GARDNER, MASS. (WHDH) - The search for a man wanted in connection with his wife’s death continued Tuesday after a vehicle previously sought in connection with the homicide was found abandoned in the woods in Ashburnham.
SKY7-HD was over the area Monday evening near Camp Collier on the Gardner/Ashburnham line as police cars, K9 teams, an ambulance and a state police helicopter responded to the area. Nearby access roads were blocked off as authorities continued their search for the husband of 30-year-old Breanne Pennington, who was found dead in Gardner on Sunday.
According to court documents, Pennington was found Sunday morning after police were called to the Cherry Street home she shared with her husband, Aaron.
As their search continued, police previously shared information on a car Aaron is believed to have driven away from the house before Breanne was found. The car seen in Ashburnham on Monday matched the description and license plate number shared by police.
While authorities gathered in Ashburnham, the Gardner Police Department and the Gardner Mayor’s Office on Monday afternoon asked people in the area of Kelton, Wheeler, Raymond and Stone Streets to shelter in place.
Police were in the area “conducting a search and investigation into a suspected felon,” officials said in a statement shared on social media.
Officials continued, saying the person “is considered armed and dangerous.”
Authorities lifted the shelter in place shortly before 10 p.m., saying the area had been deemed safe with no threat to public safety after an “exhaustive search.”
Earlier Monday evening, some area residents were seen showing their ID’s to get past police roadblocks.
“It’s kind of petrifying, to be honest with you,” resident Melissa Zirkle told 7NEWS. “It’s fairly quiet around here. People are friendly. You hardly ever see cops on this road.”
Court documents said police were called after the Penningtons’ four children went to a neighbor’s house on Sunday and said their father was gone. Documents said the children told neighbors their mother was in a room crying.
When police arrived, documents said, they found Breanne dead in a bed in an upstairs room of the family’s home. Police paperwork separately said Breanne was shot in the face.
“I just wailed — I just wailed,” said Brenda Hull, Breanne’s aunt when speaking with 7NEWS via Zoom.
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WATCH: Family member describes mother of four killed in Gardner as search for victim’s husband continues
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Hull said her niece was a loving and devoted mother who built a family with Aaron after meeting him at church.
“Aaron was gentle and kind and good — she loved him, he was a good dad,” Hull said. “There was some breaking down of his mental health, maybe due to stress — lots of stress and genetic predisposition.”
Hull said her niece had rented a place to stay in Texas for her and her children, making the decision to move for her family’s safety.
“This is a case of a breakdown in our mental health system, and I think we have to start looking at people, even the most gentle people, as having the capacity for violence,” Hull said.
Aaron was a former member of the US Air Force.
At the crime scene over the weekend, investigators said they found three spent shell casings but no weapons.
Detectives continued to investigate and said Aaron had driven out of the family’s driveway in a white BMW, likely with a gun.
According to court documents, in addition to noting his history of mental illness, authorities said Aaron Pennington is believed to have threatened to commit suicide in the past.
“Aaron — don’t do harm to yourself, that’s not the answer, you have four children,” Hull said. “Pay your debt, show your children that you’re going to be responsible for your actions.”
Aaron is described as being a white man with blonde hair, blue eyes, who is about 6 feet 2 inches tall and weighing about 175 pounds.
In lifting the shelter in place order Monday night, authorities did not say whether Aaron had been located. Officials said a police presence would remain stationed near the site where Aaron’s car was found throughout the night and through the day Tuesday “out of an abundance of caution.”
The car was eventually towed away from the area.
The Penningtons’ four children, ages 2, 5, 7, and 9 were inside the home at the time of the incident on Sunday and were in the custody of the Department of Children and Families as of Monday, according to the Worcester County District Attorney’s Office.
Anyone with information to help in the current investigation is asked to call Gardner police at 978-632-5600.
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