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Search warrant shows Henrico grandmother slain amidst devastation in her home

Posted at 12:19 AM, Jan 07, 2016
and last updated 2016-01-07 00:20:02-05

HENRICO COUNTY, Va. -- A search warrant affidavit filed in Henrico County court and obtained by CBS 6 Tuesday shows 81-year-old Bertha Bernice Pannell died a brutal death in the midst of devastation in her home on December 29.

Detectives investigating her homicide found broken pieces of figurines, broken glass, wood and pottery.

Bernice Pannell

Bernice Pannell

They recovered a hammer and a knife, among many other items, according to the list of items seized during the search.

Pannell, a beloved deaconess for the Greater Nazarene Baptist Church in Mechanicsville, was found dead in her bedroom from "obvious sign of trauma," "blood spatter across the walls," with bloody boots found in another room in her residence in the 3900 block of East Chatham Drive, according to the search warrant affidavit filed shortly after her body was found.

A man believed to be her grandson was seen driving away in her car, "very fast and recklessly," the affidavit stated.

The grandson, 47-year-old Ricardo Green, had been living with her.

Ricardo Green

Ricardo Green

According to a member of her church, "She loved that grandson."

But Green had a significant criminal past; including drug and forgery convictions and one for the malicious wounding of a girlfriend he stabbed in the neck with a screwdriver in 2000.

CBS 6 learned Bernice Pannell became afraid of her grandson about a month before her death when he attacked her. She was given an emergency protective order against Green.

It was Green's birthday when police chased him down after his grandmother's slaying.

During the pursuit down Staples Mill Road, he crashed into a utility pole and was injured.

But he's out of the hospital now, locked up in the Henrico County Jail on grand larceny and felony eluding charges.

Murder charges were not filed as of Wednesday night.

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