Left: Aaron Pennington (Worcester County District Attorney’s Office); Right: Breanne Pennington (Selfie via Facebook).
Shocking new details have emerged in a murder case out of central Massachusetts where a man allegedly shot and killed his wife while the couple’s four young children were in another part of the house.
Aaron Pennington, 33, is still the subject of a statewide manhunt for the murder of Breanne Pennington, 30, according to the fourth update on the case from the Massachusetts State Police.
On Oct. 22, the victim was found shot in the face at the couple’s home on Cherry Street in Gardner, a medium-sized city located in Worcester County. In a recently released application for a criminal complaint and arrest warrant obtained by Law&Crime, that method of death appears to have been the alleged killer’s exact – and detailed – plan.
The murder charge was filed in Gardner District Court.
The arrest warrant is dated Oct. 25. The day before, investigators were able to perform a limited search of Aaron Pennington’s cellular phone by way of a previously authorized search warrant, police say.
What they found is both telling and disturbing.
A phone note from 7:04 p.m. on Oct. 21 reads:
Don’t say anything. Be quite [sic] If she wakes up just say you’re getting nasal spray
Get on side of bed — very close proximity to head
Put hole in her head
Just after 9:00 a.m. the next morning, the couple’s four children – aged 2, 5, 7, and 9 – went to a neighbor’s house to say “they could not find their father and that their mother was in her bedroom crying,” according to the criminal complaint. The neighbor then called 911.
“At approximately [9:19 a.m.], first responders arrived at the residence and found Breanne Pennington lying in bed in an upstairs bedroom with obvious signs of death from an apparent gunshot wound to the head,” the document reads. “The responding Gardner [Police Department] Officers performed a protective sweep of the residence and were unable to locate anyone else inside the home or any visible weapons.”
The mother of four was pronounced dead at exactly 9:30 a.m. that Sunday.
Some 40 minutes prior, police say, Aaron Pennington left in his white BMW 320, citing a neighbor’s surveillance footage.
On Monday, at around 5:00 p.m., the suspect’s car was found in a wooded area of Camp Collier in Gardner, police said.
“We are still treating this like he is alive and would be somewhere in the woods,” Worcester County District Attorney Joe Early said at a press conference on Tuesday. “We did find the vehicle, and the vehicle was found by a hunter.”
Since then, ground and air search operations have spanned “200 heavily wooded acres,” according to the latest update.
“Unit commanders will continue to assess intelligence and investigative developments to determine when and how to resume ground/air search operations,” state police said on Wednesday evening. “At this point, barring the development of new information, no widespread ground search is planned for tomorrow. We will update when appropriate.”
The suspect is said to be 6’2″ and weighs roughly 175 pounds. He has blonde hair and blue eyes. Authorities are still requesting the public’s assistance in locating him – particularly by being vigilant along hiking trails – but have warned people not to approach him if they encounter him because he is believed to be armed with a handgun.
According to Boston-based Fox affiliate WFXT, the wanted man’s Facebook page identifies him as U.S. Air Force and as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
According to Boston-based ABC affiliate WCVB, law enforcement believes the suspect’s military training may be complicating search efforts.
Police believe the couple had marital problems for quite some time, according to the complaint application. Investigators say witnesses close to the family told them that Breanne Pennington had been planning to move to Texas with the children when she was killed.
Law&Crime reached out to the Massachusetts State Police for additional details on this story but no response was immediately forthcoming.
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