Also on the public record is a 3-year-old paternity suit filed by Scott's former live-in girl. Benson, then 33, was running out of it and wanted to inherit his mother's. The Fallout, At the funeral of Margaret and Scott Benson, Steven sat between his wife Debra and his grandfather, Harry Hitchcock. Nobody else had time to put a bomb in there, Young said. When Benson refused to pay, Washington and another man, identified as Marvin Taylor, ambushed and shanked Benson. For his work, the man who once stood to gain millions received no compensation, prison officials said. Justice is justice," he said. Lending her emotional support was her grandfather, Harry Hitchcock, who had made a dramatic appearance in the courtroom at 8:25 a.m. and stayed the entire day. Here, prosecuting attorney Jerry Brock addresses members of the media outside the Florida courtroom where the case took place. Hed claimed he had no money to pay his attorneys, so he claimed indigency -- and Judge Hayes approved the claim. But there were other debits. Scrambling desperately, the injured Kendall pitched herself through the open door of the mangled van and onto the circular driveway in front of her mother's home. Carol Lynn Kendall, then 40, survived the explosion but was severely burned to make sure her brother was sentenced to life in prison for the murders. When the police questioned him about the trip, he said he was delayed when he ran into some people he knew; but Steven was unable to provide the police with their names. After Harry Hitchcock had health problems in the late 1950s, Edward ran the company for him. Attorney (s) appearing for the Case Steven was paid $244,974.39 so he could pay his legal fees. Investigators said Steven Benson had embezzled up to $2 million from his mother and had recently learned he may be cut out of her will. Investigators also found on Bensons pants a single particle of zinc, which they said fell off the galvanized pipe while he was making the bombs that would later kill his mother and sister. Benson's death was reported soon after it happened on July 3. ", Carol Lynn told investigators, in a statement taken after she was released from the hospital where she had been treated for severe burns and had begun the long process of reconstructive surgery, that while her mother was scared of Scott, Margaret Benson felt that Steven was the only one who would actually harm her for her money: "She wouldn't put it past Steven to do away with her. It was just a tragic story. 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. BOSTON -- Tobacco heiress Carol Lynn Benson Kendall said Wednesday she has no intention of cutting her brother's children out of the family fortune despite his conviction of murdering her mother. The motive was money. Release Calendar Browse Movies by Genre Top Box Office Showtimes & Tickets Movie News India Movie Spotlight. Investigators also found on Bensons pants a single particle of zinc, which they said fell off the pipe while he was making the bombs. In July 1985, 63-year-old Margaret and her 41-year-old daughter Caroline Benson Kendall, 33-year-old son Steven Benson and 21-year-old adopted son Scott Benson together Get in the car and leave to see a piece of land in the city, where Margaret plans to build another home for her family. 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, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. I just cant imagine. Steven Benson is scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 2, and prosecutors have asked for a life sentence. Behind bars, Benson has worked in the laundry and on a painting detail. Retired U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms agent Frank Kendall -- no relation to Carol Lynn -- testified that the palm print Steven Benson voluntarily gave the police in the summer of 1985 and the palm print on the pipe invoice were "made by the same person." Except for that last-minute surprise appearance, Carol Lynn Benson Kendall had spent the day out of sight, with her lawyer and the lawyer for her mother's estate. People are interested in that, and the way it was done every day, people dont blow up their mother and brother and sister in a prominent part of Naples., Young described Benson as calm, calculated, coldblooded., He thought he could get away with it, Young said. Margaret Benson A jury convicted Steven Benson of first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder and arson of a dwelling. As trial testimony brought out, Steven had started yet another company, Meridian Marketing, which was located about 30 miles away in Fort Myers, where Steven had just bought a new (and very large) house. He is also charged with the attempted murder of his sister, Carol Lynn. Also Read:Mariannette Miller-Meeks : Role during Iowa elections. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Janet Murphy, Steven Bensons maternal aunt, said no one in the family ever patched things up with him, and he has never as much as admitted to the crime. Carol Kendall currently lives in Hollywood, FL; in the past Carol has also lived in Norfolk VA. Other names that Carol uses includes Carol Lyn Falkiner, Carol Lynn Benson, Carol Lynn Benson-kendall, Carol Lynn Falkiner and Carol Lynn Kendall. Steven Benson blew up his family in the driveway of their Florida home in July 1985. After the shaking incident, Margaret had her secretary compile a list of everything she'd bought for Scott in the last two years. and never miss an insightful take by the TFIGlobal team, This website uses cookies. It was then that she had her personal secretary run a tab of what her children owed her. You can add or change photos at IMDb Pro. Benson crying on the first day of his trial. Nor was he surprised when prosecutors said Benson had murdered his mother and sister to get at the familys fortune. The case still resonates three decades later. Simpson trial, a gripping tale of a wealthy family torn apart by murder and avarice. He got stabbed, and a knife was found in his own cell. There had been general rumors (about the boys parentage) going around Lancaster, where the family was brought up, Cirace said. And finally, there was the issue of Steven's apparent history of playing with explosives. Many members of the family have disappeared from public view in the past 20 years. After his first marriage also failed, Benson married a farm worker from his familys tobacco empire. She hardly looked at her brother, but when she testified about Scott Benson, she called him "my son. BOSTON (AP) _ Tobacco heiress Carol Lynn Benson Kendall, who survived a car bombing that killed her mother and adopted brother, has said under oath that the dead young man was actually her son, her attorney said today. Police officers also testified their investigation indicated Steven had acted out of character in several respects that morning, first by insisting that Scott be awakened and included in the group, and then by having Scott drive. "How long does it take to say a guy was stabbed in the temple?" Those involved with the case say they are surprised at how it still resonates in peoples minds, and their own lives. It continued to prosper, and eventually both families had what some people call "real money," and what others disdain as "nouveau. ", The jowly and bespectacled witness testified that Steven's company books were a mess, with checkbook entries missing and no balance carried forward. Margaret Benson eventually loaned her son the money but he never did anything with the building, Sands says. You know, he wouldnt say yes or no or nothing. After his initial outburst, Benson became stoic and unemotional as the evidence was presented against him. Benson died earlier this month in a Florida prison, where he was serving two life sentences for the crimes. Support local journalism. 'My brother has been convicted of murdering my family,' Kendall said. Related story: Naples pipe bomb killer Steven Benson dies in prison. It wasnt discussed. Attorneys representing Steven Benson, 36, and Margaret Benson's daughter, Carol Lynn Benson Kendall, 43, said they both probably will appeal Monday's ruling. Collier Judge Hugh Hayes presided over the trial. An email has been sent with a link to confirm list signup. 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?. PHOTOS: Looking back at the Benson murder trial, The Bensons: Lancaster family ripped apart by greed and murder 30 years ago, Danger and loneliness: Steven Benson's life in prison after he killed his family members, Notorious Lancaster County killer Steven Benson allegedly murdered in prison inmate's revenge scheme. Young said, I knew he did it immediately.. Support local journalism. Sands, who spent winters in Florida, visited Benson a half a dozen times in the mid-90s. Reached Friday about her brothers death, she said, I really have no comment.. He stared at her and walked away, said Kendall, who is now 70 and living somewhere in Florida. The bills were sent to and paid for by Margaret. His deposition in that case reads like pulp fiction of old: "My mother (meaning Margaret Benson) who had 38 years of marriage to my father, a greatly respected man of the highest character both in business and his personal life, is herself a religious person of high integrity and moral values. The jury was split on the death penalty, and so gave him life in prison. It was very weird. District Court of Appeal of Florida, Second District. Im hot! from the burning car. Hollywood's Carol Lynn Benson Kendall (University of Richmond School of Law, admitted to the Florida Bar 2002) got disbarred, the final step after her suspension in February and a. "I couldn't understand why he wasn't coming over to help me," she testified to a packed but dead silent courtroom. malevolent." https://insideeko.com/carol-lynn-benson-kendall-obituary-d/ insideeko.com [12], Dominick Dunne's investigative crime show Dominick Dunne's Power, Privilege, and Justice devoted an hour for the case of Steven Benson. Debra divorced Steven shortly after his August 22, 1985, arrest. Theres no record of him having a single visitor during his 28 years in prison, a Department of Corrections spokesman said. I have a strong feeling Steven Benson also knew, Cirace said. 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. Murphy does not know whether the couple, who had three children, later divorced. In July 1985, 63-year-old Margaret, her 41-year-old daughter Caroline Benson Kendall, her 33-year-old son Stephen Benson, and her 21-year-old adopted son Scott Benson got into the car to drive away to check a piece of land in the city where Margaret planned to build another house for the family. She was afraid her brother would come after her and her children if he ever got free. Steven Wayne Benson[1] (July 26, 1951 July 3, 2015) was an American convicted double murderer of his mother, tobacco heiress Margaret Benson; and his brother (actually his nephew but later adopted), tennis player Scott Benson. I dont think he believed he belonged in there.. Steven Bensons children - Elizabeth Benson, 5; Christopher Logan Benson, 5; and Natalie Nichole Benson, 4 - are entitled to inherit from their grandmothers estate, the judge said. -- Scott Benson's natural mother and Margaret Benson's daughter -- got along better with her mother. She is shown here in a photo shoot at. Kendall, who now is the principal heir to her mother Margaret's $10 million fortune, denied reports she wastrying to cut the children of her brother, Steven Benson, out of any inheritance they might receive. Attorneys, an investigator and a juror have never forgotten what Steven Benson did, and how it affected their lives in the years since he was convicted of killing his family in Naples, Florida. Steven Benson is led into the Collier County jail complex on the day of his arrest in 1985. Benson told Young that he and his family were going to look at piece of property where his mother wanted to build a home that morning. He is a good son. He smiles with his attorneys on occasion when the jury is out, but the men he seems most comfortable with, the men he sometimes even kids with, are the huge-armed deputy sheriffs, his jailers. Oh no, she thought. Bennett heard about the money battles that were going in within the family, how Margaret Benson used money to control her children, how they fought among themselves and with her to gain access to the fortune, how Margaret Benson asked a secretary to inform and spy on Steven. But the topic was always the same: problems in prison. One pulled Kendall, who was screaming, Im hot! Moments later there was a loud explosion. BOSTON (AP) _ Tobacco heiress Carol Lynn Benson Kendall, who survived a car bombing that killed her mother and adopted brother, has said under oath that the dead young man was actually her son, her attorney said today. An investigator said later they probably didnt have a chance to move.. Steven Benson denied all requests for media interviews. The Herald also reported that it was common knowledge among certain of Steven's childhood friends that he liked to make bombs. 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. Did Ukraine use innocent civilians as human shield against Russia in the name of evacuation? A month later, the Naples police arrested Steven Benson and charged him with two counts of homicide and one count of attempted murder. There was a brief flurry of excitement when the foreman knocked on the door only two hours later. Under the law, jurors are not supposed to take this into consideration. 'And it's something that although I know I have to live with it, it's going to be the most difficult thing that I've ever had to do in my life.'. "Malevolent" is what the prosecutors for the state call 35-year-old Steven Benson. She said she will never forget that moment. He was supposed to provide them the next day, the day the bomb went off.. When he returned, they said, he prepared to join his family to look at a piece of land his mother had bought. Beyond that, Young had little to say. It wasnt very long at all. Then, as they got into the car, Caroline noticed Stephen asking them to get in. Carol Lynn Kendall, sister of Steven Benson, survived the car bomb that killed her son, Scott Benson, and mother, Margaret Benson, on July 9, 1985. Even though he had a fancy car" -- the Lotus -- "he didn't like to drive. The star of the show by far was Carol Lynn Benson Kendall. Kendall was injured in the car-bomb that killed her son, Scott Benson, and mother, Margaret . File photo. The Daughter and Her Son. The explosion was so loud that golfers ran off the course to see what had happened. Had she not left the rear door of the unairconditioned Chevy Suburban wagon open on that miserably hot July morning 13 months ago in Naples, Fla., she, like her mother and her 21-year-old adopted "brother" Scott, would also be dead. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. According to prosecution evidence, there was even talk that Steven might be cut out of his mother's will. Toxicology tests showed no drugs in Benson's system, the report states. He said that "initially" he thought it was just sloppy bookkeeping. Scott was an aspiring tennis professional, but apparently the aspirations were Margaret's rather than his. Florida authorities have charged Steven Benson, Mrs. Kendall's 34-year-old natural brother, with setting the blast outside . The Trustees have not presented reasonable grounds for attributing the settlors scheme to their section of the trustee exercised on November 27, 1985, following the death of Ms. Benson. Just sort of odd, very different.. Electronics. He turned to the television cameras and delivered a stern warning to the "youth of Southwest florida" about the dangers of laughing gas. The jury deliberated just 12 hours before finding Benson guilty. She sat in the front row, not directly behind Steven, but on the other side -- in one of the seats reserved for the prosecution. Mrs. Benson was 63 when she died in the blast. 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. 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