Authorities point to inconsistencies in the statements of a Clearwater man accused of fatally stabbing his girlfriend.
By CATHERINE E. SHOICHET
Published August 26, 2004
OLDSMAR - Detectives investigating the fatal stabbing of Karen Pannell amassed numerous clues, big and small, before concluding that her boyfriend killed her last October, according to new court records.
"It shows how tenacity pays off," Pinellas-Pasco Chief Assistant State Attorney Bruce Bartlett said Wednesday. "The Sheriff's Office really worked hard to make a case on him."
New details about the investigation emerged this week as suspect Timothy A. Permenter, 37, of Clearwater was transferred to the Pinellas County Jail to await trial on a charge of first-degree murder.
Permenter told Pinellas County sheriff's detectives that he left Pannell's Montego Court townhouse at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 10, found her body there the next day and called 911. Pannell, a 39-year-old airline customer service employee, was repeatedly stabbed in the chest and back.
But a Pizza Hut delivery man said he talked with Pannell and saw Permenter when he delivered a pizza to the house about 8:48 p.m. that night, according to a sworn statement from sheriff's homicide Detective Michael Holbrook.
The delivery man said he chatted with Pannell for about 10 minutes and left when he saw Permenter scowl at him, Holbrook said in the six-page statement.
Three slices were missing from the pizza box when detectives found it at the house the next day. Permenter's fingerprints were found on the box, and medical examiners found no pizza in Pannell's body, Holbrook said. When Holbrook told Permenter about what the pizza delivery man saw, Permenter changed his statement and said that he must have left the apartment later.
Asked why he had not told the truth, Permenter said, "I don't know. Go ahead, just take me to jail," Holbrook said.
That was one of several inconsistencies investigators discovered that led them to believe that Permenter killed Pannell. According to Holbrook's statement:
Neighbors said they saw Permenter's vehicle at Pannell's townhouse between 9 and 9:30 p.m. on Oct. 10 and between 1 a.m. and 2:45 a.m. on Oct. 11.
Permenter's friend, George Solomon, told detectives he saw Permenter in the apartment they shared at 8 p.m. before leaving to visit his girlfriend in Pasco County. Permenter called him at 9:30 p.m. and said they had to meet in person.
Permenter acted strangely when he arrived at the Pasco County house around 11 p.m that night, Solomon told investigators. Listening to Permenter, Solomon believed that Permenter might have gotten in trouble with his girlfriend, Holbrook said.
Solomon did not let him in the house, and when he went to bed at midnight, he "locked the front door and took all the kitchen knives into the bedroom with him because of the way Permenter was acting," Holbrook said.
Permenter told investigators that he called Solomon from his apartment. But cell phone records showed otherwise. When Permenter called Solomon, the call was routed through a cell tower that handled calls from the area of Pannell's townhouse, not his apartment.
A DNA analysis of fingernail scrapings taken from Pannell was a positive match of Permenter's DNA. Detectives also said Pannell had defensive wounds on her hands indicating that she tried to fight off her killer.
Permenter called one of Pannell's close friends and told her Pannell had been stabbed to death. Detectives say he made that call before paramedics knew how she died.
The word "Roc" - the name of one of Pannell's ex-boyfriends - was found written in blood on the wall of Pannell's home. A blood analysis revealed that the name was written with a sponge or paper towel. No such item was found at the scene. A small amount of blood was found on Pannell's right finger, but she was left-handed. Based on that, detectives concluded that Pannell was not killed by a stranger, but by someone who knew about the ex-boyfriend, who had an alibi.
Permenter was indicted on a charge of first-degree murder on May 19. On Tuesday, authorities transferred him to Pinellas County Jail. He had been in the Leon County jail since October awaiting sentencing on a parole violation stemming from a 1990 gunfight.
In a telephone interview in February, Permenter denied killing Pannell.
Bartlett said a trial probably would not take place until late 2005. He said that he expected it would be a death penalty case, but added that Pinellas-Pasco State Attorney Bernie McCabe would make that decision.
Yvonne Pannell, Karen Pannell's stepmother, said all of Karen Pannell's family and friends would attend the trial, whenever it takes place.
"I'm still grieving," Yvonne Pannell said. "That's the only daughter we had. It's like a part of our life has been snatched away from us forever. He shouldn't be walking this earth. He doesn't deserve to live."
