Woman wakes from coma 2 years after attack to name brother as suspect

A West Virginia man has been charged with trying to kill his sister, who recently awakened from a two-year coma and identified him as her attacker, authorities said. (Jackson County WV Sheriff's Department)

A West Virginia woman awoke from a years-long coma after being brutally attacked and identified her brother as the assailant, according to local reports.

Wanda Palmer had been in a long term care facility in New Martinsville, West Virginia, after being beaten in her home in June of 2020, according to the West Virginia Metro News. When Palmer was discovered, Jackson County Sheriff Ross Mellenger said she was so savagely attacked, authorities thought she was dead, the paper reported.

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Palmer’s care facility contacted authorities last week to let them know the woman had come out of her coma, the Metro News reported.

NBC News has contacted Jackson County Sheriff’s Department for comment.

Medical staff told authorities that, despite suffering brain damage from the assault, that Palmer was able to speak enough to identify her assailant, Metro News reported.

“The keys to the whole thing lay with the victim herself and with her unable to communicate we were left with nothing. Now low and behold two years later and boom, she’s awake and able to tell us exactly what happened,” Mellenger told Metro News.

Daniel Palmer, Wanda Palmer’s brother, was arrested after being identified as the attacker, according to Metro News.

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