A mother of three was allegedly lured to her death by a man who convinced her to uproot her life with a job offer more than 100 miles from home. Angel Whitaker, 37, left her home in Bristol, Virginia, in January for a new position in Bluefield, West Virginia, after her former colleague Donald Pennington, 59, allegedly offered her an assistant manager role at a car parts firm. Angel had first met Pennington at an auto shop in Bristol in 2018, beginning a relationship before moving in with him after relocating to West Virginia.
However, Angel's family lost contact with her in April, and her sister Angela reported her missing on May 4. Investigators said the relationship between Angel and Pennington had deteriorated after she moved in with him. Angela told police that her sister had checked into a hotel in Princeton several weeks before disappearing, seeking distance from Pennington amid growing tensions. Angel was last seen on April 17 after reportedly arriving at work intoxicated.
Pennington allegedly told police he drove her home, but she was gone when he returned from work later that day. Over a week after Angel was reported missing, Pennington's former partner told police: "You're not going to find her, he murdered her." She said the couple argued constantly in the weeks before her disappearance. Investigators said Pennington contacted his ex on April 17, claiming he left work to intervene in a dispute between Angel and a family member. He then claimed Angel threatened to kill him.
Pennington allegedly met his ex-partner at a shopping center that day, saying Angel threatened his life and he "snapped." His former partner alleged he grabbed Angel by the throat and strangled her until she stopped breathing, and showed her a photograph of Angel's body taken on the victim's own phone, according to the Mirror. Investigators further alleged Pennington disposed of Angel's phones by submerging them in bleach before destroying the SIM cards. The ex-girlfriend told police she met Pennington at a Lowe's in Bluefield, where he bought several bags of concrete, before they drove about 18 miles to Bastian, where he allegedly buried Angel's body.
She led investigators to the location, where Virginia State Police cadaver dogs searched but failed to find Angel's remains. The ex-partner also surrendered her phone, acknowledging she deleted messages from Pennington about the alleged murder. Pennington was arrested on May 13 and is held at West Virginia Regional Jail and Correctional Facility Authority. He has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder and concealment of a body. Angel leaves behind children Braiden, 18, Daizy, 17, and Christopher, 12.
Braiden launched a GoFundMe to help cover funeral costs. In a heartbreaking post he wrote: "Our mother, Angel Whitaker, had been missing for a month until we recently received heartbreaking news about her case... We are devastated and struggling to process this loss. My siblings and I are all very young and we simply cannot afford the funeral expenses on our own. We are setting up this GoFundMe to help with funeral arrangements and to give our mother the proper goodbye she deserves, surrounded by her loved ones."
