Inset: Gregory Whitt (Crawford County Detention Center). Background: The wooded area where Whitt allegedly killed his husband using a screwdriver (Google Maps).
A 39-year-old man from Arkansas has been accused of murdering his husband, reportedly stabbing him multiple times in the head with a screwdriver, and later claiming to authorities that his partner “started it.”
Records reviewed by Law&Crime indicate that Gregory Steven Whitt was arrested last week and is facing one charge of first-degree murder in connection to the death of Kevin Whitt, who was previously known as Kevin Pennington.
The Crawford County Sheriff’s Office received a call on Thursday, August 21, about a deceased man found in a forested region near the 1400 block of Catcher Road, according to a report by the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported. Upon reaching the location, officers discovered a path leading into the woods to what appeared to be a campsite with items such as blankets, backpacks, food, and drinks.
While examining the vicinity, officers reportedly found the body of Kevin Whitt approximately 100 feet from the campsite, with visible blood on his hands, face, and neck. Two Phillips-head screwdrivers were also found nearby, one positioned on each side of his body.
Investigators discovered that the victim was married to Gregory Whitt and that the pair had last been seen together in the wooded area the night before. A witness mentioned hearing two men fighting, shouting, and grappling in the forest, as reported by KFSM, a CBS affiliate based in Fayetteville, Arkansas KFSM.
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.
