A mother of three was reportedly enticed to her demise by a man who persuaded her to move her life for a job offer located over 100 miles away from her residence.
At the age of 37, Angel Whitaker left her home in Bristol, Virginia, in January of this year to take on a new position as an assistant manager at a car parts company in Bluefield, West Virginia, which was approximately 100 miles away. Allegedly, Donald Pennington, a former colleague of hers, had offered her this job opportunity. Angel had initially met Pennington at an auto shop in Bristol in 2018, leading to a relationship between them and ultimately her decision to move to West Virginia.
However, Angel’s family lost contact with her in April of the same year. Her sister, Angela, reported her missing on May 4. Investigators suggested that the relationship between Angel and Pennington deteriorated after she moved in with him.
Angela informed the police that her sister had relocated to a hotel in Princeton a few weeks before disappearing. She explained that Angel did so to create distance between herself and Pennington due to the difficulties they were experiencing. Angel was last seen on April 17, reportedly showing up to work under the influence. 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 spoke to the police and expressed her belief that he had murdered Angel. She recounted that the couple had been arguing frequently in the weeks leading up to Angel’s disappearance. Investigators stated that Pennington had informed his ex that he had left work on April 17 to intervene in an argument between Angel and a family member. He later alleged that Angel had threatened his life. Pennington supposedly met his ex at a shopping center that day, claiming that Angel had threatened him, leading to a violent altercation where he admitted to choking her until she ceased breathing. Subsequently, Pennington allegedly disposed of Angel’s phones by soaking them in bleach and destroying their sim cards. The ex-girlfriend disclosed to the authorities that she accompanied Pennington to a store where he purchased multiple bags of concrete before driving approximately 18 miles to Bastian, where he purportedly buried Angel.
She guided investigators to the location where Virginia State Police cadaver dogs were deployed in a search for Angel’s remains, but unfortunately, no evidence was discovered. The ex-girlfriend also handed over her phone to the authorities, admitting that she had deleted messages from Pennington regarding the alleged murder.
Pennington was taken into custody 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 concealing a body. Angel is survived by her children Braiden, 18, Daizy, 17, and Christopher, 12.
Braiden has initiated a GoFundMe campaign to assist the family in covering the expenses of their mother’s funeral. In a poignant message, he expressed the family’s devastation and financial struggle in coping with their loss, emphasizing the need for support to give their mother a fitting farewell surrounded by loved ones.
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