A woman with a long criminal history has been charged with perjury and false swearing stemming from alleged attempts to prevent the inclusion of potential heirs to money from her brother’s estate.
Sixty-year-old Penny Juanita Whitson is now living in transition housing in Little Rock after being paroled from prison. She was serving a sentence after pleading guilty to charges in five cases filed in 2019 and 2020.
She was brought to Baxter County on December 13 and booked into jail.
MOTHER’S WILL
The trail of the disputed money begins with the death of then 77-year-old Ruthie Ilene Stevenson. She died when her residence along Old Arkana Road burned in mid-November 2018. In her will, she acknowledged her two biological children — Whitson and Rory Gregory — but left nothing to them.
Whitson and Rory Gregory both contested the will and a family settlement was worked out and approved by the Probate Court in which they would receive $15,000 each. Two other relatives — Jessica Whitson and Katie Gregory were to receive the same amount.
Whitson’s share was spent by an aunt as directed by Whitson, according to an affidavit filed by the aunt in mid-October. The affidavit contains items that were paid with the money.
RORY GREGORY LEFT NO WILL
Rory Gregory died without a will in prison July 19, 2020. It is the $15,000 share allotted to him by the family settlement that is now in contention.
Penny Whitson has failed to indicate both in documents and sworn testimony given in hearings that there are or may be decedents of a deceased brother than should have been included in the family settlement.
In documents she has listed herself as “sole heir” of her brother, Rory.
A check made to Penny Whitson for $15,000 representing Rory Gregory’s share per the family settlement was sent to the aunt in Gassville
A writ of execution was issued in mid-September and about $14,500 in the aunt’s bank account was frozen.
Through the years, Whitson has had more than 30 criminal cases opened on her and has picked up fines, fees, victim restitution and other costs.
The total on her fines, fees and costs was listed as $14,500 in September and as $25,500 in a writ of execution filed in early December.
WHITSON WANTED EXECUTION “QUASHED”
Whitson has filed a motion to “quash” the writ of execution. A hearing was held December 4 on that motion.
During the December 4 hearing, while questioning Whitson, Deputy Prosecutor Chris Carter asked her if there were any living descendants of her deceased brother, Jimmy “Milton” Dale Gregory.
She said there were two. Carter asked if she had attempted to contact these people since they would appear to be rightful heirs to Rory Gregory’s estate.
Jimmy Gregory died at 58 in late May 2016. In his obituary published at the time, he is shown to have two children – Amanda Gregory of Lake Worth, Florida and Chad Gregory of Phoenix, Arizona.
Whitson continued to assert it was “Rory’s intention” to leave his share listed in the family settlement agreement only to her, her child and a female who Penny Whitson says was adopted into the family at some point.
While testifying, she did not explain how she had determined what Rory Gregory’s intentions were regarding his share or that he intended to leave descendants of his deceased brother out of the picture.
Carter continued to question Whitson on the point. He said it appeared Penny Whitson might be trying to cheat the dead brother’s descendants by leaving them out of the settlement and apparently not making any attempt to contact them.
The written statements Whitson has made in documents in which she does not list or even mention other potential heirs led to the false swearing charge. She has made the same statements under oath while testifying leading to the filing of the perjury charge.
Perjury is a Class C Felony and swearing false statements is a misdemeanor.
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