Mother of three murd£red by man who lured her with job offer

A Virginia mother of three was allegedly murdred after being lured to West Virginia with the promise of a job opportunity by a man she was romantically involved with. 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 OReilly Auto Parts in Bluefield, according to a criminal complaint obtained by WVNSTV. 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. By April, her family lost all contact with her, and on May 4, her sister Angela reported her missing. 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. Whitaker was last seen on April 17, 2026, when she allegedly showed up to work intoxicated. Pennington told police he drove her home, but when he returned from work later that day, she was gone.More than a week after Whitaker was reported missing, Penningtons ex-girlfriend met with investigators on May 12 and told them, Youre not going to find her, he murdered her. She also told investigators the two had been constantly arguing in the weeks before Whitaker vanished. 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. He allegedly met his ex-girlfriend at a mall that same day and told her Whitaker had threatened to k!ll him and thats when he snapped, the complaint states. 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 Whitakers body taken from the victims phone. Investigators also alleged Pennington disposed of Whitakers phones by soaking them in bleach and destroying their SIM cards. The ex-girlfriend told investigators she later met Pennington at a Lowes 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 Whitakers body. She led investigators to the location, where Virginia State Police cadaver dogs were deployed, but failed to locate Whitakers remains. She also handed over her phone to investigators, admitting she had deleted messages from Pennington about the alleged murdr, according to WVNSTV. Pennington was arrested on May 13 and is being held at West Virginia Regional Jail & Correctional Facility Authority. He has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murdr and concealment of a body. Whitaker leaves behind three children 18-year-old son Braiden, 17-year-old daughter Daizy, and 12-year-old son ChristopherThe post Mother of three murdred by man who lured her with job offer appeared first on Linda Ikeji Blog.