CHARLESTON, West Virginia. — A West Virginia man is accused of trying to kill his sister, who recently woke up from a two-year coma and identified him as his attacker, authorities said.
Local media reported that Wanda Palmer was found unconscious with serious head injuries at her home in Jackson County on June 10, 2020.
Palmer was in a coma in a nursing home for two years. His brother, Daniel Palmer, had been identified as a suspect, but investigators did not have enough evidence to press charges, according to court documents.
A county official received a call on June 27 from a protective services worker who said that Palmer had begun to say slurs and seemed to respond when asked.
In a July 12 interview with an officer, Wanda Palmer allegedly said the person who injured her was her brother and identified him as Daniel, according to a criminal complaint obtained by WCHS-TV.
Daniel Palmer, 55, has been charged with attempted murder and malicious wounding, the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office reported on Facebook.
Sheriff Ross Mellinger said the situation “is as weird as it gets.”
Online court records show that Daniel Palmer is being held in jail on $500,000 bond. It was not immediately clear if he had an attorney.