Laclede County woman facing new charges tied to 2022 stabbing and fatal car crash

LACLEDE COUNTY, Mo. (KY3) - A woman from Falcon, Missouri, has been charged after a stabbing incident led to a fatal car crash in December.

Court documents show 31-year-old Carey Whitten is charged with first-degree assault, armed criminal action, two counts of first-degree endangering the welfare of a child, and operating a motor vehicle in a careless and imprudent manner involving an accident.

On December 10, 2022, 35-year-old Dennis Hubler died from a skull fracture caused during a car crash on State Highway 32 east of Lebanon. Hubler, Whitten, and a baby were all ejected from the car. A five-year-old girl also had minor injuries. The Highway Patrol reports no one in the SUV was wearing a seat belt or safety device.

According to a probable cause statement from the Missouri State Highway Patrol, when investigators were at the scene of the crash, they noticed a large stab wound on Hubler’s leg that was wrapped with a towel.

According to a probable cause statement from the Laclede County Sheriff’s Office, an autopsy report found the stab wound was three inches long and three inches deep.

Court documents show Whitten told investigators she and Hubler were smoking methamphetamine before the crash and got into an argument regarding Hubler possessing her phone. Whitten told authorities she grabbed a knife and told Hubler to find her phone. She said Hubler instructed her several times to put the knife down and he would help look for the phone.

According to court documents, Whitten claims she then threw the knife and said it ricocheted off the washer, dryer, and another item before cutting Hubler. According to Laclede County County Sheriff David Millsap, he and another detective went to the home where this incident occurred and found a blood trail through the home and the knife involved in the garage.

Sheriff Millsap and the detective investigated the scene and noticed there were no dents or marks on the washer or dryer that would indicate a knife had hit the appliances. Authorities say the knife was found at the bottom of the steps in the garage, and there is no direct line between the appliances and where the knife was found.

A few days after the crash, a detective with the Laclede County Sheriff’s Office spoke with the five-year-old girl about the stabbing incident. The detective asked the girl to use a male and female doll to show what happened.

According to court documents, the girl made a motion with her left hand toward the lower right leg of the doll. Authorities say the motion was much like a stabbing motion. Toward the end of the interview, the girl told the detective, “They always fight.”

According to court records, Whitten told authorities after the stabbing, they all got in the car with Hubler driving, but he started to feel light-headed, so she took over until they crashed. Whitten was arrested on the day of the crash for driving while intoxicated.

The girl told the detective “mommy” was driving, and her “daddy” was in the back holding the three-week-old baby at the time of the crash.

According to court documents, the baby suffered seven injuries from the crash, including a severe traumatic brain injury. Court records show the baby was taken to a children’s hospital in Kansas City where doctors stated “she will likely have developmental differences due to this injury, but the degree of which is impossible to predict. She will need early interventions and physical and occupational therapy.”

A warrant was issued for her arrest on March 1.

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