Investigators say records, store video and witness statements tied Donald Pennington to Angel Whitaker’s death.
BASTIAN, Va. — A search in a remote wooded area in Virginia became the center of a West Virginia murder case after investigators reported finding the remains of Angel Whitaker, who had vanished after moving for a job offer.
The case against Donald Ray Pennington, 59, is built on several kinds of evidence described in court records reported by regional outlets: Facebook messages, surveillance video, cellphone tracking data, witness statements and items found in the woods and at Pennington’s home. Pennington is charged with second-degree murder and concealment of a deceased human body. He has pleaded not guilty.
The wooded site near Bastian sits less than 20 miles from Bluefield, West Virginia, where Whitaker had moved in January 2026. Investigators said she came from Bristol, Virginia, after Pennington offered her an assistant manager job at an auto parts store where he worked as manager. What began as a relocation for work later drew police into a two-state search. Deputies found objects scattered in the woods, including concrete, plastic sheeting, rope, a blue quilt tied with red rope, pink lace fabric believed to be women’s clothing and water jugs. Reports say investigators also noted a possible burial site marked with rocks.
Authorities said human remains were found about a quarter-mile into the wooded area. The body was in an advanced state of decomposition and partial skeletonization, according to investigators cited in local reports. Detectives reported seeing red hair still attached to the skull and a ring still attached to one hand. They also saw bear tracks and said animal activity may have disturbed the original disposal site. The condition of the remains meant forensic testing and an autopsy would be central to confirming the medical details of Whitaker’s death and the timeline investigators had assembled through witness accounts.
The path to the woods, investigators said, ran through a store purchase in Bluefield, Virginia. Pennington’s ex-girlfriend told police she met him at a Lowe’s on April 24, where he bought multiple bags of Quikrete concrete before the two drove toward Round Mountain Road near Bastian. She told investigators he went into the woods carrying bags while she waited in the vehicle. Police later said surveillance footage showed the purchase and Life360 data from her phone confirmed the trip timeline and locations. Those details, according to investigators, helped turn a witness statement into a map of the search area.
Investigators also reported collecting evidence at Pennington’s home and from his vehicle. Search warrants led police to remove flooring from his bedroom and carpeting from the trunk of his Acura sedan for forensic testing. They also found gallon water jugs at the residence with lot numbers that allegedly matched containers near the wooded site. Those items do not prove guilt by themselves, but police cited them as parts of a larger chain that included the reported confession account, Whitaker’s digital messages and surveillance footage. The full forensic results had not been publicly detailed in the early reports.
The ex-girlfriend’s May 12 statement moved the investigation sharply. She went to the Bluefield Police Department and told detectives, “You’re not going to find her, he murdered her,” according to reported court documents. She said Pennington had met her at Mercer Mall on April 17 and told her he killed Whitaker after an argument. She alleged he said he “snapped,” grabbed Whitaker by the throat and choked her until she stopped breathing. She also said he showed her a photograph on Whitaker’s phone and said it was proof. Police said she later turned over her phone and admitted deleting messages from Pennington about the alleged killing.
Whitaker’s own messages became another part of the case. A man who knew her told investigators she had described Pennington as jealous and controlling, according to court records cited in local reports. Messages attributed to Whitaker said she needed to get away and feared what could happen if she did not. Family members told police she had checked into a Quality Inn in early April because she was afraid to return to the home she shared with Pennington. Reports say Pennington later told police he last saw Whitaker on April 17 after she showed up at work intoxicated and he drove her to their Thorn Street residence.
The investigation began as a missing person report from Bristol. Whitaker’s sister contacted police on May 4 and said relatives had not heard from her since mid-April. Family members said daily contact was normal, making the silence unusual. Whitaker had moved to Bluefield after accepting what relatives understood to be a job offer from Pennington, whom she had known from work at an O’Reilly Auto Parts store. Her family later described her as a mother whose children were left with sudden funeral costs. Her son Braiden Cross wrote that his siblings could not afford the expenses on their own.
The case now turns on what prosecutors can prove in court from the physical evidence, digital records and witness accounts. The next filings are expected to show whether autopsy findings and forensic testing strengthen or narrow the timeline police have described. Pennington was taken into custody after arriving at the police department for questioning on May 12 and asking for an attorney after being read his Miranda rights, investigators said.
Author note: Last updated June 18, 2026.