of details regarding the events. In the epilogue, Lavergne passes on a haunting impact statement:
“Thirty years after the Tower incident, people on the Austin PoliceForce still think of Charles Whitman, and they still get angry … [He] assaulted not only individuals, he also assaulted Austin. And in many ways,he continues to fire from the deck. Virtually all who were on the campus on that damn hot day in August stil llook at the Tower and see the face of Charles Whitman. Many still hear the shots and feel the terror. Whatever good Whitman may have done in his life is buried with him in West Palm Beach, Florida; his evil continues to live in Austin, Texas … In some ways, Charles Whitman inhabits the Tower. It has a “bad karma.” That curse reaches all those who Whitman hurt …”
A memorable review of this book offered by Charles Bowden, a former contributing editor for Esquire magazine, establishes the historical significance of the ‘events on 8-1-66’: “Charles Whitman’s ‘Guns of August’ blew a hole in the American Century and drove us down the road towards gated communities and S.W.A.T. teams. Read this brilliant birth certificate of Fear Nation.” Chapter 2 of Mass Murderers: Profiles of a Rare and Notorious Breed of Killer, compiled by the editors of TIME-LIFE Books, provided additional in-depth information on this subject. The contributors should be commended for the publication’s excellent pictorial content. Tower 3нiper – The Terror of America’s First Active Shooter on Campus, written by Monte and Nathan Ackers and Dr. Roger Friedman, provides an update on the facts related to this case and provides new opinions. The Charlie I Knew: A Factual Account of Our Friendship by Francis “Joe” Schuck (a military comrade of Whitman and then UT at Austin student and close friend) provided great insights into Whitman’s character and many of his life experiences. MASS: A Sнiper, a Father, and a Priest by Jo Scott-Coe shed additional light on many of Whitman’s relationships, in particular with his priest and friend, Father Leduc. He is portrayed as a strangely different spiritual leader who was eventually identified by the Catholic Church as having been credibly accused of the sexual abuse of children. Finally, I included several excerpts from Ryan Green’s book on this subject, The Texas Tower Sнiper: The Terrifying True Story of Charles Whitman, because they eloquently portray important events in Whitman’s life. Green’s “About the Author” section explains that he takes “the unique approach of writing from the killer’s perspective” and skillfully “narrates
Figure 5. Students (not wounded) relaxing on the SouthMall in the early sixties. Photo from Behindthe Tower and the Dolph Briscoe Center, CC 4.0.
some of the most chilling scenes you’ll encounter in the true crime genre.”
We can benefit from the passage of time, and new information on this matter continues to be slowly uncovered. This case was never a “Whodunit?” For an hour and a half, it was a “Who the hell is doing this?!!!” It is unlikely that there is any ongoing criminal investigation, and for a long time, the ‘events’ were academically a ‘cold case’. There has been little progress over the past fifty-five years in our understanding of the “Why?” All investigations by the Austin Police Department, the FBI, the Texas Department of Public Safety, the media, and any Austinites with ‘insider’ information failed to identify any accomplices, co-conspirators, or loose ends. My goal was to re-examine the events and factors responsible for Whitman’s actions and to reassess the potential role of the small tumour found deep in his brain. No physician, especially no oncologist who has cared for patients with brain tumours, has written a comprehensive book on this subject. The thirty-five chapters are grouped into three sections. Section I: The Murders, the Man, and the Mind recounts the events leading up to the mass murder that occurred in Austin on August 1, 1966; introduces the perpetrator, his family, and his victims; and attempts to determine the status of Whitman’s mental health. Section II: The Mystery of the Mind and Motives identifies the numerous factors that contributed to Whitman’s emotional turmoil and may have motivated him to kill his mother, his wife, and numerous total strangers. Most of the novel concepts introduced in this book, including the re-interpretation of the forensic evidence, the oncological aspects of Whitman’s case, and proposals on the pathophysiological mechanisms that influenced his behaviour, are explored in Section III: The Mind and the Malignancy. This true crime story is extremely intriguing and full of complexity and can perhaps be best summarized by – “One man, one day – unbelievable devastation of human lives!” As already mentioned, the journey will visit many disciplines. When a disease adversely affects the brain/mind and induces abnormal cognition and/or behaviour, the pathophysiology is encompassed in the domain of ‘organic psychiatry.’ Because of the climax, many readers will be surprised to learn that one of the subplots is a tragic love story.
Baby Boomers should consider what they were like when they were twenty-five years old before judging Whitman. Younger readers should try to view the events through a sixties filter because the 1960s were different times in many ways, and the significance of the tragedy will likely be better appreciated. It was a time of the father-dominated family unit, and for the most part, mothers were housewives and caregivers. Families would take ‘a drive in the country’ for fun, and there was religious enlightenment every weekend. Men dated women and vice versa, but not much else. Anti-homosexuality laws existed in the U.S. until 1962 to 2003 (depending on the state) and were repealed in Canada in 1969. Overt interracial relationships were uncommon. Home technologies included black-and-white
Figure G. Photo by FEMA, PD on WMC.
televisions (ten channels at best), rotary dial or touch-tone telephones, magnetic tape recorders, 8 mm home movies, cameras with film, and record players, which were fed LPs or 45s. Newspapers and radio broadcasts ruled the information highway. Home delivery of newspapers was common, but downtown individuals sold many on street corners while declaring the latest headlines. There were no cell phones, tablets, laptops, or personal computers. No Internet, so no Spotify, Facebook, Twitter, Google, Netflix, etc. Offices relied heavily on telephones, typewriters, Dictaphones, shorthand notes, and teletype machines to conduct business. Gasoline was cheap and the roads and highways were flooded with spacious, gas-guzzling, all-metal automobiles lacking airbags or even seatbelts. The ‘Cold War’ dominated international affairs, and every living personwas at risk of nuclear annihilation. Reports on the war in Vietnam, the space race, and civil rights demonstrations dominated nightly TV newscasts. Medical knowledge and technology were advancing steadily but primitive compared with what we can do today.
I strived to adhere to verified information regardless of source. In this book there are many references to various organizations, including the Austin Police Department (APD), the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the UT Austin administration, and the United States Marine Corps (USMC). None should be construed as criticisms of these organizations. Well, enough of the ‘warm-up’ band – enjoy the latest re-examination of a legendary true crime.
Figure 7. USMC base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, “Exchange.” Photo was taken in November 1963 while Whitman was still serving and was awaiting a court-martial hearing (to address charges of a non-violent nature.). Photo from William C Reed Collection, USMC Archives, Flickr.
Author Note: This book was written in Canada by a Canadian author and, therefore, uses Canadian English. Many excerpts or quotations are American in origin, and I maintained that fidelity using American English. This is why a word like tumour is spelt with or without the second ‘u’. Interestingly, the word ‘authour’. has become obsolete. I tend to identify keywords, phrases, or concepts with single parentheses and italicize important text (bolded if especially noteworthy). Text in red font highlights essential information. [Square brackets] contain author comments. Also, be aware this book is about a mass murder and forensic sciences, including autopsy techniques. Some of the written passages and crime scene or autopsy photos might be disturbing to some readers.
