{"id":397,"date":"2026-05-25T08:36:26","date_gmt":"2026-05-25T08:36:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=397"},"modified":"2026-05-25T08:36:26","modified_gmt":"2026-05-25T08:36:26","slug":"mom-of-three-allegedly-murdered-by-man-who-lured-her-to-west-virginia-with-job-offer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=397","title":{"rendered":"Mom of three allegedly murdered by man who lured her to West Virginia with job offer"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

A Virginia mother of three was allegedly lured to her death by a man she was romantically involved with, who dangled a job offer that convinced her to uproot her life and move more than 100 miles to West Virginia.<\/p>\n

Read more Film buff finds lost 1968 vampire TV movie that was rumored to be so scary it was ordered destroyed<\/a><\/p>\n

Angel Whitaker, 37, left her Bristol, Va., home in January 2026 for a new job in Bluefield, W.Va., after former work associate Donald Pennington, 59, allegedly offered her an assistant manager position at an O\u2019Reilly Auto Parts in Bluefield, according to a criminal complaint obtained by WVNSTV.<\/p>\n

Whitaker, who allegedly met Pennington at a Bristol auto shop in 2018 and began a relationship with him shortly after, moved in with him after relocating to West Virginia.<\/p>\n

However, by April, her family had lost all contact with her, and on May 4, her sister Angela reported her missing.<\/p>\n

Investigators said the relationship had grown strained after Whitaker moved in with Pennington, and in the weeks before her disappearance, her sister told police Whitaker had moved into a Princeton hotel to distance herself from the situation.<\/p>\n

Whitaker was last seen on April 17, 2026, when she allegedly showed up to work intoxicated \u2014 Pennington told police he drove her home, but when he returned from work later that day, she was gone.<\/p>\n

More than a week after Whitaker was reported missing, Pennington\u2019s ex-girlfriend met with investigators on May 12 and told them, \u201cYou\u2019re not going to find her, he murdered her.\u201d<\/p>\n

She also told investigators the two had been constantly arguing in the weeks before Whitaker vanished.<\/p>\n

Investigators said Pennington had previously called his ex-girlfriend and told her he left work on April 17 to break up an argument between Whitaker and a family member, and that Whitaker had made threatening claims against him, according to WVNSTV. <\/p>\n

Read more \u2018We band of brothers:\u2019 A Memorial Day meditation<\/a><\/p>\n

He allegedly met his ex-girlfriend at a mall that same day and told her Whitaker had threatened to kill him \u2014 and that\u2019s when he \u201csnapped,\u201d the complaint states.<\/p>\n

The ex-girlfriend told investigators Pennington picked Whitaker up by her throat and choked her until she stopped breathing, then allegedly showed her a photo of Whitaker\u2019s body taken from the victim\u2019s phone.<\/p>\n

Investigators also alleged Pennington disposed of Whitaker\u2019s phones by soaking them in bleach and destroying their SIM cards.<\/p>\n

The ex-girlfriend told investigators she later met Pennington at a Lowe\u2019s in Bluefield, Va., where he purchased multiple bags of concrete before the two drove to Bastian, Va., about 18 miles away, where he allegedly buried Whitaker\u2019s body.<\/p>\n

She led investigators to the location, where Virginia State Police cadaver dogs were deployed but failed to locate Whitaker\u2019s remains. She also handed over her phone to investigators, admitting she had deleted messages from Pennington about the alleged murder, according to WVNSTV. <\/p>\n

Pennington was arrested on May 13 and is being held at West Virginia Regional Jail & Correctional Facility Authority. <\/p>\n

He has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder and concealment of a body.<\/p>\n

Whitaker leaves behind three children \u2014 18-year-old son Braiden, 17-year-old daughter Daizy and 12-year-old son Christopher \u2014 according to a GoFundMe set up by her family to help with funeral expenses.<\/p>\n

Read more Cruise cabin door decorations spark fierce reaction after Royal Caribbean issues new crackdown at sea<\/a><\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Angel Whitaker was allegedly lured to her death by a man she was romantically involved with, who dangled a job offer that convinced her to uproot her life and move more than 100 miles to West Virginia.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":396,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-397","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-us-news"],"yoast_head":"\nMom of three allegedly murdered by man who lured her to West Virginia with job offer - Metro Transit Review<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=397\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Mom of three allegedly murdered by man who lured her to West Virginia with job offer - Metro Transit Review\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Angel Whitaker was allegedly lured to her death by a man she was romantically involved with, who dangled a job offer that convinced her to uproot her life and move more than 100 miles to West Virginia.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=397\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Metro Transit Review\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-25T08:36:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=397#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=397\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7cd7bd9683106710eed62ba5da559b14\"},\"headline\":\"Mom of three allegedly murdered by man who lured her to West Virginia with job offer\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-25T08:36:26+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=397\"},\"wordCount\":575,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=397#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/d0be7f2570bab5cd8887b480db412447.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"US News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=397#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=397\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=397\",\"name\":\"Mom of three allegedly murdered by man who lured her to West Virginia with job offer - Metro Transit Review\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=397#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=397#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/d0be7f2570bab5cd8887b480db412447.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-25T08:36:26+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7cd7bd9683106710eed62ba5da559b14\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=397#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=397\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=397#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/d0be7f2570bab5cd8887b480db412447.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/d0be7f2570bab5cd8887b480db412447.webp\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":799},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=397#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Mom of three allegedly murdered by man who lured her to West Virginia with job offer\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Metro Transit Review\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7cd7bd9683106710eed62ba5da559b14\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Mom of three allegedly murdered by man who lured her to West Virginia with job offer - Metro Transit Review","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=397","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Mom of three allegedly murdered by man who lured her to West Virginia with job offer - Metro Transit Review","og_description":"Angel Whitaker was allegedly lured to her death by a man she was romantically involved with, who dangled a job offer that convinced her to uproot her life and move more than 100 miles to West Virginia.","og_url":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=397","og_site_name":"Metro Transit Review","article_published_time":"2026-05-25T08:36:26+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=397#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=397"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/#\/schema\/person\/7cd7bd9683106710eed62ba5da559b14"},"headline":"Mom of three allegedly murdered by man who lured her to West Virginia with job offer","datePublished":"2026-05-25T08:36:26+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=397"},"wordCount":575,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=397#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/d0be7f2570bab5cd8887b480db412447.webp","articleSection":["US News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=397#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=397","url":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=397","name":"Mom of three allegedly murdered by man who lured her to West Virginia with job offer - Metro Transit Review","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=397#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=397#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/d0be7f2570bab5cd8887b480db412447.webp","datePublished":"2026-05-25T08:36:26+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/#\/schema\/person\/7cd7bd9683106710eed62ba5da559b14"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=397#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=397"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=397#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/d0be7f2570bab5cd8887b480db412447.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/d0be7f2570bab5cd8887b480db412447.webp","width":1200,"height":799},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=397#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Mom of three allegedly murdered by man who lured her to West Virginia with job offer"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/","name":"Metro Transit Review","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/#\/schema\/person\/7cd7bd9683106710eed62ba5da559b14","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/metrotransitreview.com"],"url":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/397","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=397"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/397\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/396"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=397"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=397"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=397"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}