I felt like I was being pressed back into the seat. Carol Lynn Benson Kendall, 42, of Brookline, Mass. Support local journalism. Copyright 2023 The Washington Times, LLC Apparently, the idea was to cut down on speeches to the jury, and to speed things along. Once, Benson wanted his mother to loan him the down payment for a factory building in Lancaster. 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. Its still fresh in my memory, he said. The family and everybody just treated his grandmother as Scotts mother, the attorney said. Benson has had his share of problems behind bars. [4] 10-Year Discipline History: . I saw you on TV. 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. (Admitted to practice: 2002) Further, Kendall shall pay restitution of $1,075 to one client. I knew she was scared of Scott, but that was a different situation. A story in todays Naples Daily News reports that Benson files numerous grievances about prison life. At the trial, the man with whom he'd spent that evening testified that Steven had not set up the meeting until 6:30 that same night. A jury convicted him of first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder and arson of a dwelling in 1986, and he spent the rest of his life in jail. The only survivor of the blast, Steven Benson's sister, Carol Lynn. I can see what money can do when people get so tied up in self, he says. Benson died earlier this month in a Florida prison, where he was serving two life sentences for the crimes. It seemed like a dumb thing." Benson was sentenced to life in prison. Carol 's cause of death is unknown to us at this time. Benson crying on the first day of his trial. However, she continued to pamper him. He was sobbing.. ", She said that Steven had called her the night before the bombing to make sure that both she and Scott would be coming along in the morning when he planned to stake the dimensions of his mother's new lot. She cannot believe that two decades have passed since the day that two family members were killed and her familys life was changed forever. Benson, now 53, is serving two life sentences in a Florida prison for killing his mother and brother, and trying to kill his sister. We learned about the passing of Carol Lynn Benson Kendall on May 23, 2022. [11] Washington was charged with murder for killing Benson, but was acquitted. 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. The chief prosecutor, Jerry Brock, argued she had made conflicting statements in earlier depositions. Office: 954-789-0834. I couldnt get through to him spiritually., Im no psychologist, Sands adds, but he lives in denial. Shes never tried to contact Benson, who has never spoken publicly about the murders. At the urging of Hitchcock, Sands tried to talk to Benson about religion, about accepting Jesus as his savior, but Benson did not want to talk about that. Murphy herself doesnt have those feelings toward her nephew. Carol Lynn Benson Kendall came in to see her brother's jury be excused for the night. Collier Circuit Judge Hugh D. Hayes issued the ruling Monday. He turned to the television cameras and delivered a stern warning to the "youth of Southwest florida" about the dangers of laughing gas. 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. Moments later, a second bomb, this one planted in the rear of the vehicle, exploded. The Lancaster Township woman was playing golf on a July day at the Lancaster Country Club when she was asked to come in off the course. Eyebrows were raised in the affluent Benson neighborhood, but Margaret prevailed and she raised the boy as her son. Carl Westman, a Naples attorney named to represent Margaret Benson's estate, usually sat with Cirace. ", When they got back to Naples, Margaret told Steven she wanted to meet with him and Kerr that evening and "talk business." Sands said he was only allowed to speak with Steven Benson for a couple of minutes because he wasnt family. Margaret Benson adopted her grandson as her son, to cover up the fact that her daughter, a former beauty queen, became pregnant with a water skier from Cypress Gardens, said Cirace, now 64. 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. His company prospered, and he became one of the best-liked civic and charitable figures in Lancaster, Pa., a lovely area surrounded by Amish farms. Benson, who was serving two consecutive life sentences, had last been housed at the Taylor Correctional Institution, a prison about an hour southeast of Tallahassee. 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. Quinn, left-center, was watching the production with friend Kathleen Garvey, left, and daughter Debbie Quinn, right, as the crew worked on a production for Court TV about the 1985 murders of tobacco heiress Margaret Benson and her son Scott. Carol Lynn Benson Kendall is 42 years old. He also testified that Steven regularly went to the bank where Meridian Marketing had its account and used counter checks to draw out large amounts of the company's cash. But there is no doubt that he had a rough crowd of friends -- the defense called several occupants of the Naples jail to testify about Scott and his various habits, in the hope that this possible alternative theory would raise a reasonable doubt as to whether Steven is guilty. Puncture wound of right temple made by a sharpened instrument ('shank')," the report states. Carol Lynn Benson Kendall was a former Miss Florida runner-up and was survived in a murder attempt by her brother Steven Wayne Benson in 1985. Best of 2022 Top 250 Movies Most Popular Movies Top 250 TV Shows Most Popular TV Shows Most Popular Video Games Most Popular Music Videos Most Popular Podcasts. Mrs. Kendalls attorney, E. Richard Cirace of Boston, confirmed the report. But there were other debits. Or purchase a subscription for unlimited access to real news you can count on. "How long does it take to say a guy was stabbed in the temple?" 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. Hes had no contact at all.. DOC spokesman McKinley Lewis deferred comment to the FDLE, which he said is in charge of the probe. ", Once all was set, she testified, Steven handed Scott the keys, and then said he had forgotten something and headed back toward the house. After the shaking incident, Margaret had her secretary compile a list of everything she'd bought for Scott in the last two years. Most recently, he was assigned as a houseman, performing maintenance and cleaning duties. Steven Benson blew up his family in the driveway of their Florida home in July 1985. The Lancaster tobacco heir was convicted after a monthlong trial that was carried on Florida television, drew national headlines and spurred books and intense media coverage both here and in Florida. I think it was just pure greed for money, Murphy said. Bensons own sister, Carol Lynn Kendall, then 40, who survived the blast but was severely burned, wanting to make sure her brother was sentenced to life in prison for the killings. Dad was very religious, she said. 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. An autopsy report obtained by the Naples Daily News indicates the cause of death was a stab to the right temple. Police later learned that Scott. Under Florida law, Steven Benson is precluded from receiving proceeds of the estate of the person he murdered, Hayes said. In a rare moment of emotion during his trial, Steven Benson cries in the Florida courtroom where a jury convicted him in 1986 of blowing up his family in a Chevy Suburban in the driveway of their Naples, Fla., home on July 9, 1985. He walked behind him and put his hand on his shoulder and he said, Steven Benson is a nice person. Benson was also charged with the attempted first-degree murder of his sister, Carol Lynn Benson Kendall. The jury was split on the death penalty, and so gave him life in prison. It wasnt very long at all. 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. A juror examines a photo of the Chevy Suburban that Steven Benson exploded with a pipe-bomb in front of his family's Naples, Fla., home, killing his mother and nephew and injuring of his sister. Distraught over the bombing and what she says is her brother's complete lack of interest in her physical and emotional condition since then (she testified he has never contacted her in all that time, not even to inquire about her health), she is occupied with trying to hold herself together emotionally. There was a local uproar over the thought that the public would be paying his bills, and in mid-January the judge reversed himself. Benson's death was reported soon after it happened on July 3. Naples killer Steven Benson who sought $10 million family fortune dies in jail with $30 to his name, Naples pipe bomb killer Steven Benson dies in prison. 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. All but 30 remain open investigations. But Kendall, who was injured. I mean, I was scared of Scott . Young also remembers the day they arrested Benson: Aug. 22, 1985. . Eventually the second will was ruled valid, but before that happened, Steve Benson was arrested. Mrs. Benson was 63 when she died in the blast. 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. Through taxes, disbursements and attorneys fees, the estate has dwindled from $10 million to about $1.2 million, said Carl Westman, the estates attorney. Attorneys representing Steven Benson, 36, and Margaret Bensons daughter, Carol Lynn Benson Kendall, 43, said they both probably will appeal Mondays ruling. Electronics. I have a strong feeling Steven Benson also knew, Cirace said. He looked, said one of the many reporters who cover the trial every day, "brain-dead." He is also charged with the attempted murder of his sister, Carol Lynn. He didnt say anything after prison. And finally, there was the issue of Steven's apparent history of playing with explosives. He found Steven Benson inside his mothers house, talking on a telephone. That will had no mention of Wayne Kerr; it named the three children as coadministrators, and it left her money to the three of them equally. Dysfunction, said Patty Bennett, a juror on the case, trying to describe the Benson family. 20 years later, friends and family still try to make sense of Benson murders: 'It still seems unreal', By opting into newsletters you are agreeing to our. 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. Young had several reasons to suspect Benson. Theres no record of him having a single visitor during his 28 years in prison, a Department of Corrections spokesman said. Minutes later the Suburban erupted into flames. I dont know if it will ever go away or not., Information from: LNP, https://lancasteronline.com. He was very congenial, very eager to talk, Sands recalls. I think it was the dumbest murder I ever solved that had been planned. Connect with the definitive source for global and local news. 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. . Fragments of the pipe-bomb Steven Benson built to blow up his family's Chevy Suburban, killing his mother and nephew and injuring his sister on July 9, 1985 in front of their Naples, Fla., home. Moments later there was a loud explosion. When he returned, they said, he prepared to join his family to look at a piece of land his mother had bought. "I don't really know how to comment on it. Murphys nephew, Steven Benson, was the only one to escape the fiery blast that day. It was the O.J. It r I guess people just exhibited good taste, he said. He parked it and positioned his family in it. I walk into a restaurant and people say, Didnt you do the Benson case? ", Should the court decide that the 3-year-old in question is indeed the daughter of the late Scott Benson, the child could inherit either (depending on what happens to the man who might be her Uncle Steven) one-third or one-half of Margaret Benson's $10 million estate, and establish her as a legitimate claimant to the estate of the 89-year-old Harry Hitchcock, who is said to be worth as much as $400 million. Carol Lynn Benson Kendall, a former Naples City Council candidate, is now a lawyer in Broward County focusing on family law and real estate. His grandson never acknowledged him again, not even when he came to Florida for the trial. Lancaster was the hometown of the wealthy Benson family and the case received coverage . But showing little emotion after that. You can also browse other available content for Carol Lynn Benson Kendall on IMDb such as filmography, trivia, personal details, etc. One youth remembered finding dry-cell batteries, wire and alligator clips in a closet and saying to himself, "Oh, this is Steve Benson's stuff . Benson, then 33, was running out of it and wanted to inherit his mother's. He was a strange fellow, says Sands, who worked as a landscaper for Bensons late grandfather, Hitchcock. 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. Not at her mother's house in Naples, for that has been sold, but behind several closed doors in the state's attorney's offices. Attorney (s) appearing for the Case He just kept a straight face.. Under the law, jurors are not supposed to take this into consideration. He knew how to make tube bombs and fiddled with explosives. Albert Gleason, a federal explosives expert, testifies about the pipe-bomb Steven Benson used to kill his family members on July 9, 1985, in front of their Naples, Fla., home. But by late 1984 and early 1985, they argue, she was coming to the conclusion that bankrolling Steven was something less than sound. 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. Carol Lynn Kendall unsuccessfully ran for a Naples City Council seat while living in Port . I still get recognized, said Michael McDonnell, Bensons defense attorney, who at 74 still practices in Naples and Fort Myers. Naples Daily News 0:00 1:22 Steven Benson is led into the Collier County jail complex on the day of his arrest in 1985. 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. Steven Bensons late father didnt think he was capable of doing anything, Cirace said, an assessment that apparently was correct as Benson, who grew up and lived in Lancaster most of his life, left behind a series of failed business ventures.
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