CHARLESTON, W. Va. — A West Virginia man charged with his sister’s savage beating that left her in a 2-year coma has died in police custody, authorities confirmed.
Jackson County Sheriff Ross Mellinger confirmed Friday that Daniel Palmer III, 55, died Thursday evening at a Charleston-area hospital, West Virginia Metro News reported.
Daniel Palmer was charged Friday, June 15 with attempted murder and malicious wounding after his sister, Wanda Palmer, identified him to police as the person who attacked her in her Cottageville home in June 2020 and left her for dead.
Investigators said Palmer was in poor health and was transported from South Central Regional Jail to an area hospital on Wednesday, WCHS-TV reported.
“Inmate Palmer was uncooperative while in custody and during booking procedures at the jail. On Wednesday, July 20th, 2022, Palmer was transported to CAMC General Hospital after an evaluation by jail medical staff,” West Virginia Department of Homeland Security Deputy General Counsel Morgan Switzer said in a prepared statement.
“His overall health wasn’t a strong suit to begin with, so this doesn’t come as a complete shock,” Mellinger told MetroNews.
According to WCHS, neighbors found Wanda Palmer beaten unconscious in her home on June 10, 2020. Two weeks ago, Wanda Palmer awoke from a coma in the long-term care facility where she has been receiving medical care and identified Daniel Palmer as her attacker.
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