Listening to Kathy

The private victims of mass shooters are often forgotten. But now, for the first time in fifty years, Listening to Kathy provides a glimpse into the life of Kathy Leissner, who was murdered by her husband, Charles Whitman, hours before he committed the first televised rampage shooting in United States history. With the support and assistance of Kathy’s brothers, Jo Scott-Coe conducted interviews and studied hundreds of pages of letters, photographs, and other primary documents. What emerges is a portrait of domestic trouble that ultimately cut short the promising future of a bright college student and young wife, foreshadowing an unthinkable national tragedy and a family’s impossible grief. Finally, Kathy’s voice and perspective are part of the story.