Grand Jury indicts Adel man for malice murder
Bryant O’Neil Kenney
On Monday, July 11, 2022, the Cook County Grand Jury indicted Bryant O’Neil Kenney, 50, of Adel for malice murder, felony murder, and aggravated assault.
On Feb. 15, 2022, Kenney allegedly stabbed Donald R. Penny, age 81, of Adel “with a certain sharp object” and killed Penny, according to court records.
On Feb. 23, 2022, Kenney was arrested in connection with Penny’s death, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI).
On Feb. 16, 2022, the GBI’s Douglas Office received a request from the Adel Police Department to assist with a death investigation. The Adel Police Department responded to a 911 call at 500 N. Gordon Ave., Adel, in reference to an unresponsive person. When officers arrived, they found Penny deceased.
Penny was taken to the GBI Medical Examiner’s Office for an autopsy. Penny’s death was ruled as a homicide.
According to warrants taken in the case, during offense times between 6 p.m. Feb. 14 and 2 a.m. Feb. 15, at 500 N. Gordon Ave., Apt. B, Adel, Kenney assaulted Donald Penny with intent to murder. Kenney assaulted Penny with “an unknown sharp object” and inflicted “multiple stab wounds,” the warrants state.
Penny served honorably in the United States Navy. He was survived by many friends and neighbors, and was preceded in death by his wife, Helen Raleigh Penny.
Kenney was on parole for murder, according to Cook County Magistrate Judge Stephen Chammoun’s order denying bond. Court records available online show that Kenney was convicted of second-degree unintentional murder in Ramsey County District Court, Minnesota; he was convicted of stabbing a man to death following a drug deal dispute on June 29, 1998.
A “true bill” or indictment means that the Grand Jury decided the District Attorney’s Office presented sufficient evidence to take a case to trial. A Superior Court judge ordered bench warrants for the arrests of defendants indicted on new special presentment counts. All the cases are pending in Cook County Superior Court.
Other indictments will be featured in next week’s issue.
