A mother of three was reportedly enticed to her demise by a man who persuaded her to relocate her life by offering her a job more than 100 miles away from her residence.
Angel Whitaker, aged 37, departed from her home in Bristol, Virginia, in January of this year for a new job in Bluefield, West Virginia, about 100 miles away. This move came after her former colleague, Donald Pennington, aged 59, purportedly extended an offer for an assistant manager position at an automotive parts company. Angel first met Pennington at a car shop in Bristol in 2018 and subsequently entered into a relationship with him, leading to her decision to live with him upon relocating to West Virginia.
However, Angel’s family lost touch with her in April this year, prompting her sister, Angela, to report her as missing on May 4. Investigators suggested that the relationship between Angel and Pennington deteriorated following her move to live with him.
Angela informed the authorities that her sister had relocated to a hotel in Princeton a few weeks before disappearing. She indicated that this move was an attempt to create distance between herself and Pennington due to the strains in their relationship. Angel was last seen on April 17 after allegedly arriving at work in an intoxicated state. Pennington claimed he drove her home, but upon his return from work later that day, she was nowhere to be found.
Over a week after Angel was reported missing, Pennington’s former partner informed the police that he had murdered her, stating, “You’re not going to find her.” She disclosed that the couple had been constantly arguing in the weeks leading up to Angel’s disappearance. Investigators revealed that Pennington contacted his ex to report leaving work on April 17 to intervene in an argument between Angel and a family member. He later alleged that Angel had threatened him with harm, as per WVNSTV reports.
Pennington purportedly met his ex-partner at a shopping center on that day and claimed that Angel threatened him, leading to him losing control. His ex-partner recounted that Pennington grabbed Angel by the throat, choking her until she ceased breathing, and supposedly showed her a photo of Angel’s lifeless body taken with the victim’s phone.
Investigators alleged that Pennington disposed of Angel’s phones by soaking them in bleach and destroying their sim cards. The former girlfriend informed the authorities that she accompanied Pennington to a Lowe’s in Bluefield, where he purchased multiple bags of concrete before driving around 18 miles to Bastian, where he allegedly buried Angel.
She led the investigators to the location, where Virginia State Police cadaver dogs were deployed for a search but failed to locate Angel’s remains. The ex-girlfriend also handed over her phone to the authorities, admitting to deleting messages from Pennington related to the purported murder.
Pennington was apprehended on May 13 and is currently detained at West Virginia Regional Jail and Correctional Facility Authority. He has entered a plea of not guilty to charges of second-degree murder and concealment of a body. Angel is survived by her children, Braiden, aged 18, Daizy, aged 17, and Christopher, aged 12.
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