Onancock woman sentenced to two years for harassing neighbors in long-running abuse case

By Linda Cicoira

An Onancock area woman, who has mental issues and suffers from alcoholism, continuously screamed curses, racial slurs, and threats of violence at her neighbors, causing one of them to have seizures from the stress and fear. She was sentenced to 10 years in prison Monday in Accomack Circuit Court for two felony counts of violating protective orders.

Judge Lynwood W. Lewis Jr. suspended all but two years of the term for 60-year-old Kathy Elizabeth Peterson, of Southside Road. A psychiatric diagnosis was not reported.

Defense lawyer Patrick Bales said Peterson was planning to move to Maryland when she gets out of jail. He said she is under the care of the Community Services Board now and is on medication that “has greatly benefited her.” While in jail, Peterson has also taken courses aimed at improving her daily life, Bales said.

Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney William Fox said Peterson has promised to move before, yet she always returns and continues to harass her neighbors. She has

derogatory nicknames for the couple, and even painted the names on a fence between the two properties.

The victims said in a letter to the court that Peterson became hostile to them as soon as they moved there in September of 2019. The outbursts often came when they were in their yard and were also aimed at family and friends or anyone who visited them. They said she hated all Christians and anyone who was not white.

They stopped having visitors due to her abuse. The comments were so loud that they could be heard inside the house with the windows closed. Two examples from different dates were recorded and played for the judge.

The couple also had increased expenses due to the issues. They had an Airbnb, but she drove their customers away. “It was anything but a Peaceful Haven.”

The neighbors’ house shared a well with Peterson’s home. The couple said they were driven to dig a separate one for $6,400. They also lost income when one of them missed time from work due to the stress. That woman nearly died from one of the seizures, they wrote.

The couple also complained that Peterson threatened “to hurt us, kill our dogs, and burn down our house.” She swerved her vehicle to hit one neighbor who was retrieving items from the mailbox, and swerved towards her car in another incident that occurred in Onancock, they said.

“She is equal to a domestic terrorist,” they wrote. “We feel she will follow through with her threats.”