A woman has woken up from a coma after two years following a machete attack and accused her brother of being behind it.
Wanda Palmer regained consciousness last week following brain damage and authorities in West Virginia were alerted by her care centre that she had identified her brother, David Palmer, as the alleged attacker.
Ms Palmer was attacked with a weapon at her home in Cottageville, West Virginia in June 2020, but authorities failed to prosecute anyone.
Sheriff Mellenger told MetroNews that when they arrived on the scene, they thought she was dead.
“We had a little bit of an idea what happened, but the problem was with the nuts and bolts of the case we had nothing to go on", he continued.
Mellenger said there were no eyewitnesses, nobody lived in the house and there were no CCTV cameras or no mobile phone records.
So there was "virtually nothing there to move forward on.”
When Ms Palmer woke up from her coma investigators went to the care home in Wetzel County, where she then identified her brother.
David Palmer was soon arrested and charged with attempted murder and malicious wounding over the attack, which officials believe was carried out with a machete.
The Sheriff said the key to the case was with the victim who was unable to communicate, so they were left with nothing.
He said: "Now lo and behold two years later and boom, she’s awake and able to tell us exactly what happened."
Mr Palmer, 55, was apparently surprised at the arrest but did not put up a fight with the authorities upon being apprehended.
Neighbours of Ms Palmer found her unconscious and slumped over a sofa in her home on Flatwoods Road in Ravensville, West Virginia, on June 10, 2020, according to court documents obtained by Fox News.
Court records also revealed that her brother had a "violent history."
Mellenger said this case, from an investigator's point of view, is extremely rare but said it is a testament to the strength of the victim.
