The Case of Charles Whitman
Charles Whitman was born on June 24, 1941, in Lake Worth, Florida. As a child he showed exceptional intellectual promise and was a model student. He was high spirited, fun and also handsome. He was taught at an early age by his father to handle guns and became a sharpshooter in the Marine Corps. Charles Whitman entered the University of Texas where he met and married his wife, Kathryn Leissner in 1962. Shortly after, he began having occasional bursts of anger and suffering terrible severe headaches. He was having increasing difficulty controlling his temper, difficulty concentrating and began to overeat. He also had periods where he could not sleep. Charles started to write and leave himself notes incessantly and also bought himself a diary. He assaulted his wife twice and admitted to having overwhelming periods of hostility. (Charles Joseph Whitman. (2014). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved 03:43, Feb 15, 2014, from http://www.biography.com/people/charles-whitman-11495598).
All these are disturbance associated with the Limbic system, (hippocampus, amygdala, thalamus, and hypothalamus). These are interconnected group of forebrain structures involved with emotions, drives, and memory. (Huffman, 2012, p. 69).
Charles Whitman realized that something was wrong and sort professional help. He however did not follow up on a second appointment as he was advised to.
On August 1, 1966, Charles Whitman brutally beat, strangled and stabbed his mother to death, crushing the back of her head, smashing her hands, and stabbing her to death with a huge hunting knife. After which he went home and viciously stabbed his wife repeatedly with his hunting knife. After the vicious killing of his wife and mother, Charles Whitman climbed to the top of the tower and killed 16 people, leaving 30 others wounded. An autopsy of his body, which he had requested in a letter he wrote prior to his death,...