Charges filed in stabbing case
Oct. 9—ATHENS — A Mercer County woman was facing charges of malicious wounding and domestic battery after a stabbing was reported near a drive-in theater.
Deputies with the Mercer County Sheriff's Department were dispatched early Thursday afternoon to a home near the Pipestem Drive-In Theater in the Lerona area, according to a report filed by Detective-Sergeant S.A. Sommers.
Lt. S.J. Cary and Deputy J.A. Conner arrived on the scene and found the home's resident, Christopher Whittaker, bleeding profusely from a neck wound, Sommers said. Whittaker initially stated that he was "jumped" along WV Route 20 "by two guys and one of them stabbed him." His wife, Valerie Whittaker, no age available, "provided a statement to the same effect."
Cary requested investigative assistance. Detective Hatfield M.T. Hatfield responded to the scene, and Sommer went to Princeton Community Hospital to speak with Christopher Whittaker, according to the report.
Sommers said that Christopher Whittaker "stated that his previous statement was inadequate because he didn't want his wife to go to jail. He then stated that during an argument in the kitchen of the residence, Valerie Whittaker grabbed a brown-handle knife and stabbed him in the neck. I inquired if he had committed domestic violence against her prior to the stabbing and he stated no."
"It should be noted that she did state that an act of violence was committed against her prior to the stabbing, but there was no obvious injuries I could see," Sommers said in the report.
Sommers said that he spoke with Hatfield and the deputies. They stated that no blood could be located outside; the only blood they could locate was inside the home. Hatfield stated that the kitchen had been recently mopped, evident by water still being on the floor. Sommers also said that he saw a brown-handled knife in the sink and what appeared to be blood on the tip of the blade.
Valerie Whittaker was arrested and transported to the Mercer County Sheriff's Department for processing, Sommers said. She was charged with malicious wounding and domestic assault.
Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@bdtonline.com
