The Murder of Karen Pannell
For this case I watched an episode of A Time To Kill. It’s season 2 episode 6, titled ‘Written In Blood.’
A 39 year old woman is brutally killed in her own home.
Background
Karen Pannell
Karen Pannell was a 39 year old woman, living in the quiet town of Olsmar, Florida. Karen worked as an airline customer service representative at Tampa International Airport. She loved living in Florida, and enjoyed going fishing and being at the beach in her free time.
Karen was described as very attractive, fun-loving, but not afraid to speak her mind. She had gone through a divorce, and been in an abusive relationship, but things seemed to be looking up for her until she was killed.
The Murder
On October 11, 2003, a Saturday, a man named Tim Permenter called 911. He told the dispatcher that he just arrived at his girlfriend’s house, and found her dead. The dispatcher asked Tim if Karen was still breathing, but he said he didn’t want to get near her.
Major Larry Nalven, with the Pinnellas County Sheriff’s office, and Anna Cox, a forensic science specialist, arrived at the scene. Karen was found on the kitchen floor, she several wounds to her body, and defensive wounds to her hands and arms. Karen’s autopsy eventually determined that she had been stabbed 16 times, to her heart, neck and chest.
There was blood spatter on the cabinets and on the garage door. A bird bath had been knocked over outside, and a pin from the sliding glass door was found on the ground. There was also a pizza box, with three slices missing, on the kitchen counter.
While searching the house, the police noticed one more very interesting clue. There were the letters ROC written in blood. The letters were very close to the ground, and the police examined Karen’s hands. She did have blood on the fingertips on her right hand. Did Karen write the name of her killer or did the killer write this to throw off the investigation?
The bloody clue
The Investigation
The police were able to narrow down Karen’s time of death. The receipt from the pizza was from Friday night at 8:48pm, and Tim called 911 at 10:30am, on Saturday.
Tim was the first person the police wanted to speak to. Tim said he worked at a car dealership, and had met Karen three months earlier. He said he helped her lease a car, and they became involved. Tim said they were very serious, and had even talked about marriage and moving in together. Tim appeared emotional, but was very cooperative.
The police asked Tim where he was on Friday night. He said he was with Karen around 7pm, but only stayed until about 7:30pm. He went home to play video games with his roommate George, and then went over to George’s girlfriend’s house around 9:30pm. He said he stayed there until the next morning, and went over to Karen’s when she wasn’t answering his phone calls. Karen’s car was in her driveway, so he knocked on the door, but it was partially open. He said he saw her when he walked inside, and he called 911. He also told the police that the dispatcher told him to check if she was breathing, but he went outside to throw up instead.
His story seemed believable, and he consented to giving his DNA, fingerprints and clothing for testing.
The police checked Tim’s alibi out, and his roommate confirmed he was with him on Friday night. Tim was free to leave, but they did ask him if he knew anyone who would want to hurt Karen. He said yes, her abusive ex-boyfriend Roc. That name was familiar to the police, and they had their next suspect.
The Ex-Boyfriend
The police did a background check on Roc, and discovered that he had a history of drug abuse and domestic violence issues. In 2002, the police were called after Karen locked Roc out of the house. He tried to get in the house, and Karen was afraid.
The police were able to find Roc, who was living in North Port, Florida, about an hour away from Oldsmar. Roc was standoffish, but he told the police that he and Karen had a good relationship for awhile.
Roc had a new girlfriend, who had a son, and it seemed like he was moving on with his life. However, he had still be in contact with Karen, because she had some furniture of his that he wanted back.
The police asked Roc if he killed Karen, and he said no. They told him that his name was written in blood at the scene, and he said someone was framing him. Roc said he was with his girlfriend and son the whole night. He came home from work around 6pm on Friday, and went to bed at 12am after a night of drinking. He said he woke up the next morning at 9am.
Roc was eventually ruled out. His girlfriend confirmed his alibi, and so did his phone records.
Additional Suspects
The police also examined Karen’s phone records. They discovered she had been texting with someone that had the nickname ‘the pilot.’ This person was never named, and it was because he was a married man. He was brought in for questioning, and told the police that he and Karen had a casual relationship. He was eliminated pretty quickly, and wasn’t even in the country at the time of the murder.
Karen’s friend Katherine came forward, and told them to look at Karen’s ex-husband Jeff. Karen had been in the process of trying to get more alimony from him. Jeff was brought in for questioning, and he said he and Karen had a good marriage. He said the reason the marriage ended was because she became mean when she drank.
They asked Jeff where he was when Karen was killed, and he said he went to Miami, 4 1/2 hours away. Jeff was ruled out as well, and he had hotel receipts and receipts from a diving excursion.
A Dark Past
Karen’s case stalled, but the police did have the pizza box that they had tested for DNA. They also found out more information about someone they had already cleared as a suspect: Tim Permenter.
A few weeks before she died, Karen had called the police and hung up. Tim had been at her home, but had left. The police spoke to the responding officer, who had already ran a background check on Tim. Tim was currently on probation, he had done 12 years in prison for attempted murder. The responding officer had been the one who shared this information with Karen. Before this incident, she had no idea who Tim really was.
Tim’s criminal history went back to the 90’s. In 1990, Tim had been involved in the escort business in Gainesville and Tallahassee. He was arrested for attempted kidnapping and attempted murder of an escort. He had also tried to take out a competitor.
Tim was once again brought in for questioning. They asked him to go over his story one more time, and his story of being with his roommate all night never changed. Tim was arrested for violating parole, they wanted him off the street while they waited for the DNA to come back.
The DNA eventually proved what the police were already thinking. Tim’s DNA was on the pizza box. Tim’s cell phone records were obtained as well, and he had called his roommate George at 9pm, from Karen’s house.
When Tim was confronted about this, he said, “I knew after I saw the body, I should’ve run.”
The Conviction
The police believed that Karen came home from work around 6:30pm. Tim came over, and they ordered a pizza. The police had tracked down the pizza delivery drive, and he said that he had a “flirty” conversation with Karen that night. He said he found her really attractive, but he noticed how jealous the man at Karen’s house had been.
Tim was controlling, and killed Karen in a fit of rage. He then tried to frame Roc, which the police determined that the bloody letters were not written by Karen. Karen was left-handed, and she had suffered severe injuries and wouldn’t have been able to move or to write the message.
The police also discovered that Tim called George after the murder, and confessed to killing Karen. The police believed that George knew about Tim’s past, and lied because he was afraid.
Tim was also the one who ate the pizza after he killed Karen. Karen’s stomach was empty, which was determined when her autopsy was performed.
On October 24, 2007, Tim Permenter was convicted of first degree murder. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, despite the jury voting 7-5 in favor of the death penalty.
Tim Permenter
FINAL THOUGHTS
There are way too many cases like this. A jealous boyfriend or husband kills their spouse or girlfriend for no reason at all. Tim didn’t know for sure if Karen was “flirting,” maybe she was just being nice. Tim also didn’t know if Karen was going to break up with him, he killed her before he could even find out. Tim was described as a psychopath, and I agree he is. He brutally murdered the woman he was in a relationship with, ate pizza and then called 911. He acted like he was a grieving boyfriend, when he was the one who took her life, for NO REASON.
Sources
https://thecinemaholic.com/karen-pannell-murder-how-did-she-die-who-killed-her/
https://florida-issues.blogspot.com/2007/11/give-him-death-jury-decides.html
https://malkecrimenotes.wordpress.com/2018/09/24/analysis-of-timothy-permenters-911-call/
