Savage Son (18 page)

Monday, July 5, 2004
Whitaker Residence
Sugar Land, Texas

Kent Whitaker had not heard from Bart since he disappeared. For the first time, he began to have doubts as to whether or not Bart was involved in the murders of Tricia and Kevin. Covering for his son, Kent called Bart’s place of employment and told them Bart had to leave town unexpectedly and would not return for at least a week.

According to Kent, he met with his own family members to discuss Bart’s actions. Kent’s sister simply would not believe Bart had been involved. She dismissed Bart’s behavior as being under a ton of stress due to being considered a suspect. Kent stated, however, “By the end of the evening, everyone had accepted the truth. Bart had fled and this gave credence to the possibility that he had been involved in the slaying of his own family.”

The Monday following July 4, Lynne Sorsby’s mother sent out wedding cancelation notices. Lynne had not heard from Bart, so the family made the call to pull the plug on the impending nuptials.

Kent then spoke with Dan Cogdell and informed him that there was still no word from Bart. His good friend and attorney suggested that a press conference be held to announce that Bart had gone missing, to which Kent agreed. Cogdell held the media event on Wednesday, July 7. The hope was that Bart would somehow see the report and turn himself in.

According to Kent, he also began to receive Bart’s many unpaid utility bills in the mail. Surprisingly, the man who admitted total forgiveness for the shooter of his wife and of his youngest son was infuriated at having to cover Bart’s debts. In his words, “I grew very angry at Bart for deserting me like this. Commitments are serious things to me, and I couldn’t understand how he could be so cavalier about them. His lack of regard for others cast doubt on his sincerity and innocence, making it a lot harder for me to continue giving him the benefit of the doubt.” He added, “It was becoming clear that my son had a side that none of our family had seen, and I was furious, hurt, and worried about how far the deception had gone.”

October 2004
Camp Pendleton
Between Oceanside and San Clemente, California

After the murders, Steven Champagne decided he needed to make something of his life. He opted for the U.S. Marines. Soon after he joined, he was shipped out to California, where he was stationed at Camp Pendleton. While there, he received a visit from two detectives from Sugar Land. He could not recall who the officers were, but he knew that they were not Detectives Slot and White. Steven claimed that the two new detectives offered him a plea bargain: if he confessed and told them that Bart Whitaker had set the murder plot of his family into motion, they would grant him immunity for his participation in the conspiracy. If such an offer had been accepted, it would have been a sweet deal for the young Marine.

Steven, however, feigned ignorance and subsequently ruined his chance at any type of sweetheart deal. He claimed he lied to the officers because he thought it was a trick. He remembered an earlier conversation with Bart where his friend told him that there were no deals made between cops and suspects in cases of capital murder. Bart had apparently convinced him that the police would attempt to offer some type of deal so Steven would rat Bart and Chris out, and then they would rescind their offer and he would spend the rest of his life in prison—if not face the needle as part of a death sentence.

Bart was right that they did eventually question Steven and made some type of offer—thus, the reason for the lies.

According to Steven, when the detectives did not get what they wanted from him, they decided to exact revenge. Steven claimed the detectives made a point to speak with the Camp Pendleton military police investigative unit about some of his past behavior. Allegedly, Steven lied on his application form for the U.S. Marines and failed to mention that he was the subject of a pending criminal investigation. He also alleged that the detectives informed the military that he had used several drugs in the past, such as cocaine, marijuana, and Ecstasy, and failed to mention that on his application form as well.

“They threw a few kinks in my training,” Steven recalled.

The biggest kink came with his participation in Intelligence School training. Steven was being conditioned to become an “intelligence analyst.” His job would be to gather information for use on battlefields by high-ranking officers. With the position, he also received a security clearance. At the behest of the Sugar Land detectives, however, Steven’s security clearance was pulled.

Steven Champagne realized that the house of cards was ready to collapse. It would take several months before he truly realized what he had gotten himself into.

August 2005

Steven Champagne was somewhat surprised, though he probably shouldn’t have been, when he received a grand jury summons from Fort Bend County. His presence was demanded back in Texas the following month. Later that same day, he found out that his mother and his girlfriend had also received subpoenas to appear before the grand jury.

Steven did not want his mother or girlfriend to be put through the paces. He also came to the realization that he “could not go before a grand jury and lie,” so he picked up the phone and contacted Detective Marshall Slot. His reasoning for not being able to lie before a grand jury, when he had no problem whatsoever lying to police before, was because he was “going to be under oath.” Slot agreed and suggested Steven come see him.

Steven made the trip by the end of the month and met up with Detective Slot in a Starbucks coffee shop, in Conroe, Texas. Steven claimed that he agreed to sit and cough up the details of the murder with Detective Slot in return for immunity. He claimed that Slot agreed to proffer up immunity; however, he still elected to lie to the detective.

Steven began to give details to Detective Slot, but with one major omission: he had no idea what Bart had planned, and afterward, he had no idea that Bart had his family killed. “I kept pulling myself out of the situation,” Steven later recalled about lying to the police officer. As with the officers who had visited him at Camp Pendleton, Steven recalled Bart’s advice. Don’t trust anyone. Thus, he had no idea if Marshall Slot was telling him the truth when he claimed he could give him immunity for his participation in a double capital murder.

Soon thereafter, Steven and Slot met a second time in Conroe to talk about Steven’s knowledge of any evidence being tossed into Lake Conroe. Again, he failed to own up to his role in the murder plot.

Detective Slot kept up the pressure on the young man. After the meetings, he would contact Steven and keep asking him about his role in the plot. As usual, Steven would parse out a little bit more information as to what happened, yet continue to deny direct knowledge of the plot to kill the Whitakers, or of any actual participation. He eventually had to return to California, but Slot stayed on his back.

Steven came back to Texas on August 28, 2005, again at Slot’s request, and met with the detective in The Woodlands. He again minimized his role and denied direct involvement.

The following day, Steven was still scheduled to attend the grand jury hearing at the old courthouse in nearby Richmond. Before going into the grand jury, Steven met, once again, with Slot, as well as with First Assistant District Attorney (ADA) Fred Felcman and an FBI agent. Felcman informed Steven that he had “blown his chance at immunity” by continuously lying to Officer Slot. Once Steven realized he had screwed up, he finally agreed to tell the truth. Detective Slot set up a meeting time for the following morning for him, Steven, and the FBI agent to meet to discuss what really happened on December 10, 2003.

While in the courthouse, however, Steven happened upon Karen Montana, Chris Brashear’s mother. He spoke with her briefly and was able to get Chris’s phone number.

Steven was excused from his grand jury appearance. As he exited the courthouse, he spotted the other person who was supposed to have been murdered that night, Kent Whitaker. Bart’s father attempted to smile at the young man, but it came across more like a wince of pain.

The following morning, Steven met with Detective Slot and the FBI agent and gave a full confession on videotape to everything that had happened in regard to the murders of Tricia and Kevin Whitaker, and the attempted murder of Kent Whitaker.

During their meeting, Detective Slot spoke with Steven about setting up a meeting with Chris Brashear, who was now working in a bar/restaurant in Rice Village called Two Rows. Slot wanted Steven to wear a wire on his body and tape-record his conversation with Chris in hopes of getting an admission of guilt from Brashear. Steven agreed, and the plan was placed into motion.

A couple of days later, Steven contacted Chris and told him he wanted to meet to talk about the latest goings-on with the police. Chris agreed and told Steven to meet him at Two Rows. Steven informed Detective Slot of the rendezvous place and time.

On the day Steven was to meet Chris, Detective Slot set Steven up with a wire hidden underneath his shirt. The plan was to get the two men close enough so that the wire Steven wore would pick up any bits of information from Chris, with the main goal to get a confession or, at the least, an admission of participation in the conspiracy plan.

Steven made his way up to Two Rows to chat with Chris. The two young men had not seen each other in ages. Their meeting was awkward, especially when Steven attempted to engage him in conversation about the murders.

“I don’t want to talk about that, Steven,” Chris stated firmly.

“I know, I know.” Steven nodded empathetically.

“At least, not here. We can talk about it later,” Chris added.

Steven made a few more attempts, but Chris continued to beg off. Finally the two young men agreed to meet at a later time to talk about the crimes.

That meeting never materialized.

August 29, 2005
FM 1097 Road Bridge
Conroe, Texas

Steven Champagne’s conversation with Detective Marshall Slot made him feel better about his potential sentencing for involvement in the murders. His belief that he would receive immunity for ratting out Bart and Chris was acceptable to him. To solidify the detective’s confidence in him further, Steven agreed to lead him to where he and Chris had tossed the two duffel bags that contained evidence from the scene of the crime.

Steven and Detective Slot drove out together to the bridge at FM 1097 Road that crossed over Lake Conroe. Steven remembered it as if he had just driven there yesterday. All of the memories of that dreadful night came soaring back as he pulled up to the hazard lane in the general direction of where he remembered the drop-off spot to be located.

September 12, 2005
Sugar Land Police Department
Sugar Land, Texas

Sugar Land police chief Steve Griffith stepped before the phalanx of microphones. “We have made an arrest in the murders of Patricia Whitaker and Kevin Whitaker. The young man’s name is Chris A. Brashear.”

Griffith indicated that “there are some other individuals that we are looking at within the realm of the investigation. These are individuals that were known to the Whitaker family or portions of the family. This is not a roving band of criminals that perpetrated this crime. Having said that, I have to stress that the investigation is not complete.”

Griffith was joined by Fort Bend County district attorney (DA) John Healey. The prosecutor spoke about the efforts of the Sugar Land Police Department: “They’ve been frustrated, the police department’s been frustrated, and we’ve been frustrated.” He bemoaned the long time it took to finally make an arrest in the highest-profile case in Sugar Land’s history.

After the briefing, Griffith took questions from reporters, who mainly wanted to know the status of Bart Whitaker. “We are still interested in talking to him.” When asked if Bart should be considered a threat, Griffith responded, “Do I think that he is an ongoing threat to public safety? I can’t draw that conclusion, at this point and time.”

Griffith attempted to assure the public that the case was about to wrap up any day. “I honestly believe the remaining pieces of this case are going to fall into place fairly quickly.”

Healey was asked why Bart and Steven Champagne had not been arrested or charged yet in the murders. “Strategically, it is not in the best interest of the case to charge them at this particular time.”

Griffith concluded the short press conference with a warning for Bart and Steven: “There will be more arrests in the coming weeks.”

September 14, 2005
Sugar Land Police Department
Sugar Land, Texas

Detective Marshall Slot picked up his telephone. On the other line was Rogelio Rios, the man who drove Bart to Mexico and set him up with living accommodations. Only he did not give out his real name. Instead, he said he was “Mike Jones,” named after the Houston rap artist.

Rios heard about the arrest of Chris Brashear for the murder of Tricia and Kevin Whitaker. When he realized they were Bart Whitaker’s family members, he “felt pretty bad.” Rios admitted, “I just give everyone the benefit of the doubt.” He justified his aid of Bart because he “wasn’t wanted then.” He added, “When I heard the other dude got busted, then I figured that it was probably true” that Bart was also involved in the murders.

Rios eventually gave Detective Slot his real name and, more important, information as to Bart’s whereabouts. Specifically, at his father’s home in Cerralvo.

Rios’s tip also garnered him $10,000 from Crime Stoppers. Combined with the $3,000 he received from Bart to transport him to Mexico, Rogelio Rios pocketed $13,000 off the murders of Tricia and Kevin Whitaker.

September 14, 2005
Camp Pendleton
Between Oceanside and San Clemente, California

For Steven Champagne, the jig was finally up. Authorities came onto base to arrest the twenty-three-year-old U.S. Marine for participating in the murders of Tricia and Kevin Whitaker. He was taken into custody and placed in the San Diego County Jail without bail. Sugar Land police spokeswoman Pat Whitty informed the press that they expected Champagne “to be brought back to Texas in the next few weeks.”

Later that same day, the Sugar Land authorities filed an arrest warrant for Bart Whitaker for the murders of his mother and brother. The motive listed was for “financial gain,” as Bart allegedly stood to inherit more than $1 million.