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LEARN MOREPosted: 9:34 p.m. EDT Oct 26, 2023
Police say they have probable cause to believe a Massachusetts man murdered his wife after finding a note on his phone saying, "Put hole in her head."
The suspect, 33-year-old Aaron Pennington, has been on the run since Sunday, when his wife, Breanne Pennington, was found dead inside the couple's Gardner home, lying in bed with a gunshot wound to the head.
The Worcester County District Attorney issued a murder warrant for Aaron Pennington Wednesday in Gardner District Court, stating police were called when the couple's four children went to a neighbor's house saying they couldn't find their father and that their mother was in her bedroom crying.
Police reviewed the neighbor's security footage to find the 33-year-old suspect exiting his home's driveway in a white 203 BMW at 8:50 a.m. Sunday, with his children walking next door 17 minutes later.
Upon searching the couple's residence, police didn't find a firearm Breanne Pennington was known to have owned for protection. They did, however, find three spent shell casings in the bedroom.
Later, a search warrant authorized for certain content on Aaron Pennington's cell phone revealed a disturbing message, dating back to 7:04 p.m. the night before the murder.
According to the murder warrant, the note states:
"Don't say anything. Be quite [sic] If she wakes up just say you're getting nasal spray. Get on side of bed — very close proximity to head. Put hole in her head."
Breanne Pennington had been planning to move to Texas with the couple's four kids "to be away from Aaron Pennington," who suffered from mental health issues, according to a criminal complaint obtained by ABC News.
As of Thursday, the Air Force veteran is believed to be alive and on the run, potentially using his army training to help him survive in a wooded area known as Camp Collier. A hunter spotted the man's BMW sedan about 1,500 feet into the 500-acre property Monday evening, but a fourth day of searching didn't turn up a sighting.
Police are asking for the public's help in the continued search, but as Breanne Pennington's firearm was never recovered, police are warning the public should not approach the male suspect, as he's believed to be "armed and dangerous."
