The P.I. Post: Forgiving the Unforgiveable

Welcome to the next installment in my P.I. Post series. In these posts, which you’ll find on the blog in between the Nonfiction Nuggets series, I’ll be sharing details on P.I. topics, unique stories and interesting case reviews. I don’t intend to share specific details about cases, but some posts might offer information on subject matters that might be difficult for sensitive readers. So please take care as you read each post.  

The next topic in the P.I. Post is about a case involving murder and how a man was able to forgive the unforgiveable. It happened in December 2003 in a town located in Texas. With Christmas right around the corner, some might say murder is not an appropriate topic, but I’ll highlight the fact that it is the end of this story that expresses the true spirit of Christmas.

The case involves an upper-middle-class family…mom, dad and two boys. After the oldest son, Bart, announced he had graduated from the state university, the family made plans for a night out to celebrate. They enjoyed a nice celebratory meal and after a fun evening together, headed back home.

Upon arriving at the house, Bart remained outside to look for his cell phone in the car while his family entered the house. Sadly, an armed intruder was waiting inside and Bart’s parents and brother were all shot. Bart’s mother and brother did not survive, but Bart’s father, Kent, was only wounded. He lived to tell the tale about how Bart entered the house to confront the killer before he was also shot in the arm.

All is not as it appears to be

When the police investigated the crime scene and the evidence at hand, they became suspicious about what they discovered. Number one was the fact that nothing had been stolen by the armed intruder except for Bart’s phone. Another fact they discovered was that Bart hadn’t graduated from the university. In fact, they later determined he’d never even attended the university.

But here’s the real kicker…

The most damning fact became known when a friend of Bart’s contacted law enforcement to share that Bart had tried to hire him to murder his family. The friend explained to police that Bart asked him to murder his family and make it look like a botched robbery. The friend also told police he refused Bart’s offer. However, it was apparent Bart had been able to find someone who accepted the offer.

Eventually the police were able to discover the identity of two individuals responsible for the crime and it didn’t take long before they confessed and even shared the location of Bart’s hidden cell phone, which likely held incriminating evidence.

But where’s Bart?

By the time the police obtained the information from the two individuals who took part in the home invasion, Bart had already flew the coup and was living under an assumed name in Mexico. He couldn’t keep his identity a secret for long and when law enforcement didn’t give up the chase, he was arrested and brought back to Texas to answer to the pending charges against him.

When victims use their voice

Two years later Bart was sentenced to death for his part in the murder of his mother and brother. You’d think his execution would be the end of the story, but that’s not the case here. Instead, a surprising turn of events happened when Kent fought for Bart’s freedom. You might wonder why a man would want to free the individual responsible for the death of his wife and son.

Forgiving the unforgivable

Bart’s father was a bigger man than most when he asked the state to spare his son’s life. Kent’s reasoning when he explained it to the state was that he would be victimized all over again if the state executed his only remaining family member. The grieving, but forgiving, father even wrote a book about his experience and his ability to offer forgiveness for his son. Kent’s crusade to save his son’s life got down to the wire when Bart was only minutes away from receiving a lethal injection. It was during those last few moments when the state heard Kent’s pleas and made the decision to change Bart’s sentence to life in prison instead.

How to mend a broken heart

It may be difficult to imagine the heartbreak Kent felt after the loss of his wife and son, and what was surely extreme heartbreak when he learned his other son was responsible. But after he made the decision to forgive his son, one can only hope that it gave him the ability to move one step closer to healing his broken heart after everything he went through.

Forgiveness is a hard pill to swallow

I know this, because I’ve been there. My dad was killed by a drunk driver and in fact it was right after Christmas. I never thought I could forgive the person responsible and I didn’t plan to. Working through that took a long time and while I desperately miss my dad every day, I was finally able to release the anger I had for the individual who took him from me. Wrong choices were made and a devastating result changed many lives, forever, but in releasing the past that snares us we are able to move forward in a way that we can only hope will honor the memory of loved ones lost.

The spirit of Christmas can mean many things, way beyond what’s under the Christmas tree. Forgiveness isn’t what we give to others, but instead is a gift we can give ourselves. If there’s something you’ve been holding on to that has held you back from moving forward, I hope this year you might think about giving this gift to yourself.