Whitaker found guilty of planning family's murders

Jurors in the trial of Bart Whitaker, the Fort Bend County man accused of arranging the murders of his mother and brother so he could get the family inheritance for himself, found Whitaker guilty of capital murder yesterday — meaning that, beginning today, jurors will begin deciding whether Whitaker should die.

Whitaker's mother, Patricia, and his brother, Kevin, were killed the evening of Dec. 10, 2003, at home as the family returned from dinner. Whitaker and his dad, Kent, were wounded — apparently, the gunman shot Whitaker to make it look like he didn't have anything to do with the ambush. During testimony in the trial, witnesses said Whitaker had planned to kill his family before, once by setting his grandmother's lake house on fire with the entire family inside; every plot was allegedly motivated by Whitaker trying to get his hands on the $1 million family estate. But it wasn't until late 2003 that the plan was actually carried out with the help of Steven Champagne, the getaway driver, and Chris Brashear, the accused gunman, who will be tried separately. Whitaker fled to Mexico after the killings, but he was arrested at the U.S.-Mexico border in September 2005 after police received a tip from Rojilio Rios, the man who transported him south of the border.

Defense attorneys didn't talk to reporters after the verdict was read, but Fort Bend County District Attorney John Healey did have a few words: "It is never easy in a capital case to find someone guilty," he told the Chronicle. "But any further talk of the case would be counterproductive considering we have a substantial part of the case left to go." There have been no indications that Bart Whitaker will take the stand in the punishment phase of the trial, but his father, Kent, will likely be a witness for the defense: Though he was one of the intended victims in the murder plot, Kent Whitaker doesn't want his son to get the death penalty.