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A young man from Sugar Land is finally going on trial, accused of plotting to get rich by killing his family.

Prosecutors say Bart Whitaker was up for a $1 million inheritance when he hatched the plot.

In their opening arguments on Monday, prosecutors wasted no time in painting a chilling portrait of what they say happened to Whitaker’s family.

They said Whitaker was a son intent on killing his parents for money, a son who enlisted the help of friends to get it done, and a son who later fled the country to escape law enforcement.

Prosecutors say Whitaker was behind the December 10, 2003, killings of his mother and brother, and the near-fatal wounds sustained by his father.

They say Whitaker’s friend staged a home invasion in which he shot the mother, father and brother and later shot Whitaker while another friend waited as a getaway.

They say Whitaker then fled to Mexico where he was eventually apprehended. 

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Bart Whitaker

He could face the death penalty if convicted.

Bart Whitaker, however, never entered a plea.  So the law did it for him: not guilty.

Whitaker’s father, Kent, admitted to the jury Monday there came a point in time where he was convinced of his son’s guilt. 

Yet for much of his time on the stand, he seemed to be trying to save Bart Whitaker’s life.

The elder Whitaker described the night of the shooting, the night his wife Patricia and his son Kevin died and he himself was shot.

“I knew I’d been hit by something, but I didn’t realize I’d been shot,” he testified.

Those shootings were a part of what prosecutors’ called Bart Whitaker’s simple plan to kill his family for his inheritance money.

“Through deceit and manipulation and planning on his part, he got his roommate Chris Brashear to kill them,” prosecutor Fred Felcman said.

11 News learned there was a possible plea deal being discussed in which Whitaker would plead guilty in exchange for two life sentences, but prosecutors decided Monday to go ahead and seek the death penalty instead.

By not entering his own plea, Whitaker has not denied the act.  But the defense said in its opening argument that this is a trial that should never have happened.

“We’re not running from this case,” defense attorney Randy McDonald said.  “What is different about this case, and why you were selected individually is one thing and you know what it is.  It is the death penalty.”

Kent Whitaker told jurors he believes his son has repented.

“I know in my own life God forgives and changes people,” he said.

But in this case, the focus is on life or death.