Grandma's dying words may have saved lives | News

LAKE WALES, Fla. -- A 23-year-old man is accused of stabbing his grandmother to death, but her dying words may have saved the lives of others.

According to the Polk County Sheriff's Office, Christopher "Chase" Whaley became enraged at his aunt and grandmother when they made him come home after spending the day in Daytona Beach. Later that night, the Sheriff's Office says Whaley stabbed his grandmother, Barbara Denmark, as she took a bath in the mobile home they shared in Lake Wales.

Denmark's last words, according to a confession from Whaley, were, "I love you."

Whaley's arrest affidavit says those words stopped him from carrying out the rest of his alleged plan: going down the street to his aunt's home and killing everyone inside.

Instead, Whaley was the one who called 911 and revealed what happened. When the dispatcher picked up the phone, he reportedly said, "Come get me." Then, he hung up.

When the dispatcher returned that call, according to the affidavit, Whaley said, "You have two minutes to find me."

Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd says when deputies arrived, Whaley was cradling his grandmother in his arms.

"[Barbara] loved children," says her nephew, David Alexander. "She always took care of them, no matter what. If they were in a bind in some way, whatever she had to do try to make their lives better, she did."

The family is accepting donations at any Wells Fargo branch under the fund for Cassandra Pippin. That's Whaley's aunt, who is now trying to plan her mother's funeral.