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Sugar Land Father, Son Bury Mother, Brother

Surviving Family Members Recover From Robbery Shooting

POSTED: Tuesday, December 16, 2003
UPDATED: 5:40 pm CST December 16, 2003

The crime that led to a family tragedy in Sugar Land remained unsolved Tuesday as the surviving relatives laid a mother and son to rest.

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People packed the Sugar Creek Baptist Church Tuesday morning to celebrate the lives of Patricia Whitaker and her youngest son, 19-year-old Kevin. The mother and son were shot to death in their home by a masked robber last Wednesday.

"In some communities in California they have earthquakes. This is Sugar Land's earthquake," family pastor Matt Barnhill said. "Our lives are shaken and our sense of safety and well-being is shattered."

Kent Whitaker and his 23-year-old son, Bar,t survived being shot by the masked gunman. The father and son sat with their arms in slings on the front row as person after person talked about their love for Patricia and Kevin.

"I cannot tell you how much Kevin looked up to you. You are his hero. He wanted so badly to be like you," Britney Barnhill said to Bart Whitaker.

Musical tributes were played for the mother and son as people praised the generosity of the family.

Patricia and Kevin Whitaker

"They signified Christ and all that they did and all that they were about," John Flores, one of Kevin's best friends, said.

News2Houston reported lots of good memories were shared about Patricia and Kevin, and that at times, Kent and Bart even smiled at the recollections.

One man got up at the end of the service and urged people to contribute to the reward fund. As he said, "the killer is still out there."

Anyone with any information about this case should contact the Sugar Land Criminal Investigations Division at (281) 275-2524 or Fort Bend County Crime Stoppers at (281) 342-TIPS.

A $25,000 reward is being offered for information that leads to arrests and convictions in this case.

Community Plans Town Hall Meeting

Since the fatal shooting happened, three more burglaries have been reported in the community.

Neighbors on edge called a town hall meeting to address their crime concerns.

The meeting will take place at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at Sugar Land City Hall.

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