WV Woman Wakes from Coma, Accuses Brother as Attacker

51-year-old Wanda Palmer woke from a two-year coma on June 27th with the limited ability to speak and answer questions, reports CBS News. The West Virginia woman had been found unconscious in her Jackson County home on June 10th, 2020, with severe head wounds that left her unresponsive in a nursing home until last month. On July 12th, she spoke with a deputy and named her alleged attacker: her brother, 55-year-old Daniel Palmer III.

According to CNN, Daniel was arrested last Friday on charges of attempted murder and malicious wounding. Held on a bond of $500,000 in Jackson County, he has refused to sign the paperwork necessary to retain an attorney. He continues to assert his innocence, claiming he had not visited Wanda’s trailer in the days leading up to the attack.

Police believe Daniel attacked Wanda with “a machete or hatchet,” according to NBC News, though the weapon was never recovered.

CNN reports that Wanda is “coherent but unable to hold full-length conversations.” She claims that Daniel assaulted her because he was “mean.”