the first-degree murder of a 79-year-old woman, Mary Parnell, whom police said he scared to death in 2008.
In an attempt to evade authorities after a bungled bank robbery, the Associated Press reported that the 20-year-old broke into and hid out in the home of Mary Parnell. Police say that while Whitfield didn’t touch Parnell, she died after suffering a heart attack that was triggered by terror.
The significance? High blood pressure aka the “silent killer” was listed as a primary or contributing cause in “more than 360,000 American deaths in 2013,” That’s roughly 1,000 deaths each day.
As you may know, African Americans develop high blood pressure more often, and at an earlier age, than Whites and Hispanics. Furthermore, more Black women than men have high blood pressure – 45.7 percent and 43 percent, respectively.
Fear isn’t the stand-alone trigger, researchers say. Anything from foul smells to intercourse, sporting events, religious intensity, and being held at gunpoint, can cause extreme levels of adrenaline to flood your gates.
The lesson? Beware of ghouls, ghosts and goblins folks! All jokes aside, though, pulling a perfectly horrific prank on your loved one may sound like a good idea, but the outcome could be dreadful.