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RALEIGH, N.C. – Larry Whitfield was on foot, his getaway car wrecked, his attempt at robbing a bank thwarted by locked doors, according to detectives. Looking for a place to hide, police say, he found himself inside the home of a frightened old woman.
There’s no evidence Whitfield ever touched 79-year-old Mary Parnell. Authorities say he even told the grandmother of five he didn’t want to hurt her, directing her to sit in a chair in her bedroom. But investigators have no doubt he terrified her so much that she died of a heart attack.
Now Whitfield, 20, with no privious criminal record, is charged with first-degree murder, a rare defendant accused of literally scaring a person to death.
Under the felony murder rule, it’s not uncommon for prosecutors to bring a murder charge against a defendant who doesn’t intentionally harm a victim. The rule lets authorities bring murder charges whenever someone dies during a crime.
He’s charged with several other crimes in addition to murder, and has not entered a plea. He faces life without parole if convicted.
Authorities said Whitfield and an accomplice, armed with semiautomatic rifles, planned to rob the Fort Financial Credit Union. The bank’s staff locked its doors as the men approached. They fled but crashed on Interstate 85. Officials said the other man was caught shortly after the crash, while Whitfield ended up at Parnell’s door.
Parnell’s husband came home and found her slumped over in the chair. Whitfield had fled after Parnell went into cardiac arrest. He was arrested in the neighborhood.
Parnell’s autopsy report said she had an enlarged heart, was overweight and had advanced liver disease, kidney disease, hypertension, heart disease and diabetes.
Prosecutors must show what Whitfield did inside Parnell’s home caused her death, said Michael Tigar, a Duke University Law School professor.
“Jurors very often resent what they see as overcharging,” Tigar said. “They resent lawyers who claim too much for their cases. In most cases, (lawyers have) stretched the analysis or theory in order to heighten punishment, and are often penalized by the jury because of it.”
