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The Boone County, Kentucky Sheriff Department's report for the arrest of Benjamin "BJ" Whitmer on 6/4 alleges that Whitmer entered the residence of his former girlfriend without consent through an open door at 6:14 PM that evening, "requesting that she delete messages from her phone that were from Mr. Whitmer."
When she refused, "Mr. Whitmer became irate" and "approached her, grabbed her by the throat and threw her down on the couch where he began strangling her." She "advised that Mr. Whitmer impeded her ability to breathe to the point where she thought she was going to lose consciousness."
The report states that the victim had bruising on her neck and visible red marks when Kentucky Deputies arrived at her home.
Prior to the incident, the victim stated that he had been receiving texts from Whitmer all day, including one that he would "see her soon." She witnessed him enter her home while returning from her neighborhood pool.
Whitmer had left the scene by the time Deputies arrived. The victim advised them that Whitmer had likely gone to a relative's house. Whitmer was found there and detained by Alexandria, Kentucky Police until he could be questioned. Whitmer declined to comment to the police at that time.
The victim was treated and evaluated by Walton Fire/EMS and stated her "throat was very sore" but declined to be hospitalized or taken to an emergency room.
Whitmer, 45, had been with AEW since its formation in 2019 as a Coach/Producer. The promotion immediately investigated the allegations and he was let go from the promotion in the wake of the arrest. An AEW Spokesperson issued the following statement on 6/12 when contacted by PWInsider.com:
"B.J. Whitmer has been terminated following his arrest on domestic violence charges. While talent and staff are ultimately responsible for their own personal actions, this behavior is intolerable within AEW. AEW has reached out to offer support to those impacted by his behavior."
Court records indicate that Whitmer has been charged with strangulation, 1st degree, a Class C felony in Kentucky, carries a potential penalty of 5 to 10 years in prison. Whitmer has also been charged with burglary, second degree. In Kentucky, that charge is described as knowingly entering or remaining in a dwelling with the intent to commit a crime. It is also classified as a Class C felony in Kentucky, potentially punishable by 5-10 years in prison. Whitmer was released on $25,000 bond the afternoon of Monday 6/12.
Whitmer had been with AEW as a Coach/Producer since it was originally formed and would occasionally appear as a Judge for ROH Pure Wrestling matches. Prior to AEW, he had been with Ring of Honor off and on dating back to 2003, initially as a wrestler. Later, he transitioned into working behind the scenes full-time during the Sinclair Broadcast Group ownership era, working on travel and production aspects of the company. Whitmer also worked as a trainer for the ROH Dojo and on-screen at times as a color commentator for the promotion during the Sinclair era. He exited ROH in advance of moving to AEW.
Whitmer first broke into professional wrestling back in 2000 in the greater Cincinnati area. Beyond his time in ROH, he also wrestled for Pro Wrestling NOAH in Japan, former WWE developmental territory the HWA, CZW and scores of other independent promotions. He had stepped out of the ring due to neck and back issues related to spinal stenosis, last wrestling in 2017.
AEW sources have indicated that the promotion reached out to the victim to provide whatever personal support they could in the wake of Whitmer's arrest.
Whitmer, to date, has not publicly commented on the charges. PWInsider.com did attempt to make contact with him on 6/12 via phone and text but was unsuccessful.
Whitmer would need to be indicted on the charges by a grand jury for the case against him to go forward. PWInsider.com is working to confirm the current status of the case.
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