Angel Whitaker left her home in Virginia for a fresh start and a new job. She never made it back. Now a man she trusted is behind bars — charged with her murder.
Donald Pennington, 59, is accused of luring Whitaker to Bluefield, West Virginia, with the promise of an assistant manager position — then killing her and dumping her remains in a wooded area near Bastian, Virginia.
Pennington is now being held at Southern Regional Jail in Raleigh County on charges of second-degree murder and concealment of a body.
A job offer that turned deadly
Whitaker and Pennington had known each other through work — she had previously worked at an O’Reilly Auto Parts store in Bristol, Virginia. When Pennington offered her a managerial role in Bluefield, about 100 miles north, she took the chance and made the move.
According to investigators, Facebook messages, surveillance footage, and witness statements all point to Pennington as the killer. Her body was later found in a wooded area roughly 18 miles from where she had moved.
“You’re not going to find her — he murdered her”
On May 12, an ex-girlfriend of Pennington came forward and told investigators she already knew what had happened. Court records indicate she said Pennington had admitted to her that on April 17, after a heated argument, he grabbed Whitaker by the throat and choked her until she died. He allegedly showed the ex-girlfriend a photo taken from Whitaker’s own phone.
Whitaker had been reported missing about a month earlier by her sister. Her family — including her children — had no idea she had even moved to West Virginia.
A mother of three, remembered by her children
Whitaker was a mother to three children — an adult son and two younger kids, ages 17 and 12. Her eldest son set up a GoFundMe to cover funeral expenses after the family received the devastating news.
“Our mother was murdered in West Virginia by someone we thought we could trust. My siblings and I are all very young and we simply cannot afford the funeral expenses on our own.” — GoFundMe, set up by Whitaker’s eldest son
Pennington was booked into jail on May 13. An autopsy is currently underway. It is unclear when he is due to appear in court.
