Savage Son
Page 19
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.
42
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.
43
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.
44
September 22, 2005, 4:00 P.M.
Laredo, T
exas
One week after Detective Slot received the phone call from Rogelio Rios, and after an arrest warrant was filed for Bart Whitaker, he finally found his man. Based on Rios’s tip, Mexican authorities were able to locate and arrest Bart in Monterrey, Mexico. They, in turn, contacted the FBI and turned him over in the border town of Laredo, Texas, where he was arrested and cuffed. Bart had a “thumb drive” computer memory stick in his pocket “with all the media information about him and the case” on it.
After Bart’s arrest, Sugar Land police chief Steve Griffith and Fort Bend County district attorney John Healey held another press conference to announce his capture. “Hopefully, the recent arrests will bring closure to our community for this heinous crime.” Griffith added, “Our work in this case will continue until convictions have been obtained for all three participants in the murders of Patricia and Kevin Whitaker.”
District Attorney Healey added, “The possibility of the death penalty is definitely in play in this case.”
Sugar Land police captain Gary Cox expected Bart to be brought back to Sugar Land by the following Sunday night. He added that Bart was forced to leave Mexico “for violation of Mexican immigration laws.” Normally, Mexican authorities do not cooperate with United States officials when it comes to extraditing potential death penalty suspects, as the country’s policy is to oppose execution. In this particular case, however, the Mexican police apparently decided to go against that country’s established belief. Cox added, “They basically handled it as if it was an immigration violation,” as opposed to a possible capital murder.
Bart’s arrest warrant also revealed, for the first time, the alleged motive behind the slayings: “Financial analysis [by the FBI] shows that Bart Whitaker stood to inherit in excess of one million dollars in assets with the death of his parents and his brother.”
Cox added, “We probably could’ve gotten an arrest warrant earlier, but we couldn’t prove the capital case.”
Tuesday, October 4, 2005
Fort Bend County Courthouse
Jackson Street
Richmond, Texas
A Fort Bend County grand jury returned indictments on capital murder against all three young men: Thomas “Bart” Whitaker, twenty-five; Chris A. Brashear, twenty-three; and Steven Champagne, twenty-three.
Saturday, October 8, 2005
Fort Bend County Jail
Richmond, Texas
Steven Champagne was finally transferred from the San Diego County Jail to the Fort Bend County Jail by officials from Fort Bend County Sherriff’s Office and the Sugar Land Police Department, bringing all three co-conspirators back together under one roof.
45
November 1, 2005
FM 1097 Road Bridge
Lake Conroe
Conroe, Texas
Steven Champagne’s excursion to Lake Conroe with Detective Marshall Slot had failed to reap any rewards, not because there was nothing to be discovered, but rather because Mother Nature stepped in the way. The Gulf Coast region was beset with two monstrous hurricanes in the form of Katrina, which came ashore near New Orleans, Louisiana, on August 29, 2005, and Hurricane Rita, which was projected to come ashore near Galveston, Texas, and make its way to nearby Houston.
Hurricane Katrina proved to be an untenable nightmare, with the storm causing the levees to burst, subsequently dumping millions of tons of water into the below-sea-level city of New Orleans. The nightmarish imagery—people stranded on top of two-story rooftops, with water lapping away near their feet; rescue helicopters cherry-picking stragglers from treetops during monstrous winds; and, worst of all, the sight of bloated corpses floating down main streets—was enough to send chills down many Houstonians’ fragile spines.
The result was made relevant three weeks later when the majority of meteorologists predicted that Hurricane Rita, a Category 5 storm, would hit Galveston and march a treacherous path directly for Houston.
To avoid the mistakes of the citizens of New Orleans, the overwhelming majority of inhabitants, from Galveston to Houston to Sugar Land, were determined to get the heck out of Dodge. The mass exodus, however, was horribly coordinated by city and highway patrol, and massive traffic jams plugged up the main freeways from Interstate 10 to Highway 183. Normal drive times were magnified nearly ten times with the wait. A simple three-and-a-half-hour drive from Houston to San Antonio, approximately two hundred miles, was stretched out to an interminable thirty hours of bumper-to-bumper hell.
As a result of all the chaos on the freeways, and the need for diving crews to help fish out survivors, along with those who were not so lucky, official police diving teams were redirected either to New Orleans, Galveston, or the eastern portion of Texas, including the Beaumont/Orange area of Texas, where Hurricane Rita actually came ashore. Subsequently the need for a dive team to fish out two duffel bags from a possible crime scene that occurred more than a year and a half earlier was way down on the priority list.
More than two months after Steven Champagne clued Detective Slot in as to the whereabouts of the bags, dive crews finally became available for a search. The weather in south Texas was, once again, on the cusp of turning frigid. Diving into Lake Conroe at this time of year was not going to be a quick, brisk dip into soothing warm water. The team was prepared for some miserable, murky, near-freezing waters, with practically no visibility whatsoever.
The lead person on the dive team was Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) state trooper Brandon Curlee, who was stationed in Edna, Texas, nearly 140 miles from Conroe. Curlee’s main beat was working the highways of Texas for speeders and accidents. The dive team was something he did on the side.
Curlee was one of fourteen dive team members statewide whose job it was to recover evidence and/or human bodies from the water. According to the trooper, “We’ve recovered bodies that are found in the water in homicides—where bodies were weighted down and placed in the water—evidence recoveries, as far as weapons and guns, knives, and any other evidence involved in any type of crime.”
Curlee and eight other divers arrived in Conroe on November 1. He received the call just the day before. Upon Curlee’s arrival, he was briefed by two Sugar Land detectives that he would be searching for two canvas bags located on the north or northeast side of the FM 1097 Bridge.
Curlee’s description of the team’s diving methodology was that they were “kind of like commercial divers.” He added, “We don’t use normal scuba-diving equipment.” They used “a Superlight 17 helmet with surface-supplied air” so they could stay underwater as long as necessary. Basically, the men would dive in their gear and have a giant hose attached to the top of the helmet, called an umbilical line, which would pump air from above the water down into their suits. The helmets were extremely bulky, weighing almost thirty pounds. The suits were even heavier at nearly fifty pounds apiece. In addition, they would be sporting a twenty-pound backup tank on their backs. Going into the water, they were already lugging almost one hundred pounds of equipment.
The dives were to take place in water approximately twenty to thirty feet deep. Curlee estimated their time of underwater availability would be ninety minutes to two hours apiece. They would be down on their hands and knees, in the dark, murky waters, so, despite unlimited air, the men were destined to become fatigued just from the sheer weight of their gear and the amount of exercise they would undergo. There would always be two divers in the water at the same time. Rotation shifts were implemented to keep the divers fresh and safe.
Curlee and the dive team have a predetermined method of searching underwater, using what they call a “grid pattern.” Once the diver jumps into the water, fully weighted down, they immediately sink to the bottom. At that point, in the pitch-black water, a diver would have to rely on the dive tender, who stays in the boat with radar. The dive tender then guides the diver either left or right, backward or forward, so that the diver can search the bottom. The diver then takes the umbilical line, lays it underneath his stomach, and lays f
lat on the ground on his stomach. Then he begins a sweeping motion, from right to left and back again, sifting through the mud, silt, rocks, whatever lies at the bottom. The dive tender is then able to follow the diver’s motions by observing the air bubbles that rise from the diver’s helmet to the surface. This method is used to track the diver’s position along the grid. This routine is repeated over and over until the body or items in question are discovered.
According to Curlee, Lake Conroe’s bottom was filled with debris. He encountered all sorts of trash, including concrete, rebar, fishing rods, beer bottles, and beer cans. He even discovered a motorcycle at the bottom of the lake.
After almost three days of searching the black waters, at a quarter to noon, the Department of Public Safety dive team found what they were looking for—by using the sweeping motion, Curlee discovered one of the large canvas bags. He realized it was one of the bags because he could tell “it was lengthy and kind of bulky with different items inside it.” Using an underwater verbal communications system, he was able to contact the dive tender about the presence of the bag.
Curlee attempted to wrap the bag as close to his body as possible. As he snuggled it next to his diving suit, he waited as the men on the boat hoisted him to the surface. He had no idea if, after nearly two years at the bottom of a lake, the bag would still hold together. It did, however, and he was able to bring it to the surface. He then laid it down gently on the diving platform attached to the boat. He was then lowered back down to begin looking for bag number two.
As Trooper Curlee searched underwater, Sugar Land detective Tracy Taylor commandeered the duffel bag that had been safely recovered. Detective Taylor and Sergeant Yolanda Davis were responsible for maintaining the integrity of the duffel bag. Davis placed a call to Sugar Land crime scene investigator (CSI) Max Hunter, who retrieved the evidence the following day and took it back to his lab in the Sugar Land Police Department.