Authorities: West Virginia woman awakens from coma, identifies brother as attacker

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A West Virginia man has been charged with trying to kill his sister, who recently awakened from a two-year coma and identified him as her attacker, authorities said.

News outlets 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. Her brother, Daniel Palmer, had been identified as a suspect, but investigators did not have enough evidence to file charges, court documents said.

Medical staff said despite having brain damage from the attack, Wanda Palmer was able to speak and identify her brother as her assailant, according to the West Virginia Metro News. https://t.co/4nTXBVJpc7

— NBC10 Philadelphia (@NBCPhiladelphia) July 18, 2022

A deputy received a call June 27 from a protective services worker who said she had started to speak single words and seemed to respond when questioned.

In a July 12 interview with a deputy, Wanda Palmer said the person who injured her was her brother and she identified him as Daniel, a criminal complaint obtained by WCHS-TV said.

Daniel Palmer, 55, has been charged with attempted murder and malicious wounding, the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office said on Facebook.

After two years of no answers, Sheriff Ross Mellinger said everything is now coming full circle.

“This about as rare as it gets,” Mellinger said. “I think it’s a true testament to the perseverance and strength and victim herself. And that’s really what it is all about. Being strong enough to persevere through something like this two years later.”

Online court records show Daniel Palmer is being held in jail on $500,000 bail. It was not immediately clear if he had a lawyer.