Patrick J. Waite, Haubstadt, Indiana man calls 911 to say he had just shot and killed three family members following a marriage dispute. Victims id as Pat Alma Waite, Fernando Tapia Ramirez Sr. and Gloria Garcia Tapia.
A 77 year old Indiana man is alleged to have called 911 to say he had just shot his wife, stepson and his mother-in-law, inside the family home and that he would be waiting for law enforcement in front of the garage.
‘I shot them all. I’m certainly not proud of that fact,’ Patrick J. Waite of Haubstadt, IN, told detectives after having dialed 911 on Thursday night.
The victims were identified as Waite’s wife, Pat Alma Waite, 61; his son in-law, Fernando Tapia Ramirez Sr., 39, along with his bedridden mother in-law, Gloria Garcia Tapia, 81, 14 News reported.
Marital troubles and dispute over home ownership
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.
Upon Waite’s arrest, the 77 year old was charged with three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder, The Courier & Press reported.
At the time of his arrest, Waite told detectives he had a gun with him because he had had shot a snake on the property moments earlier.
Come Monday the man made his first court appearance where he ‘pleaded not guilty’ where he was remanded held without bond at the Gibson County jail.
Indiana court records showed Waite having no prior arrests or criminal convictions.
Waite told investigators a fight over who would retain ownership of the Haubstadt home and adjoining 1.5 acre property amid talk of a separation with his wife, led to the fatal shooting around 8:30 p.m. on Thursday.
Waite and his wife, Alma, were married for approximately two years, with the man saying he did not want a divorce.
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 a .45-caliber Smith & Wesson pistol inside the house after he had earlier in the day shot a snake on the property.
At one point during the argument about the handgun, Patrick Waite said his wife told him ‘he needed to leave,’ detectives wrote in an arrest affidavit. The dispute then shifted to who actually owned the home.
‘Patrick Waite said Alma Waite told him she filed a quitclaim deed and put their home in her daughter’s name,’ the affidavit stated. ‘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, records show. On March 27, Alma Waite added her daughter’s name to the deed.
At some point during Thursday’s confrontation, 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.
Police say Waite told them he heard the others in the den and shot them as well.
The 77 year old said he couldn’t remember how many times he pulled the trigger.
Not immediately clear is how Waite’s new wife came to be have ownership to the house transferred to her name.
