Distraught son hit mother with hammer before falling out of car and drowning, sheriff says

ST. LUCIE COUNTY — Investigators concluded a 67-year-old woman who died in September was beaten with a hammer by her son, whose decomposing headless and handless body was found days later in the north fork of the St. Lucie River, Sheriff Ken Mascara said Wednesday.

He said investigators believe Lance Whatley, 40, hit his mother, Kathie Whatley, in the head with a hammer. Lance Whatley is thought to have been in a “manic and anxiety-riddled state” Sept. 7, not long before Hurricane Irma hit the area.

Mascara said Kathy Whatley died of blunt force trauma to the head, and her son died from “suicide by drowning.”

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The case began about 4:30 a.m. Sept. 8 when investigators were called to River Park Marina on East Prima Vista Boulevard, where a caller said a car was partially submerged and a person was unconscious on the ground nearby.

That person, identified as Kathie Whatley, was taken to a local hospital, where she died the next day.

Mascara on Wednesday disclosed a bloody hammer was found next to Kathie Whatley.

In the days after Kathie Whatley’s death, sheriff’s officials reported they were trying to find Lance Whatley. At the time, they said he had a history of mental and medical issues.

On Sept. 13, as the waters from Hurricane Irma receded, Port St. Lucie police were called to Rivergate Park for a report of a body in the water. Mascara said the body was decomposing and was missing the head and hands “most likely from exposure to the elements and Hurricane Irma and the rapid rush of water.”

“You have to figure, the five days in the river, there’s a lot of alligators in the north fork of the river,” Mascara said. “The current itself from Irma would have been beating the body along the shore, the rocks, the trees, everything in the river.”

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Mascara said tissue and DNA analysis confirmed the body was that of Lance Whatley. It was not immediately clear when this was confirmed.

“It was also concluded through extensive forensic processing that Kathy and Lance Whatley were the only two people inside the vehicle the morning of Sept. 8,” Mascara said.

Mascara said Lance Whatley had mental health issues.

“He was such a manic depressant … she would have to come home from her workplace and drive him around all night in an effort to calm him,” Mascara said. “From the statements that we’ve taken, he was so excited about this storm coming we’ve made the conclusion that he was just unable to be calmed.”

Investigators have said Lance Whatley had no criminal history or history of violence.

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Records indicate Kathie Whatley lived at an address on Southeast Sabina Lane in Port St. Lucie, about a 2-mile drive from the marina.

Mascara said investigators learned Kathie Whatley and her son left a friend’s home about 12:30 a.m.

“He and Kathie Whatley were known to always be together, especially at night due to his mental illness,” Mascara said.

He said investigators believe they ended up at River Park Marina where they argued. They believe Lance Whatley struck his mother with the hammer, and drove her car in the river before he fell out. He was carried away by the current and drowned.