The Sugar Land Conspiracy

An All-American Family Is Gunned Down In A Bizarre Plot

(CBS)  This story originally aired Oct. 20, 2007. It was updated on Aug. 18, 2009.

For John Flores and his best friend Kevin Whitaker, life was sweet in Sugar Land, Texas. "Sugar Land is very middle class/upper class, white collar," Flores explains. "It's a nice place, everything's new. You hang out with your neighbors. You hang out with your neighbor's kids."

But as correspondent Peter Van Sant reports, that sweet life was shattered on the night of Dec. 10, 2003, when Kevin and his family were gunned down in their home.

Marshall Slot was the lead detective assigned to the case. "It looks as if it’s a burglary gone wrong. You know, family coming home from dinner. It's plausible that they could have surprised a burglar," Slot says.

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But as Slot combed through the Whitaker home, he realized things weren’t adding up. "In the master bedroom the dressers all had drawers open on them, but they were all open equal distance. It was very neat and orderly," Slot explains.

Slot began to suspect the burglary had been staged. "None of the items of value inside the house had been moved around; the electronics, laptops, jewelry, none of those items typically taken in burglaries," he recalls.

And then there was the murder weapon: it was the Whitakers' own gun. "The gun safe had been pried open and it was in a very isolated part of the household," Slot explains. "This is looking more and more like this person knew this gun was here and obtained it for a specific reason."

Slot turned his attention to the family's history, hoping it might provide some answers. He started with Kent Whitaker's relationship to his wife Trisha.

"We met on a blind date," Kent remembers. "Walked in her house and … I didn’t know what I was expecting but she came down and I thought I've never had a blind date like this before and we hit it off very well right from the start."

Within a couple of months, Kent says he realized he was in love with Trisha. And the feeling, he says, was mutual. Later, the couple would have two sons, Bart and Kevin.

The Whitakers were doing well. Kent was a successful account, Trisha, an elementary school teacher. "Trisha had a great rapport with children. Parents adored her. The staff adored her. She was just fun," remembers Barbie Harrington.

Harrington and Peggy McLane, Trisha's close friends and coworkers, knew her true love was being a mom. "They were everything. That’s all she talked about. She loved those boys," Peggy remembers.

Bart, the eldest, did well in school and had a quirky sense of humor. "He seemed like a nice kid. He was fun. He was witty. He was respectful," Peggy says. And she says he was a good son.

Bart shared a passion for biking with his dad. "It turned out to be a sport that we both loved. He and I would spend hours and hours on training rides and organized rides," Kent tells Van Sant.

Kevin was the sensitive one. "Kevin was man at a young age. He would not back down from injustice. But he would be so quick to forgive," Kent says.

Then came Dec. 10, 2003. "Bart was supposed to be graduating from college," Kent remembers. "He called and said he was through with his finals and he wanted to go out to eat and celebrate."

"We all celebrated. We laughed. We told some jokes. We teased each other and took some pictures and gave Bart his graduation gift, which was an expensive watch," Kent recalls.

After dinner the Whitakers headed home, where they were met with unimaginable horror: four shots were fired. "I start praying and I said, 'Father, you know, if it's my time to die, I'm ready. It's ok. But protect my family,'" Kent remembers. "It was just awful."

Cliff Stanley, the first person on the scene, remembers finding Kent lying down. "I went up to him and he was shot. And says, 'I'm bleeding very badly,'" Stanley says.

Stanley then went to check on Trisha. "She was still alive. She was kind of moaning," he says. "I said, 'What happened?' And Tricia said, 'He shot us.'"

But Stanley says Trisha didn't say who the shooter was. Bart was lying in the living room, wounded. Kevin, Stanley says, was dead at the scene.

Kent, Trisha, and Bart were rushed to the hospital but Trisha didn't survive.

"I lost a friend that taught me how to be a better teacher and a better mother. She was just a really good person and I miss her so much," says Trisha's friend Peggy, crying.

[wyo-kid]

This scumbag Bart Whitaker, doesn't need to be breathing the same air as decent people. It is also scary to think other college friends failed to notify the cops of Bart's murderous plans.

[carolcape]

I heard this story before, but am so glad that Bart W. was convicted and given the death penalty. I mean he had been planning this for a number of years and had asked other college student to take part.I just wonder now how parents want to send the kids to college. Not one of those people came forward to give the information to police.Also it was noted at one time that the father did hear of a plot to kill him and he wouldn't believe it. Well let me tell anyone out there that has kids, if they hear of anything like this, believe it, because there are a lot of weird goings on out there. Bart is evil and he looks evil. I definitely believe he would kill again. OMG, his mom and his brother and also would have killed his dad if he had not survived. Hard to wrap your mind around it. He is evil and the death penalty was the right sentence. A sociopath of the worst kind. Of course, his chin was trembling and he was crying, for himself is who the tears were for. This time the jury got it right. I have no pity for him and I do not know how his father could ever forgive him for what he did.

[hercule1122]

This story also reminded me of a time when my family was threatened by a young killer. Our neighbor's son shot his adopted father, and the daughter called my father for help. He called the police and went to help...and the son shot at him trying to kill him. He escaped unharmed, and the police arrested the devil son, Damon. When he was sentenced to life in prison, he looked at my father and said he was going to kill him if he ever was released. My father had testified against him in court. In 1984, someone called my mother and told her Damon had been released from prison. She then kept a gun by her bedside, but the creep was restricted to an area about 200 miles from our home. We never heard from this evil person again and hope he died a horrific death.

[paint951]

I would like to say that this story has helped me in my time of need. My son tryed to kill my husband and me in 12-8-06. Befor I saw this show I was in get torment,but the story of Mr. Whitaker and his son has given me peace and the courage to go on. I know that Mr. Whitaker didn't want to do this show because I have read he's book, but I am so grateful that he did. To Mr. Witaker his son and his friend. Thank You so much.

[cayenne1050]

Two things:

This story, and others of its genre, cause me to long for good old-fashion entertainment. The only reason I tuned in to this show, to be honest, was the title - The Sugar Land Conspiracy. I live 10 miles from Sugar Land and it, the title, piqued my interest. It was NOT entertaining. That which spawns from the core of sick minds and malice deed should not be aired for general consumption.

Finally, I wish to comment on the vile words flowing effortlessly past the mustache-hidden mouth of Prosecutor Fred (Buffalo Bill-wannabe) Felcman. This man does NOT represent Texas or the demeanor of most Texans. No, Mr. Felcman, we in Texas DO NOT refer to people as SOBs. You, sir, didn't even flinch when using those four disgusting words and the family of the victims deserve an apology. Why? When referring to the slain woman's son as an SOB, guess what you called her? You, Mr. Attorney, are a buffoon.

Somewhere near the story's beginning, the narrator refers to you in complimentary fashion, using words like ...Famed Texas lawyer...or something similar. I disagree. In fact, you represent the very reason so many people feel the way they do about lawyers . Anyone, and I mean anyone, who can stand before a national broadcast television camera and refer to a defendant as an SOB while calling his very mother (the deceased victim for whom he is seeking justice) 'a *****', and get away with it, should NOT BE PRACTICING LAW!!

You embarrass me sir.

[rondivoo]

Correction. Texans DO refer to those who deserve it as SOB's. And, their language is very colorful about a host of things. I love to hear them talk. They have an analogy for almost everything. Down-to-earth and honest is what I call it. If you don't like it take your pious, pie-in-the-sky ears elsewhere.

[TheFed41]

LET US ALL NOT FORGET THAT ALL LAW'S ARE GOD'S LAW'S!!!!!!!

[Reasontruth]

People do things that are cruel and horrible. These things will never be understood. Bart has been punished for his crimes. He is awaiting lethal injection. His father is being punished for the sins of his son. Listening to others condemn and wish more cruelty don't help this painful situation. If anyone should hunger for revenge against Bart, it should be his father who lost everything in the blink of an eye. It shouldn't be outsiders who should be offering support to a man that loves his son unconditionally.

[hercule1122]

This tale is so needless. If parents don't have a clue if their son is a freshman in college or graduating, that rings alarm bells for me as a parent. Then earlier they were warned that he planned to kill them and they disregarded the warning. I knew at each stage how my kids were doing in school, and find these people so detached and plain stupid! They did not deserve to die, but they certainly could have prevented it. I find this religious aspect rather creepy. I hope the evil son dies for his deeds. He is not fit to live among civilized people.

[Reasontruth]

To an extent, I agree with you. My son is only 5 so it is pretty easy to keep up with his accomplishments. One reason I don't agree is that if you got a phone call saying your child was trying to have you killed, would you honestly believe it?? The part of knowing your child was in school or not, children are great at hiding things. Not only children but people in general. Lori Hacking was murdered by her husband, and he had her, her family, and his family convinced that he was in med school. People can be good at hiding things when need be.

[Bible-Prophecy]

THE FULFILLMENT OF BIBLE PROPHECY

Jesus Christ said, "A man's enemies will be the members of his own household."
(Matthew 10:36).

Jesus Christ said, "Children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death."
(Matthew 10:21).

[dugudr]

Bart should be forgiven in hell that is. I have no relation what so ever to the lead dectective in this case.

[dugudr]

I knew first hand with a socialpath, they just never going to get it. Why don''t the police do a sting which set things straight. but I''m pretty sure it still wouldn''t make a diff to the father and one thing for sure is he going to stupidven. Even w a sting this is bound to happen. Family are just almost impossible to think one of their owns can turn on them. But the father is just and impossible man. I bet if the guy gets out the father is a dead man.

[dugudr]

I knew first hand with a socialpath, they just never going to get it. Why don''t the police do a sting which set things straight. but I''m pretty sure it still wouldn''t make a diff to the father and one thing for sure is he going to stupidven. Even w a sting this is bound to happen. Family are just almost impossible to think one of their owns can turn on them. But the father is just and impossible man. I bet if the guy gets out the father is a dead man.

[newsreader57]

I havae to agree with some of the other comments that this article was written horribly. I had to reread the beginning several times. Then I decided to read some of the comments to see if anyone else had a problem understading who got shot, and who was telling what.

[mambisa-2009]

This was the most remarkable story I''ve seen on "48 Hours." It''s not often that a show like this spends so much time talking about forgiveness and Christian faith. Mr. Whitaker is a shining example of how every Christian should live his life. Shame on those bloodthirsty prosecutors who could only see notches on their guns for having wrangled a death penalty for Bart Whitaker.

[roscoezzz]

This young man is going to be put to death. He is an evil, manipulative, hateful sociopath. If he was a good and decent kid, then when did he turn into the Omen? That''s the question that I have. Also, What did he do all those 4 years when he wasn''t in college? I''m sure hating and planning Death!
Forgiveness is the most powerful weapon against Evil because it''s Love. I applaud this father for trying to reach his son who really is on the dark side. I can''t imagine how this father feels. He has lost everything in this life. But, through it all is his forgiveness. Good for him.

[tngreen]

"This was an amazingly badly written article."
------Posted by ammie119 at 04:20 PM : Oct 22, 2007

I totally agree. I had to read the first page twice to figure out that half of the family survived the shooting. I couldn''t figure out they had managed to get an interview with the dead father! And other items were a jumble as well. I think our schools of journalism are not doing such a great job--I see lots of problems with CBS'' online news articles, from grammatical errors to badly written pieces that make it hard to extract the information.

[gypsylady7]

I did see the video of him on the stand, texas_tech09. He didn''t seem to really show remorse. He seemed cold. I doubt he''ll think about what he did. He''ll probably spend more time thinking what he should have done better, to get away with the crime!

[gypsylady7]

Wish I hadn''t fallen asleep during the show!

[patriot12436]

zootallures2
And where did you take your forensic classes at ?

[patriot12436]

drew30319
I have to disagree. The jury listened to what the father felt and made their decision. Someone this sick should never be returned to society. With the flukes in our judicial system i think this is possible. My parents always favored my sister. I didn''t care. I grew up without supervision, came and went as i wanted, never got into trouble, joined the military the day after graduation from high school, made a career in the military and law enforcement, graudated from college. At 55 i realized if i didn''t get away from my parents it was going to kill me . I walked away and had a heart attack two months later. I have no relationship with my mother. I went to my fathers funeral because my daughter wanted to go. I had no feelings for a man i never knew. After all of this i can honestly say the thought of killing my parents never entered my mind once.