Son of WV Supreme Court justice beats sister, leaves her bleeding in ditch: police

The son of West Virginia Supreme Court Justice Margaret Workman was arrested on Tuesday after he was accused of brutally beating his sister, and then leaving her bleeding in a ditch.

Charleston Police Department Sgt. Tony Hazelett told The Charleston Gazette that 27-year-old Edward E. Gardner had apparently gotten in an argument with his sister, Lindsey, while the two were driving in the Kanawha City area at around 9:45 p.m.

After Lindsey parked the car and began walking, Edward followed her, and said "said he was going to kill her," the Charleston Daily Mail reported.

Hazelett said that Edward punched Lindsey, threw her on the ground, and then "used his foot and stomped her head onto the roadway three times."

Witnesses reported to police that a woman was heard crying, and a man was heard screaming before the beating began.

According to Hazelett, Edward left Lindsey bleeding in a ditch along Quarry Creek Road. She was transported to CAMC General Hospital, where she was placed in an intensive care unit. A criminal complaint stated that the 29-year-old woman was thought to have a "concussion, laceration to scalp and possible skull fracture.”

Edward surrendered to police at around 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, and was charged with felony malicious wounding. He was later released on a $2,500 cash bond.

Attorney Bill Forbes, who is representing Edward, called the incident a "tragic situation," and said that the "truth will come out at the appropriate time."

Last month, Edwards Gardner was arrested on a DUI charge, and possession of marijuana. The criminal complained detailed how he told the officer that his mother was a West Virginia Supreme Court justice.

“[Gardner] kept repeating numerous times ‘My mom’s a Supreme Court judge,’” the complaint said. “I asked Mr. Gardner if that was supposed to affect the way I treated him,” the criminal complaint says. “He became very angry and told me I was bullied in high school and stated that I was uneducated.”

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