The ongoing search for a 33-year-old man wanted in connection with his wife’s death in Gardner resulted in authorities finding his car Monday evening.
After a shelter-in-place was ordered, Ashburnham police said officials found Aaron Pennington’s car in the woods at Camp Collier in Gardner near the Ashburnham line around 5 p.m. on Oct. 23. The shelter-in-place has since been lifted.
Police said this was the same vehicle involved in the death investigation of Breanne Pennington, Aaron’s wife.
Breanne, 30, of 42 Cherry St. was found dead inside a home at 42 Cherry St. around 9:14 a.m. on Oct. 22 after police were called for a reported disturbance, according to Worcester County District Attorney Joseph Early Jr.’s office.
Four children, ages 2, 5, 7, and 9, were living in the home and had went to their neighbor’s house, Early said during a press conference Sunday night. Early said they are safe and in the custody of the Department of Children and Families.
According to documents from Gardner District Court, Breanne was planning to move to Texas with her children to get away from her husband.
The affidavit read that at around 9:14 a.m., Kerri McDermott, a neighbor of the Penningtons, called 911 after the Penningtons’ four children came over to her house “scared because they could not find their father and their mother was in her bedroom crying.” The children also told McDermott that their father’s car was not in the driveway.
Police arrived within five minutes and found Breanne in bed in an upstairs bedroom with a gunshot wound to the face, court documents said. Officers did not find anyone else at the home. Breanne was pronounced dead at 9:30 a.m. and the Chief Medical Examiner’s office was notified.
Following interviews and a video surveillance canvass of the neighborhood, investigators determined that Pennington and Breanne were having marital issues for a while, court documents said. He had mental health issues for a while and had threatened suicide, while Breanne was planning to move to Texas and take the children with her to be away from him, according to the documents.
She was also “known to have a firearm at the residence for her protection,” court documents read, but neither had a license to carry firearms in Massachusetts. After a search warrant was issued, a gun was not found in the home. Three spent shell casings were found in the bedroom Breanne was in.
At around 8:50 a.m., Pennington was seen leaving the home’s driveway in a 2013 BMW 320 sedan. At around 9:07 a.m., the children left the residence and went to McDermott’s house next door.
Massachusetts State Police and Gardner police continue to search for Aaron Pennington. He is described as a white male with blonde hair, blue eyes, 6 feet 2 inches and around 175 pounds.
No one should approach Pennington as he should be considered armed and dangerous, according to Massachusetts State Police.
Anyone who sees Pennington or the suspected vehicle should call 911, Gardner police at 978-632-5600 or MSP at 508-829-8236.
The investigation into the death is ongoing by State Police Detectives assigned to the Worcester County District Attorney’s Office and the Gardner Police Department.
