Inset: Gregory Whitt (Crawford County Sheriff’s Office). Background: The wooded area where the body of Whitt’s husband was discovered in Van Buren, Ark. (Google Maps).
An Arkansas man behind bars for allegedly stabbing and killing his husband during a camping trip has pleaded not guilty to the charge.
Gregory Steven Whitt Jr., 39, stands accused of one count of murder in the first degree, according to the Crawford County Sheriff’s Office.
The defendant made a court appearance in Crawford County on Tuesday, during which his lawyer entered a formal plea of not guilty, as indicated by court documents reviewed by Law&Crime.
Despite the plea, authorities assert that Whitt confessed to the violent murder of Kevin Whitt, previously known as Kevin Pennington. The tragic event allegedly took place last month while the couple camped in the woods near Van Buren, a small town just a few miles east of the Oklahoma border.
On Aug. 20, authorities responded to a scene on Catcher Road following reports of a possible dead body and foul play, according to an affidavit accessed by the Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette and the Fort Smith CBS affiliate KFSM.
Upon arrival, deputies were led down a path to a small campsite littered with food, drinks, blankets, and backpacks. They then made the grim discovery: Around 100 feet away lay the victim’s body, covered in blood on his face, head, neck, and hands. Crimson stains marked a nearby tree by the victim’s head. Investigators noted two Phillips-head screwdrivers next to Kevin Whitt’s body.
Both screwdrivers were also coated in blood, authorities said.
The following day, Gregory Whitt appeared at the Crawford County Detention Center, where he allegedly admitted to several jail staff that he was responsible for his husband’s death and requested a conversation with the sergeant overseeing the investigation.
“Gregory was visibly upset and crying, stating ‘I miss him’ several times and stating, ‘I killed him,'” the affidavit reads. “And that it was over drugs.”
The defendant allegedly went on to explain that the drug-related argument became physical when the two began to hit each other – though Gregory Whitt was adamant his husband swung at him first.
“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.”
The affidavit then recites the defendant’s alleged description of how the fight ended: “I flat-out choked him out.”
A witness reportedly told authorities that they had last seen the married couple together in the woods in question. The witness also said they heard a struggle and shouts the night before the victim’s body was found.
The defendant is currently being detained on $1 million bond. Gregory Whitt is represented by a public defender. He is next slated to appear in court in February for a status conference.
