Rios continued to drive in silence toward the small town of Roma, less than fifteen miles west of Rio Grande City, which is located near the border. It was a familiar route for Rios, who would usually travel to Cerralvo, just forty miles, or a forty-five-minute drive, south of the border, to visit his rather large family, which included eighteen brothers and his father. This was the route that Rios always traveled each time he returned home.
When Rios and Bart finally arrived at the border, they were greeted by Rios’s father. Rios had arranged it so that Bart would drive with his father to Cerralvo, where he would be welcomed by the Rios family and allowed to live with them. Rios claimed his brothers were much lighter-skinned than he was, and that Bart, due to the fact that there were so many Rios brothers, would easily blend in as one of the Rios clan. Bart would also adopt Rogelio’s Americanized name of “Rudy Rios.” Rogelio hadn’t even asked his father if this would be an acceptable arrangement, but his father would have no qualms about welcoming Bart into his home.
After saying his good-byes and expressing his gratitude to his coworker, Bart made his way to Rogelio’s father’s vehicle. Rios turned his mother’s vehicle around and headed back to Houston. Bart and Rios’s father, who spoke very little English, drove off in silence as well. They went only a few miles before encountering the Mexican version of border patrol. Rogelio Rios had made it a point that Bart would have the necessary papers to allow him to continue on into Cerralvo. As a result, the checkpoint diversion went without a hitch.
Bart Whitaker was finally headed toward his new home. He had little in way of clothes and personal items. He did, however, have cash and a place to stay.
Bart Whitaker also had an entirely new identity. He was no longer Bart Whitaker. Nor was he the criminal mastermind Keyser Soze. He was now, simply, Rudy Rios. A gringo desperado on the lam in a small, rundown hovel of a town in Nowhere, Mexico. It was exactly where he never wanted to be at any stage in his life; however, as far as he was concerned, he had no other choice.
37
After Bart Whitaker split for Mexico, three letters arrived in various mailboxes across the Houston/Sugar Land area. Lynne Sorsby, Kent Whitaker, and Dan Cogdell were all surprised to find correspondence from Bart Whitaker.
Bart’s letter to Lynne was a paean to bad choices, forgiveness, and running away. He told his fiancée that he could not face her, because he knew any emotional display she put on would make him reconsider fleeing, and he had to escape the people coming after him. He pretended he was doing her a favor, by selflessly sparing her the misery of a trial. He pledged his love to her, but ended by asking her not to inform anyone of the contents of his letter, to better facilitate his escape.
The letter to Kent Whitaker said:
Father,
So many things to say, and yet I cannot seem to find my words. I am leaving, despite the advice I have been given. The reasons are many, and I am not going to waste the time writing them all. Just know that I cannot, will not allow anyone else to pass through the fire of the coming weeks with me. I must do this with God, and no one else. If the sins of my life must go, then I must start anew, completely anew. Know that I love you, and that I go with God because of what you have taught me the last few months. I am sorry. I love you.
Bart
The longer you can give me before you release this information the better for me. Please help Lynne. She will need it.
The letter to Dan Cogdell, the Whitaker family friend and attorney, said:
Dan,
I am sorry. But I’ll take my chances against what they will bring after me, vs. the chance at a trial.
Bart
38
Summer 2004
Cerralvo, Mexico
While Kent Whitaker spent his days fretting about the whereabouts of his only remaining immediate loved one, Bart had somehow managed to infiltrate himself into the Cerralvo lifestyle. He was instantly accepted by Rogelio Rios’s family, who welcomed an additional potential wage earner.
Surprisingly, this came rather easily for Bart. He was able to procure employment from a friendly Hispanic gentleman, Omero Salinas, who owned and operated a sizable furniture warehouse and store. Salinas also happened to be the father of a nice young lady, Cindy Lou Salinas, whom Bart began dating soon after his arrival in town.
Bart made quite an impression on the people of Cerralvo. The young ladies took an instant shine to the handsome, gregarious, easygoing, and gringo-looking newcomer they knew as Rudy Rios. They were smitten with his charm and his less-than-stellar command of the Spanish language.
According to an interview that aired on 48 Hours Mystery, one of the women, Gabriella Gutierrez, spoke very highly of Bart, or Rudy as she knew him. “He was a friendly person,” she recalled, a huge grin on her face. “He liked to drink. He liked to go with the girls. He was very charming.” She stopped and smiled from ear to ear. “He had a way with the ladies,” she stated, giggling slightly.
It wasn’t only the ladies who warmed up to the newest person in their tiny town. Bart wasted no time befriending as many of the young men as possible as well. Bart would invite many of the young men over to his new apartment, which he had purchased after just a few months of work. In many ways, the gatherings resembled Bart’s townhome get-togethers in Willis, with Steven Champagne, Chris Brashear, and his employees from The Dining Room. Bart was the quiet, yet cool, ringleader who loved to open his doors and share his generosity with those around him.
As a result, a cliché was born: The guys wanted to be him. The girls wanted to be with him.
But only one girl would catch his full attention. Cindy Lou Salinas was instantly attracted to the sweet-looking young man who seemingly appeared in a magical puff of smoke. Cindy Lou and Bart (or Rudy) met in church. Cindy Lou was overwhelmed by Bart’s physical features and softened up by his seemingly softer side, as evidenced by his attentiveness during church services.
“I saw him,” she recalled, “and I said, ‘Wow! He’s gorgeous.’” She had never been around someone so handsome and sophisticated. He seemed so worldly to her that she was determined to get to know him better. “I found him very interesting,” Cindy Lou fondly remembered. “The guys that I’ve known, I don’t know…” She trailed off at the memories of previous paramours. “He just had something no one else had,” she said, sounding like a schoolgirl.
Bart and Cindy Lou seemed like a mismatched pair. She was one of those rare individuals whose name perfectly represents her true essence: sweet, innocent, and starry-eyed. Bart, or Rudy, seemed more serious and steely-eyed, like a person who had seen things he wanted permanently erased from his memory bank. Theirs was a simple courtship with little to no fanfare.
It was an added bonus when Omero Salinas welcomed Bart not only as a suitor for his daughter, but as an employee in the family business. Salinas thought very highly of Rudy, as he knew Bart. “He was a very good worker. Very obedient,” he recalled admiringly. “I really liked him and held him in high esteem. I ended up loving him like a son. Very, very much.”
Bart’s ability to woo the members of the Salinas family even extended to Uvaldo, her brother. Like the rest of the Salinas family, Cindy Lou’s brother was also entranced by Rudy. Unlike most brothers of a sister who meets a new guy, Uvaldo was not interested in keeping a watchful eye over her new boyfriend. He was more interested in getting to know him even better. Uvaldo enjoyed being regaled by Rudy’s fanciful tales of serving in the United States Marines in Afghanistan after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, in the War on Terror. Uvaldo was fascinated by the many tales of adventure and bravery spun by Rudy. One epic stood out in the young Hispanic’s mind. It involved Rudy’s explanation for the bullet wound in his left arm.
“He said he got it in the Afghanistan War,” a wide-eyed Uvaldo Salinas passed along the story. “He said there was a surprise attack on his group (of fellow Marines) by the Afghans. Most of those in his group were killed.”
Bart, of course, was
the most heroic soldier. Uvaldo continued in reference to him, “He said he shot at one with his rifle, but there was another Afghani soldier who got him in the shoulder.” It is not clear how Bart escaped the clutches of the evil Afghans. Nonetheless, Uvaldo was duly impressed with his sister’s new boyfriend. He graciously welcomed him into the folds of the Salinas clan, as did Omero and, of course, Cindy Lou.
Over time, Rudy allegedly began to open up to Cindy Lou and the Salinas family. When it came to his personal background, though, Bart never mentioned the murders of his mother and brother, for obvious reasons. Instead, he began to spin another familiar tale, just like he had with his college buddies, Will Anthony and Justin Peters. He told his new girlfriend that he had a horrible relationship with his family.
“He used to tell me he was an only child,” Cindy Lou recalled. Rudy also told her that “he never loved his mother, because his mother never loved him, either. He also said that his mother was a prostitute, and that his family never gave him the love that he wanted.” She added in a morose manner that “Instead, they gave him money, and they just ignored him.”
According to an interview with 20/20, Cindy Lou recalled an argument she had with her mother. The young girl, an avid guitarist, became so upset that she smashed her guitar in front of Bart. He consoled her by saying, “No, relax. Let’s fix things. Don’t be angry at your parents anymore. If you want, we can kill them.” She was a bit freaked out by his suggestion, but she decided he must have been joking. She believed she knew Rudy was not capable of such behavior and simply blew it off.
The poor, pitiful background of Bart Whitaker once again had been securely cemented in the minds of those he needed to manipulate. He further endeared himself to the Salinas family members and Cindy Lou when he informed them that “they were the family he never had.”
Not only did Bart endear himself to the Salinases, he also won over the entire town of Cerralvo during a true act of heroism. According to Rogelio Rios and members of his family, the tiny village was hit by a severe flash flood that nearly devastated it. Apparently, Bart helped the local authorities save some people, including a little girl who nearly drowned. He was hailed as a hero by practically everyone in town, including the Rios and Salinas families. As far as they were concerned, Bart was one of them.
Other times, however, Bart tended to keep a low profile while in town, mainly during various holidays. Rogelio Rios believed it was because there were many people from Cerralvo who lived in Houston and would often come back to celebrate the holidays with their families. He believed that Bart did not want any of these returning Cerralvo residents to spot him and return to Houston and report him to the authorities.
Bart did have an idea as per the status of his disappearance. He had access to an Internet café and was able to keep track of any news updates on the Web. It wasn’t like having an inside man at the police station, but he could at least take some solace in knowing that they had no idea where he was, nor were they any closer to proving he was guilty of murdering his mother and brother.
39
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.”
40
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.
41
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 hi
s 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.
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