Woman accused in Oil City assault case held for court

From staff reports

An Oil City woman accused of assaulting her estranged husband earlier this month was held for court Wednesday.

Jacquelyn Whitling, 37, appeared in Venango County Central Court for her preliminary hearing.

She was charged with two felony counts of aggravated assault and a felony count of attempted aggravated assault. She is also facing two misdemeanor counts of simple assault and misdemeanor counts of possession of an instrument of crime with intent, possession of a weapon and stalking.

The charges stem from a Sept. 15 incident in which Oil City police responded to the 300 block of Front Street after a man reported that Whitling had threatened to harm a woman living nearby. He said Whitling was in possession of a large knife and was walking toward the woman’s home.

When police arrived, they discovered Whitling with the knife and commanded her several times to drop the weapon. Whitling eventually surrendered the knife and was apprehended without incident, police said.

Police later interviewed the male caller, who was identified as Whitling’s estranged husband. He said the incident had started the night before when Whitling started to harass him via text message.

The man said he went to Whitling’s home in an attempt to calm her down, but she continued to make threats and retrieved multiple kitchen knives that she waved in a threatening manner. She grabbed the man’s shirt and waved a knife in his face to the degree he was in fear for his life, said police.

The man said he escaped out the front door and held it shut while Whitling stabbed away chunks of glass in the door. He said he then fled to his car, and Whitling threw something at the vehicle and said she was going to the other woman’s home, police said.

Whitling remains in the Venango County jail.