A Virginia mom of three was allegedly lured to her demise by a person she was romantically concerned with, who dangled a job provide that satisfied her to uproot her life and transfer greater than 100 miles to West Virginia.
Angel Whitaker, 37, left her Bristol, Va., dwelling in January 2026 for a brand new job in Bluefield, W.Va., after former work affiliate Donald Pennington, 59, allegedly provided her an assistant supervisor place at an O’Reilly Auto Components in Bluefield, based on a prison criticism obtained by WVNSTV.
Whitaker, who allegedly met Pennington at a Bristol auto store in 2018 and commenced a relationship with him shortly after, moved in with him after relocating to West Virginia.
Nonetheless, by April, her household had misplaced all contact along with her, and on Could 4, her sister Angela reported her lacking.
Investigators stated the connection had grown strained after Whitaker moved in with Pennington, and within the weeks earlier than her disappearance, her sister advised police Whitaker had moved right into a Princeton lodge to distance herself from the scenario.
Whitaker was final seen on April 17, 2026, when she allegedly confirmed as much as work intoxicated — Pennington advised police he drove her dwelling, however when he returned from work later that day, she was gone.
Greater than every week after Whitaker was reported lacking, Pennington’s ex-girlfriend met with investigators on Could 12 and advised them, “You’re not going to search out her, he murdered her.”
She additionally advised investigators the 2 had been continually arguing within the weeks earlier than Whitaker vanished.
Investigators stated Pennington had beforehand known as his ex-girlfriend and advised her he left work on April 17 to interrupt up an argument between Whitaker and a member of the family, and that Whitaker had made threatening claims in opposition to him, based on WVNSTV.
He allegedly met his ex-girlfriend at a mall that very same day and advised her Whitaker had threatened to kill him — and that’s when he “snapped,” the criticism states.
The ex-girlfriend advised investigators Pennington picked Whitaker up by her throat and choked her till she stopped respiratory, then allegedly confirmed her a photograph of Whitaker’s physique taken from the sufferer’s cellphone.
Investigators additionally alleged Pennington disposed of Whitaker’s telephones by soaking them in bleach and destroying their SIM playing cards.
The ex-girlfriend advised investigators she later met Pennington at a Lowe’s in Bluefield, Va., the place he bought a number of luggage of concrete earlier than the 2 drove to Bastian, Va., about 18 miles away, the place he allegedly buried Whitaker’s physique.
She led investigators to the situation, the place Virginia State Police cadaver canine have been deployed however didn’t find Whitaker’s stays. She additionally handed over her cellphone to investigators, admitting she had deleted messages from Pennington concerning the alleged homicide, based on WVNSTV.
Pennington was arrested on Could 13 and is being held at West Virginia Regional Jail & Correctional Facility Authority.
He has pleaded not responsible to second-degree homicide and concealment of a physique.
Whitaker leaves behind three youngsters — 18-year-old son Braiden, 17-year-old daughter Daizy and 12-year-old son Christopher — based on a GoFundMe arrange by her household to assist with funeral bills.
