MH woman with many assault charges picks up another while in jail

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Photo: Vanessa Henschel

Twenty-seven-year-old Vanessa Henschel of Mountain Home has picked up a new charge after striking a fellow Baxter County jail inmate.

According to an incident report completed late last month, Henschel is accused of hitting Penny Whitson in the face for no apparent reason.

The 56-year-old Whitson is being held in the county jail awaiting transportation to the state prison system, according to the jail log.



Photo: Penny Whitson

The report notes Henschel refused to answer questions regarding the incident. It is not an unusual stance for her to take. She has frequently sat mute during court sessions and has also refused to speak to her defense attorney.

The latest incident involving Henschel took place in late March. Whitson and several other female inmates were being temporarily held in a visitation area while jail staff performed a “shakedown” of the living area where the women were assigned.

While the inmates were waiting for the cell search to be completed, Henschel is alleged to have struck Whitson without provocation.

The female inmates sitting with Whitson verified that Henschel was the aggressor.

Whitson has a long criminal history, with cases in Baxter and a number of other counties. She is scheduled to reappear in circuit court May 7, the final appearance before her jury trial set for May 11.

Henschel, also no stranger to the court system, is expected to be charged with a misdemeanor count of third-degree battery for the alleged attack on Whitson.

In past incidents, Henschel has used her fists, forearm, a knife, a backpack and a tool used to clip trees to attack victims both inside and outside the jail.

The victims have included her father, jail staff, inmates and a former friend.

The latest attack outside the jail occurred in January. A homeowner along County Road 15 told investigators he arrived at his residence and was surprised to see his pickup truck headed up the driveway.

The female driving the vehicle, later identified as Henschel, got out and went into the garage. The resident also went inside and confronted her.

After some conversation, Henschel was alleged to have punched the homeowner in the head and then armed herself with a pair of “limb clippers” and attempted to attack him with the tool.

The homeowner went to a neighbor’s house and called 911. The first Baxter County investigator on the scene recognized Henschel from previous encounters.

Henschel was asked where she had gone in the homeowner’s truck and, as opposed to many other occasions, Henschel spoke, saying she had been “to town and back.”

As the homeowner and investigators went through the house, they saw the window above the kitchen sink had been broken out and blood was found on the sink and floor.

It appeared Henschel had helped herself to snacks and a soft drink and rested in one of the bedrooms while in the home. Dresser drawers were pulled open, and $60 in cash was missing from a closet.

The homeowner’s wife said items of her clothing and pieces of jewelry were also gone. Henschel was reported to have been wearing some of the items when arrested.

Charges filed in connection with the attack on the homeowner include aggravated assault, theft of property, third-degree battery and aggravated residential burglary

Henschel underwent a psychological examination after a February 2016 incident in which she stabbed a one-time friend in a downtown Mountain Home motel room.

She was found fit to proceed at that time. The attorney representing her on charges filed after the January 2020 incident in which she attacked the homeowner has asked Henschel be given another evaluation.

Electronic court records do not show that the motion has been formally filed, apparently due to restrictions on court operations brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Once the motion is filed, activity in Henschel’s case will come to a halt, until the results from the evaluation are available.

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