A 77-year-old man confessed to fatally shooting three family members, including his wife, stepson and his mother-in-law, inside his Haubstadt, Indiana, home.
"I shot them all. I'm certainly not proud of that fact," Patrick J. Waite told detectives after he dialed 911 on Thursday night.
Waite Also Shot a Fourth Family Member Who is Currently in Critical Condition
According to a sworn affidavit obtained by The Courier & Press, Waite has been charged with three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder. The victims were identified as Waite's wife, Alma Waite, 61; his son in-law, Fernando Tapia Ramirez Sr., 39, and his mother in-law, Gloria Garcia Tapia, 81.
Patrick Waite is also alleged to have shot and critically injured a fourth family member, whom Gibson County Sheriff Bruce Vanoven said was still in critical condition at an Evansville hospital on Monday.
Patrick Waite appeared in court for the first time Monday morning via video from the Gibson County jail, where he is being held without bond. Patrick Waite has no prior arrests or criminal convictions listed in Indiana court records. He pleaded "not guilty" to all counts.
Waite Told Detectives About His Strained Relationship with His Wife, Argument Over Ownership of the House Led to the Shooting
According to the affidavit, Waite told investigators about his troubled relationship with his wife and an argument over who would retain ownership of the Haubstadt home led to the fatal shooting around 8:30 p.m. on Thursday.
Waite and his wife, Alma, were married for approximately two years and had been discussing separation recently. Waite said he did not want a divorce. Thursday evening, before the shooting, Patrick Waite said he used his .45-caliber Smith & Wesson pistol to kill a water snake near a lake on his roughly 1.5-acre property, according to detectives.
When Patrick Waite returned to his house, the gun stayed with him, concealed in his back pocket. A decision he said would spark a dispute, eventually leading to the alleged murder.
Waite and His Wife Argued About Him Attending Bible Study Instead of Caring for His Mother-in-Law, Bringing the Gun Inside the House
According to Patrick Waite's arrest affidavit, he and his wife had argued throughout the afternoon and evening, first about him attending a bible study instead of caring for Garcia, his 81-year-old mother-in-law, and later about him bringing the gun inside the house after he shot the snake.
At one point during the argument about the handgun, Patrick Waite said his wife told him "he needed to leave," Loesch wrote. According to detectives, the dispute then shifted to encompass who actually owned the home.
Alma Waite Told Patrick She Had Added Her Daughter's Name to the House Deed
"Patrick Waite said Alma Waite told him she filed a quitclaim deed and put their home in her daughter's name," the affidavit states. "Patrick Waite stated he told her he wouldn't leave the house because he had lived there for 27 years."
Patrick Waite purchased the single-family home in 1998 with his then-wife Nancy J. Waite, according to Gibson County Assessor records. Nancy Waite died in 2019, at which point Patrick Waite became the home's sole owner.
In 2024, after Patrick Waite married Alma Waite, his new wife became the home's sole owner, the records show. On March 27, Alma Waite added her daughter's name to the deed.
Amidst the dispute over the home's ownership Thursday night, Patrick Waite told detectives that his wife, who was standing near the kitchen sink, turned to face him. That's when, Waite said, he shot her. He couldn't remember how many times he pulled the trigger.
When the first deputy arrived at the home about 8 minutes after Patrick Waite dialed 911, they took him into custody without incident.
