Inset: Gregory Whitt (Crawford County Detention Center). Background: The wooded area where Whitt allegedly killed his husband with a screwdriver (Google Maps).
A 39-year-old Arkansas man is accused of killing his husband, allegedly stabbing the victim in the head multiple times with a screwdriver and telling authorities that his spouse “started it.”
Gregory Steven Whitt was taken into custody last week and charged with one count of first-degree murder in the slaying of Kevin Whitt, formerly Kevin Pennington, records reviewed by Law&Crime show.
The Crawford County Sheriff”s Office responded on Thursday, Aug. 21 to a wooded area near the 1400 block of Catcher Road regarding reports of a deceased adult male, the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported. Upon arrival, authorities followed what appeared to be a manmade trail into the woods to an apparent campsite that contained blankets, backpacks, food and drinks.
While canvassing the area, authorities reportedly said they located Kevin Whitt’s body about 100 feet from the campsite with blood visible on his hands, face, and neck. Two Phillips-head screwdrivers were also located at the site, one on each side of Kevin Whitt’s body.
Investigators soon learned the victim was married to Gregory Whitt and that the couple was last seen together in the woods the previous evening when a witness reported hearing two men fighting, screaming, and struggling in the woods, according to Fayetteville, Arkansas CBS affiliate KFSM.
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The following day, the detective on the case learned that Gregory Whitt had been arrested and booked into the Crawford County Detention Center. There, he allegedly confessed to killing his husband and asked to speak to the detective. When the detective entered the interview room, Gregory Whitt again allegedly confessed to the murder.
“Gregory was visibly upset and crying, stating ‘I miss him’ several times and stating, ‘I killed him,’ and that it was over drugs,” the detective wrote in the affidavit. “Gregory then stated that Kevin started it and that Kevin swung at him, and that he swung at Kevin, and that it escalated to where [Gregory] picked up tools as weapons, and that he tried to stab Kevin in the temple a couple of times and that he doesn’t know how many times he stabbed Kevin in the head.”
When pressed for details about the confrontation, Gregory Whitt reportedly told the detective that he did not know how many times he stabbed his husband, but said he did remember that he strangled Kevin Whitt.
“I flat-out choked him out,” he allegedly told the detective.
Gregory Whitt was still in jail Monday afternoon after a judge set his bond at $1 million, records show. It was not immediately clear when he was scheduled to appear in court again.
