Steven Benson, convicted in 1986 of murdering his mother and adopted brother, died in July at Taylor Correctional Institution in northern Florida. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. On the morning of the blast, prosecutors said, Benson drove the vehicle shortly before the explosion, allegedly to get doughnuts at a nearby convenience store. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Please enter your username or email address to reset your password. Benson, now 53, is serving two life sentences in a Florida prison for killing his mother and brother, and trying to kill his sister. The 12 members of the jury listen to arguments in the Florida courtroom where they convicted Steven Benson in 1986 of blowing up his family in a Chevy Suburban in the driveway of their Naples, Fla., home on July 9, 1985. Puncture wound of right temple made by a sharpened instrument ('shank')," the report states. I suppose I have a strong sex desire, and Tracy's voluptuous figure, plus her vast sexual knowledge, I think from the beginning just overwhelmed me. Also Read:Mariannette Miller-Meeks : Role during Iowa elections. Young said, I knew he did it immediately.. He said Steven was laughing. She was not allowed to leave town, as there was the possibility that the state might put her back on the stand. Collier Judge Hugh Hayes presided over the trial. Please enable JavaScript to properly view our site. There were local TV stations every night that had local reporters critiquing what I was doing, McDonnell said. He was born in 1951 in Baltimore. Copyright 2023 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Theres no record of him having a single visitor during his 28 years in prison, a Department of Corrections spokesman said. Murphy declined to say where she now is living and says she does not see her regularly. Shortly before his death in 1990, Harry Hitchcock the owner of Lancaster Leaf Tobacco Co. asked a longtime family employee, gardener Amos Sands, to visit his grandson in prison on his behalf. Harold Young, the lead Collier County sheriff's detective who pegged Benson as his primary suspect the day of the killings, said he is more surprised by the length of the investigation than the way Benson died. Mail Address: Law Offices of Carol Lynn B Kendall, Esq 2719 Hollywood Blvd Ste 164 Hollywood, FL 33020-4821. But showing little emotion after that. Carol Lynn Benson Kendall, a former Naples City Council candidate, is now a lawyer in Broward County focusing on family law and real estate. If Steven Benson caused problems, then Scott caused traumas. Hes had no contact at all.. He just ignored it.. He and his wife had two children, Margaret and Janet, and when Margaret married she chose a quiet accountant from Baltimore named Edward Benson, with whom she had two children, Carol Lynn and Steven. But everyone agreed that she had done so well, it might be unwise to risk a second appearance. Then the witness surprised the judge by asking if he could make a "statement." How do we fathom in our heads that this boy plotted and schemed, and told them where to sit so he could do the most damage to the ones he hated the most?. . Steven said he was sorry but that he already had a business meeting. Benson never bothering to wash his mothers blood spatters from the side of his white van, which he had parked near the blown-apart Suburban, and which he was still driving on the day police showed up to arrest him for the killings, a month and a half later. Young, the investigator, said hes seen more horrendous cases than the Benson case, ones where people killed their children by drowning them in their mothers blood. His sister, Carol Lynn, was badly burned in the blast but survived. After Harry Hitchcock had health problems in the late 1950s, Edward ran the company for him. He didnt say anything after prison. That she was once a beauty contest winner is easy to see. Margaret, Scott, and Stevens sister, Carol Lynn Benson Kendall, were waiting for Benson to join them in the family car on July 9, 1985, when the Chevrolet Suburban exploded. Then the jurors filed out and the door closed behind them once again. To him, sadly, its not a shocker, the terrible things people do to each other, the terrible things they do for money. Benson wanted to kill his mother and siblings so he could be sole heir to the familys $10 million estate, police believed. It continued to prosper, and eventually both families had what some people call "real money," and what others disdain as "nouveau. . I think it was the dumbest murder I ever solved that had been planned. But there were other debits. Here, prosecuting attorney Jerry Brock addresses members of the media outside the Florida courtroom where the case took place. He will be eligible for parole when he is 85. He said Mrs. Kendall, who was recovering from severe burns at her home in the Chestnut Hill section of Boston, recently told her teen-age sons about Scotts parentage, but never told Scott. Those involved with the case say they are surprised at how it still resonates in peoples minds, and their own lives. Florida authorities have charged Steven Benson, Mrs. Kendalls 34-year-old natural brother, with setting the blast outside the familys Naples, Fla., home because he believed he was about to be cut out of his mothers will. It was a journey, and every day we learned something new and awful., E. Richard Cirace, a Boston attorney who advised Kendall during the trial, said the case was compelling due to its colorful cast of characters.. He just kept a straight face.. Im hot! from the burning car. Margaret Benson and her adopted son, Scott, were killed in the 1985 blast at their Naples home. Carol Lynn Benson Kendall, 2719 Hollywood Blvd., Suite 164, Hollywood, disbarred effective immediately, following a September 22 court order. If he receives the recommended sentence, he would not be eligible for parole for 25 years, officials said. That's a negative as far as the jury is concerned. Justice is justice," he said. As the lead investigator in the Collier County Sheriffs Department, Harold Young was one of the first people to answer the call about a bombing at Margaret Bensons home in a gated golf course community on the morning of July 9, 1985. Twelve and a half hours later, almost to the minute, Harry Hitchcock's granddaughter made an equally dramatic, if brief, appearance in the courtroom. Despite claims by the defense that Scott was heavily involved in drug use and possibly even drug dealing (and that the bombing was therefore drug-related) there was little testimony that Scott was anything more than a regular user of nitrous oxide and an occasional user of marijuana and cocaine. He had very few visitors. Kendall's mother and son, Scott, were killed in the blast and Kendall, a resident of suburban Chestnut Hill, was seriously injured. Steven's defense case, which lasted from Saturday, July 26, to last Monday, was marred by fights over the late introduction of witnesses (at one point Judge Hayes told the defense that such a practice was "just damn bush") and frequent bench conferences that resulted in the jury's being excused for the day. Trending. Steven Wayne Benson was an American double murderer of his mother, tobacco heiress Margaret Benson, and his brother, tennis player Scott Benson. Margaret Benson eventually loaned her son the money but he never did anything with the building, Sands says. Eventually the second will was ruled valid, but before that happened, Steve Benson was arrested. His face got really red. Prosecutors argued that Steven had engineered the whole idea of the early-morning trip to view the huge -- 17,000-square-foot -- residence his mother was building nearby in the same exclusive subdivision. But she didn't know its size, and she didn't know that Steven had made the down payment with a blank check she had signed and left behind for household expenses while she was on a cruise. FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) _ The estate of murdered tobacco heiress Margaret Benson should be shared equally by the children of the son who killed her and by her daughter, a judge has ruled. Click here to learn more about the role the Lancaster County Local Journalism Fund plays in Lancaster County and to make a tax-deductible donation. The chief prosecutor, Jerry Brock, argued she had made conflicting statements in earlier depositions. He got down from his ladder, and walked toward the tennis courts, where he found Steven holding what appeared to be a remote control device. In addition, the Benson Family murder case was the subject of The Serpent's Tooth, a 1987 book by Christopher Andersen. You can also browse other available content for Carol Lynn Benson Kendall on IMDb such as filmography, trivia, personal details, etc. I did most of the talking.. A Florida jury found Benson guilty Aug. 7 of exploding two car bombs in the family's station wagon on July 9, 1985, outside their Naples, Fla., home. On July 9, 1985 Benson placed a car bomb on the family car, in which Margaret, Scott, and Steven's sister, Carol Lynn Benson Kendall, (a former Miss Florida runner-up) were waiting for Steven to join them in the vehicle when the Suburban exploded. Or purchase a subscription for unlimited access to real news you can count on. (One witness, Scott's psychiatrist, testified that the young man had a serious nitrous oxide habit, which had started when he'd go to the supermarket and sniff Reddi-Whip cans. He is also charged with the attempted murder of his sister, Carol Lynn. Benson is also featured in an episode of the New Detectives entitled "Short Fuse" (Season 2, Episode 3) and an episode of Florida Man Murders entitled "Killer Succession" (Season 1, Episode 3). . In 1983, a fight with Margaret over the behavior of his bouvier des Flanders guard dog -- she'd let it in the house and it had wet on the expensive white carpet -- turned violent. He thought he was better than everybody else.. By the time the trial began, Steven Benson had been in jail for almost 11 months. After his initial outburst, Benson became stoic and unemotional as the evidence was presented against him. Not long after, Harry Hitchcock wrote to the judge, opposing his nephew's release: "Anyone capable of murdering his mother for money is capable of murdering his grandfather for the same reason. Though police initially called the blast, caused by two pipe bombs, a big mystery, it didnt take them long to zero on one suspect: Steven Benson. ", After almost four hours of final argument, and another hour of his carefully read instructions, Judge Hayes gave the case to the jury at 2:06 yesterday afternoon. She thought he had been embezzling family funds and had called her attorney to check into it. . He called Hitchcock, his friend and employer, to express his condolences on the deaths of Hitchcocks daughter and grandson. And what Benson was doing was spending the money, lots of it, for all kinds of things, including a house in Fort Myers and a car. Stating that he could not give money to one of the children and not the other, Judge Hayes then awarded $244,000 to Carol Lynn Kendall, who also had legal bills. He just looked at me. All but 30 remain open investigations. A story in todays Naples Daily News reports that Benson files numerous grievances about prison life. That trip, which should have taken about 10 minutes, took more than an hour, according to Carol Lynn's testimony, and 20 to 30 minutes according to Steven's statements to investigators. Before the day was over, according to newspaper accounts, Steven had asked for and received a loan of $20,000 from his grandfather. He was tall and thin and looked intellectual. Represented by attorney Michael McDonnell, Steven Benson was ultimately convicted of first degree murder, attempted first degree murder, and arson of a dwelling. He was a strange fellow, says Sands, who worked as a landscaper for Bensons late grandfather, Hitchcock. The three children were to divide the estate equally. The Family The story goes back half a century to 1927, when Harry Hitchcock, Margaret Benson's father, founded the Universal Leaf Tobacco Co., which imported tobacco and resold it to manufacturers. 'My brother has been convicted of murdering my family,' Kendall said. They had so much, and the family dynamic was about as whacked out as you could ask for.. On Monday, the state produced a witness whose testimony left a strong impression on those spectators who had seen the trial from the beginning. The police were called and he was held for five days. Steven Benson, right, enters Lee County Court with his defense attorney Mike McDonnell as the jury selection portion of his murder trial Monday, July 14, 1986. Benson tried and failed at a succession of businesses. Kendall was injured in the car-bomb that killed her son, Scott Benson, and mother, Margaret Benson, on July 9, 1985, in front of their Naples, Fla., home. FDLE spokeswoman Gretl Plessinger said the agency had no updated information as of Friday afternoon. That she is now horribly scarred is obvious; large red subdermal slashes streak her face. Connect with the definitive source for global and local news. He was the last person to drive the SUV. He cried so much, she says. Scott was an aspiring tennis professional, but apparently the aspirations were Margaret's rather than his. [8], Benson died at Taylor Correctional Institution in Perry, Florida of a stab wound to the right side of the head with a homemade knife on July 3, 2015. Only Carol Lynn Benson survived in this tragic blast. There was an error processing your request. Carol Lynn Benson Kendall is 42 years old. Its been decades since his trial attracted attention, though TV specials still pop up on cable channels from time to time. I have a strong feeling Steven Benson also knew, Cirace said. McDonnell closed with a string of witnesses, most of them prisoners, who testified as to Scott Benson's less than sterling character, arguing that this indicated Scott had been the target, and that Margaret and Carol Lynn were unlucky enough to be along for the ride. Benson was arrested and ultimately convicted of planting two pipe bombs in the family's SUV, then coaxing everyone into the vehicle before blowing it up. For years, she had paid for the lessons and the coaches and the trips, not to mention his 16 tennis racquets. Real estate. Margaret and Scott died instantly, and Caroline was rushed to the hospital with severe burns. His grandson never acknowledged him again, not even when he came to Florida for the trial. The attorney said, I want you to meet Steven Benson, she recalled. Steven Bensons trial is scheduled to begin in Naples, Fla., on Nov. 13. Copyright 2023 The Washington Times, LLC. She sat in the front row, not directly behind Steven, but on the other side -- in one of the seats reserved for the prosecution. He was going to turn it into an apartment house. He doesnt know for sure why Benson has stuck with the public, and with him, all these years. Required fields are marked *. Benson died earlier this month in a Florida prison, where he was serving two life sentences for the crimes. Another facet of the prosecutor's argument was that Steven had been very specific about where each one of the family's members was to sit in the wagon -- and then, just before the first blast, he said he had forgotten a tape measure and headed back to the house. TV show Monday features Benson family murders, one of Naples' notorious crimes, Lighthouse Project - History: Murderers, moonshiners, swindlers lead rogues gallery of SW Florida crooks, Naples pipe bomb killer Steven Benson dies in prison. Benson was sentenced to life in prison. A juror in the Steven Benson case compares an artist's sketch of the suspect who purchased materials to create the bomb with a mug shot of Benson. Steven Benson was taken into police custody on August 22, 1985, after being accused of blowing up his family in a Chevy Suburban in the driveway of their Naples, Fla., home on July 9 of the same year. Related story: Naples pipe bomb killer Steven Benson dies in prison. It was then that she had her personal secretary run a tab of what her children owed her. . When Benson refused to pay, Washington and another man, identified as Marvin Taylor, ambushed and shanked Benson. Steven Benson is led into the Collier County jail complex on the day of his arrest in 1985. It wasnt discussed. Also in the car were her two children, 21-year-old Scott, who died, and 41-year-old Carol Lynn, who was badly injured but survived. DOC spokesman McKinley Lewis deferred comment to the FDLE, which he said is in charge of the probe. The murder of Margaret and Scott Benson in 1985 drew national crime coverage never seen before and rarely since to Naples. . He walked behind him and put his hand on his shoulder and he said, Steven Benson is a nice person. But that same day, local attorney Guion DeLoach showed up with a second and more recent will, one that Margaret Benson had him draw up and that she signed Jan. 29, 1985. In prison records, Benson listed the oldest of his three children, twins Victoria and Christopher, as his next of kin. Its almost like its unbelievable, Murphy said today. He was 63, the same age his mother was when he killed her. Benson's death was reported soon after it happened on July 3. Benson was 33, just five years younger than Bennett at the time. [12], Dominick Dunne's investigative crime show Dominick Dunne's Power, Privilege, and Justice devoted an hour for the case of Steven Benson. Steven Wayne Benson was an American double murderer of his mother, tobacco heiress Margaret Benson, and his brother, tennis player Scott Benson. Steven Benson turned gray behind bars and died, to little fanfare. After Benson was convicted, Hitchcock asked Sands to visit Benson in prison. No mental problems, he was just evil., The case garnered national attention, and four authors later wrote books about it. He was calm as a cucumber, he said. Carol Lynn Benson Kendall Obituary - Death, Cause Of Death, Funeral: Friends and others affected mourn the death of Carol Lynn Benson Kendall, has suddenly passed away.click to read and leave tributes. They have never learned to live, really.. Last Known Contact Information. 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