Steven Benson's palm print was one of the major points in the prosecution's case against him, a case that ultimately convinced a jury to convict him of first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder and arson of a dwelling in the killing of his mother and nephew and injuring of his sister with car-bomb in front of their Naples, Fla., home. Bennett heard Kendall, who was disfigured in the bombing, testify that after the first blast blew her out of the car, she was still conscious, and she yelled to her brother to help her. And finally, there was the issue of Steven's apparent history of playing with explosives. It continued to prosper, and eventually both families had what some people call "real money," and what others disdain as "nouveau. The bombing took place July 9, 1985 in the Quail Creek community. Steven Wayne Benson was an American double murderer of his mother, tobacco heiress Margaret Benson, and his brother, tennis player Scott Benson. A month later, the Naples police arrested Steven Benson and charged him with two counts of homicide and one count of attempted murder. He is a good brother. Its still fresh in my memory, he said. He was a strange fellow, says Sands, who worked as a landscaper for Bensons late grandfather, Hitchcock. After Benson was convicted, Hitchcock asked Sands to visit Benson in prison. Her daughter, Carol Lynn Benson Kendall, was injured. It looks like we don't have any photos for Carol Lynn Benson Kendall yet. My mother and I were very, very close and we didn't have anybody else except each other because Scott went his own way, and Steven . Oh no, she thought. 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. Money was the downfall of the whole thing, says Sands, who visited Benson in prison up until about 10 years ago. 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. Eventually the second will was ruled valid, but before that happened, Steve Benson was arrested. 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. Benson, then 33, was running out of it and wanted to inherit his mother's. But a witness for the defense, Steven's secretary, testifed Steven never left the office during the times when the pipe and end caps were purchased. 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. The problems, Sands says, were all Benson wanted to talk about during the visits. How people were crooked. My memorys getting pretty hazy. Benson said he first went to get coffee and doughnuts at a nearby store. Kerr, a large, disheveled man, testified that when he heard the blast from inside the Benson house (where he was staying overnight) he thought at first it was "one of the Lotuses blowing up again. Later, investigators found a receipt, with Bensons palm print, for the purchase of pieces of pipe and end caps used in the bomb. Puncture wound of right temple made by a sharpened instrument ('shank')," the report states. And then, at the last minute, he went back into the house, supposedly because he had forgotten a tape measure. He had very few visitors. Carol Lynn Benson Kendall. Bensons aunt, Murphy, recalls him as being different as well. ", 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 had retained Boston attorney E. Richard Cirace to advise her and represent her interests. Carol Lynn testified that she thought Scott's being there was a "silly request. Steven Benson denied all requests for media interviews. The next day, Wayne Kerr, at whose wedding Steven Benson had been the best man, took the stand. The star of the show by far was Carol Lynn Benson Kendall. Prosecutors linked Benson to the bomb explosion by producing a receipt, with Bensons palm print, for the purchase of pieces of pipe and end caps. He had been driving it all that time, he said. It also wanted to rehear some of what the government fingerprint expert had said about the palm prints. Scott tried to start the vehicle, she testified, "and immediately after that I was surrounded by this orange thing.". 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). This orange thing was all around me. But there were other debits. ), I think the attention it got was because it was a rich family, and there was money and greed and love of money, said Harold Young, a retired Collier County Sheriffs Office lieutenant who was the lead investigator on the case. An email has been sent with a link to confirm list signup. Prosecutors argued his mother's funds were used as seed money -- or to bail out one or more of the companies in emergencies, of which there were many. Support local journalism. Steven Benson killed his mother and brother in an attempt to get his hands on the familys $10 million tobacco fortune. It seemed like a dumb thing." 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. 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. Our prayers and thoughts are with the family and loved ones of Carol. 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?. Hitchcocks daughter, Margaret, it turned out, was not really the mother of Scott Benson. Mrs. Benson was 63 when she died in the blast. Not Eligible to Practice Law in Florida . Margarets blood was still all over the side of his van. Thats the way Steve was.. [4] She had hoped he would get the death penalty. The Miami Herald gave the following account of a groundskeeper who worked on Margaret Benson's Pennsylvania estate: He recalled that one day in 1982 he looked down from his ladder to see Steven carrying three copper tubes with wires protruding from them. He grabbed her and shook her, and told her that it might be her house but it was his dog, and if he but gave the command Buck would "rip you to pieces." 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. 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.. After his first marriage also failed, Benson married a farm worker from his familys tobacco empire. Scott was an aspiring tennis professional, but apparently the aspirations were Margaret's rather than his. Did Ukraine use innocent civilians as human shield against Russia in the name of evacuation? I thought I was being electrocuted. The Herald also reported that it was common knowledge among certain of Steven's childhood friends that he liked to make bombs. He was calm as a cucumber, he said. You know, he wouldnt say yes or no or nothing. She cannot believe that two decades have passed since the day that two family members were killed and her familys life was changed forever. The explosion was so loud that golfers ran off the course to see what had happened. and never miss an insightful take by the TFIGlobal team, This website uses cookies. Florida authorities have charged Steven Benson, Mrs. Kendall's 34-year-old natural brother, with setting the blast outside . Benson died earlier this month in a Florida prison, where he was serving two life sentences for the crimes. 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, he recalled, had a reputation as a wimp., He didnt fit in, Schelling said. Daddy. Carol Lynn Benson Kendall is 42 years old. It was like . When he returned, they said, he prepared to join his family to look at a piece of land his mother had bought. By the time Sands met Benson, the young man had graduated from college and was trying to find his way in the world, without much success. There were local TV stations every night that had local reporters critiquing what I was doing, McDonnell said. He said, Thats how Margaret died. He. Benson wanted to kill his mother and siblings so he could be sole heir to the familys $10 million estate, police believed. But Kendall, who was injured. Well, he thought he knew everything and he was brilliant in many ways, Sands says, but there was a lot of things that didnt make any sense.. He seldom looked at Steven.The defendant watched his grandfather enter the courtroom, but after that he never looked at him. I can see what money can do when people get so tied up in self, he says. He was the last person to drive the SUV. The family and everybody just treated his grandmother as Scotts mother, the attorney said. I guess he didnt want him to go to hell.. But everyone agreed that she had done so well, it might be unwise to risk a second appearance. In August 1986, Margaret Bensons son, Steven Wayne Benson, was convicted in the slaying of his mother and her adopted son, Scott R. Benson, 21. Lancaster was the hometown of the wealthy Benson family and the case received coverage . Collier County's most notorious killer himself met with a violent end. Amos Sands of West Donegal Township remembers the day 20 years ago today as well. He was born in 1951 in Baltimore. 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. Attorneys representing Steven Benson, 36, and Margaret Benson's daughter, Carol Lynn Benson Kendall, 43, said they both probably will appeal Monday's ruling. He wont admit any wrong hes ever done, including the murder., Benson seemed, he says, like a man who was in there, but didnt know why he was in there. Benson calmly talking on the phone about his burglar alarm companys profits when investigators arrived at the home where the shattered bodies of his mother, Margaret, 63, and his brother, Scott, 21, still lay outside on the driveway. Tracking money - that was my forte, said Dwight Brock, who is now 61 and works as the Collier County Clerk of Courts in Florida. And there was lots of squabbling over who got what. 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. Last Known Contact Information. He looked, said one of the many reporters who cover the trial every day, "brain-dead." Collier Judge Hugh Hayes presided over the trial. Behind bars, Benson has worked in the laundry and on a painting detail. He didnt say anything after prison. Left-Wing Meloni: Italys Attempt to Replicate Giorgia Meloni, Europe is dumping its migrants in Africa in exchange of money, Mariannette Miller-Meeks : Role during Iowa elections, Mustang used by Steve Mcqueen in Bullitt auctioned, Mexicos constitutional crisis has its roots in Washington, The EU-Mercosur Deal: Macrons Duplicity Unveiled, Paraguay declares Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organisation. The 63-year-old Pennsylvania tobacco heiress died when two pipe bombs ripped apart her car apart on July 9, 1985, in front of her North Naples home. It was her sister, Margaret, 63, and her nephew, Scott, 21, who had died in a horrific car explosion in Florida. [13] Debra divorced Steven shortly after his August 22, 1985, arrest. The first thing he said was, Well, Steve done it, you know that. He thought that right away, Sands, now 81, remembered today. Attorney (s) appearing for the Case I heard a lot of cursing and swearing.. Carol Lynn was in the back seat, and, as she testified 2 1/2 weeks ago to a packed courtroom here, "I was suddenly surrounded by this orange thing. Bennett had heard of the financial battles that took place in the family, how Margaret Benson used money to control her children, how they fought each other and with her for access to wealth, as Margaret Benson asked the secretary to inform and spy on her. As for Carol Lynn, she too waited in Florida for the verdict. During a deposition taken by Bensons attorneys in Florida on Sept. 20, Mrs. Kendall, 40, said she was an unmarried teen-ager when she became pregnant, The Boston Herald reported today. District Court of Appeal of Florida, Second District. He said that "initially" he thought it was just sloppy bookkeeping. Carol Lynn Kendall testifies during the trial of her brother, Steven Benson, during his 1986 trial. Steven Wayne Benson was an American double murderer of his mother, tobacco heiress Margaret Benson, and his brother, tennis player Scott Benson. McDonnell did succeed in keeping the jury from hearing the testimony of the groundskeeper who had said he had seen Steven playing with a remote-control bomb device in Pennsylvania, but he was not able to stop a former employe from telling the jury that at the wake, Steven mentioned to a small group that he had "made bombs as a kid.". No mental problems, he was just evil., The case garnered national attention, and four authors later wrote books about it. I must think of a better word. [3], On July 9, 1985, Benson placed a pipe bomb in the family car, in which Margaret, Scott, and Steven's sister, Carol Lynn Benson Kendall (a former Miss Florida runner-up), were waiting for Benson to join them when the Chevrolet Suburban exploded. In addition, the Benson Family murder case was the subject of The Serpent's Tooth, a 1987 book by Christopher Andersen. Minutes later the Suburban erupted into flames. Benson was 33, just five years younger than Bennett at the time. It is said that she has taken their three children and returned to her small Wisconsin home town. Some who knew him werent really surprised. 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. . Shes never tried to contact Benson, who has never spoken publicly about the murders. The police were called and he was held for five days. Steven was paid $244,974.39 so he could pay his legal fees. She suffered first-degree burns on her face and hands in the explosion and is still undergoing extensive reconstructive surgery. "), Near the end of his testimony, he said he had finally told Margaret Benson, "You have to stop being a bank for your children." When Sands heard that Benson had been pressuring his mother for money shortly before her death, he was not surprised. To Carol Lynn Benson Kendall, this question is, in a sense, peripheral. (A later witness, who worked for Meridian Marketing, said Steven never bothered to tell the employes when he had done this, "and we were always bouncing checks when we'd paid bills with money we thought we had in the bank. A story in todays Naples Daily News reports that Benson files numerous grievances about prison life. An autopsy report obtained by the Naples Daily News indicates the cause of death was a stab to the right temple. Final arguments took place yesterday and the jury began its deliberations, 13 months after the killings of Margaret and Scott Benson. The Trustees set up a trust for Kendall, a trust for Stephen, and a share for Scott. he asked. Debunking the Myth: Is Maduro a Dictator? Keep supporting great journalism by turning off your ad blocker. 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. Benson was sentenced to life in prison. Steven Benson is led into the Collier County jail complex on the day of his arrest in 1985. He told the attorneys he did not want them standing up and shouting, "I object." Justice is justice," he said. He had retained Naples attorney Michael McDonnell. He will be eligible for parole when he is 85. She also said that Steven was gone so long for coffee that she kidded he "could have gone all the way to Fort Myers. . But Murphy will never forget how the deaths affected her father. 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. She, not being blinded by the forces of sexuality, very quickly perceived the true character of Tracy Mullins and was very much opposed to my seeing her. Instead, he died in prison, leaving behind just $30.06 in his commissary fund. Its almost like its unbelievable, Murphy said today. (Admitted to practice: 2002) Further, Kendall shall pay restitution of $1,075 to one client. By July 8, the day before the bombing, Margaret had learned of Steven's new house in Fort Myers, according to testimony. Kendall was retained by clients in two separate cases but failed to adequately represent them. Benson crying on the first day of his trial. [4] Kendall survived but was badly burned; Margaret and Scott died instantly from the bomb blast. https://insideeko.com/carol-lynn-benson-kendall-obituary-d/ insideeko.com McDonnell argued that palm print identification is not reliable. 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. 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. Florida law allows cameras in the courtroom, and much of this trial was televised live. 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. When I see that, I pity people like that. Carol Lynn Benson Kendall, Appellant/Petitioner, v. Marjorie Starnes, As Guardian of the Property for the Minor Children of Steven W. Benson, and Steven W. Benson, Appellees/Respondents. My relationship with Tracy was always a very turbulent one. 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." That she is now horribly scarred is obvious; large red subdermal slashes streak her face. 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. He thought he was better than everybody else.. 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. Privacy Policy Agreement * I agree to the Terms of use and Privacy Policy. Thats the whole thing: self, self, self and me, me, me and me. 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. Murphy does not know whether the couple, who had three children, later divorced. Carol Lynn Benson Kendall, a former Naples City Council candidate, is now a lawyer in Broward County focusing on family law and real estate. '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.'. emains listed on the DOC website as an open investigation led by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. 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. The murder of Margaret and Scott Benson in 1985 drew national crime coverage never seen before and rarely since to Naples. Benson was convicted of killing his mother and nephew and injuring his sister with a car-bomb on July 9, 1985. 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. ", When they got back to Naples, Margaret told Steven she wanted to meet with him and Kerr that evening and "talk business." Scott Benson, who was originally thought to be Steven Benson's brother but was revealed during the trial to be his nephew, was killed at the age of 21 on July 9, 1985, in front of his Naples, Fla., home by the car bomb that also took the life of his grandmother, Margaret Benson, who was 63 at the time, and injured his mother, Carol Lynn Kendall. 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 . He returned and got everyone into the Suburban and then went back into the house to retrieve a tape measure. ", 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. A golfer who had run to her aid lost a portion of his nose as parts of that second bomb and the Chevy Suburban were blasted through the air. And trying to come to grips with the loss of her mother, with whom she had been close, at least from time to time, has been hard. The matricide was a huge point, she said. Murphys nephew, Steven Benson, was the only one to escape the fiery blast that day. He just wouldnt respond to it, Sands says. And she also contradicted the wake testimony regarding bombs. After her testimony, Carol Lynn Benson Kendall was nowhere to be seen. She hardly looked at her brother, but when she testified about Scott Benson, she called him "my son. Hitchcock died in 1990, five years after the Florida killings. (Photo: File), Cameraman Al Durruthy records video footage of a Chevrolet Suburban outside the home of Mary Quinn, Wednesday afternoon (June 4), in the Quail Creek Estates in North Naples. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Please enter your username or email address to reset your password. Margaret's son, Steven Benson, was convicted of placing two pipe bombs inside the family's Suburban, which killed his mother and brother, and seriously injured his sister, Carol Benson Kendall. The judge did another unusual thing. The blast blew apart the Benson familys Chevrolet Suburban sometime between 9:17 and 9:20 a.m. on July 9, 1985, in the driveway of Margaret Bensons home, just off a golf course in an exclusive Naples, Fla., community. [citation needed], Dominick Dunne's Power, Privilege, and Justice, "Killer Succession" (Season 1, Episode 3), "Inmate Population Information Detail - Steven Benson", "In the Know: Is that Benson guy still in prison? According to prosecution evidence, there was even talk that Steven might be cut out of his mother's will. "I couldn't understand why he wasn't coming over to help me," she testified to a packed but dead silent courtroom. Daughter, Carol Lynn testified that she thought Scott 's being there was lots of squabbling who. The downfall of the Serpent 's Tooth, a trust for Stephen, and a for! Wouldnt respond to it, you know, he said that `` initially '' he it! The Terms of use and privacy Policy strange fellow, says Sands, now 81, today! Then 33, just five years younger than Bennett at the time and hands in courtroom! The bombing took place July 9, 1985 and loved ones of Carol,... //Insideeko.Com/Carol-Lynn-Benson-Kendall-Obituary-D/ insideeko.com McDonnell argued that palm print identification is not reliable the Benson family murder case was the person! Every night that had local reporters critiquing what I was doing, McDonnell said taken their children... Her death, he went back into the collier County 's most notorious killer himself with!, but when she died in the courtroom, and a share for Scott he said a prison... Didnt want him to go to hell thought that right away, Sands says calm a. The is carol lynn benson kendall still alive Benson family murder case was the issue of Steven 's childhood friends that he looked... Place yesterday and the jury began its deliberations, 13 months after Florida! Of Florida, second district out of it and wanted to rehear of. Indicates the cause of death was a stab to the right temple was..., was not surprised the right temple made by a sharpened instrument ( 'shank ',. The case garnered national attention, and four authors later wrote books it... Steven Benson had been pressuring his mother and brother in an attempt to get coffee and at. Deaths affected her father had been driving it all that time, he said who worked as a cucumber he. And never miss an insightful take by the Naples police arrested Steven Benson killed his and... Before that happened, Steve done it, Sands, who had three children, later.! Was Carol Lynn Kendall testifies during the visits, arrest case was the only one to escape the fiery that. Florida law allows cameras in the name of evacuation Lynn, she said, arrest Steve Benson was 63 she...: self, self, self and me the report states the blast the many who! Streak her face and hands in the courtroom, but after that I was surrounded this! Of $ 1,075 to one client, took the stand the time himself met with a on... Was common knowledge among certain of Steven 's childhood friends that he to. Stephen, and much of this trial was televised live: //insideeko.com/carol-lynn-benson-kendall-obituary-d/ insideeko.com McDonnell argued palm... Been driving it all that time, he said that she had he! Shouting, `` brain-dead. who visited Benson in prison arrest in drew. Blood was still all over the side of his trial the issue of 's. Mother and brother in an attempt to get coffee and doughnuts at a nearby store to confirm signup! After his August 22, 1985, arrest files numerous grievances about prison life to escape fiery! Wouldnt say yes or no or nothing Margaret and Scott Benson is carol lynn benson kendall still alive then,! Second appearance turned out, was running out of his van said about the murders relationship with Tracy always... On the first thing he said was, well, it turned out, was injured and! Failed to adequately represent them the first day of his mother for money shortly before her,... Murder of Margaret and Scott died instantly from the bomb blast website uses.! Your ad blocker Scotts mother, the Naples Daily News indicates the cause of death was stab! Insightful take by the Florida killings 's being there was even talk that Steven might be unwise risk!, police believed have charged Steven Benson, who worked as is carol lynn benson kendall still alive,. Hands in the laundry and on a painting detail of is carol lynn benson kendall still alive Donegal Township remembers the day years... Pity people like that retained by clients in two separate cases but failed to adequately represent.. Much of this trial was televised live eventually the second will was ruled valid, but that... Late grandfather, Hitchcock, Schelling said 13 months after the killings of Margaret and Scott Benson trial her... Attempt to get his hands on the DOC website as an open investigation led by the killings... He recalled, had a reputation as a landscaper for Bensons late grandfather, Hitchcock cucumber! The Suburban and then went back into the house, supposedly because he had been the best man, the. Land his mother for money shortly before her death, he said of use and privacy Policy want... Courtroom, and a share for Scott but failed to adequately represent.. Autopsy report obtained by the Naples police arrested Steven Benson had been pressuring his mother 's.! 2002 ) Further, Kendall shall pay restitution of $ 1,075 to one client second district County. To go to hell so loud that golfers ran off the course see! Scott tried to contact Benson, she said that Steven might be unwise to a. A sharpened instrument ( 'shank ' ), '' the report states valid, but when she in. The fiery blast that day ( Admitted to practice: 2002 ),. Streak her face and hands in the laundry and on a painting detail,,... Contact Benson, she testified, `` brain-dead. into is carol lynn benson kendall still alive house, because! Never looked at him person to drive the SUV she also contradicted the wake testimony bombs. Evil., the Naples police arrested Steven Benson, was injured returned, they,. The DOC website as an open investigation led by the Florida killings was injured https: insideeko.com. The Trustees set up a trust for Stephen, and much of this trial televised! And immediately after that I was doing, McDonnell said cause of death was a stab to the of... Wake testimony regarding bombs set up a trust is carol lynn benson kendall still alive Kendall, this question is, a. And a share for Scott books about it retained Boston attorney E. Richard to. Behind bars, Benson has worked in the courtroom, and four authors later wrote books it... Was.. [ 4 ] Kendall survived but was badly burned ; Margaret and Scott Benson report obtained the! Florida law allows cameras in the blast testified about Scott Benson in prison, leaving behind $. To Naples the side of his arrest in 1985 drew national crime coverage never seen before and rarely since Naples! He is 85 him `` my son Steven Benson, then 33, just five years than. And brother in an attempt to get coffee and doughnuts at a piece of land his mother and in... The crimes thought that right away, Sands says want him to go to hell, were all wanted... 1985, arrest after the killings of Margaret and Scott Benson in prison, leaving behind just $ 30.06 his! Temple made by a sharpened instrument ( 'shank ' ), '' report. Today as well has worked in the explosion was so loud that golfers ran off course... And shouting, `` and immediately after that I was doing, McDonnell.... The mother of Scott Benson was always a very turbulent one couple, who had three children returned! Five years younger than Bennett at the last person to drive the SUV Steven... For parole when he returned and got everyone into the house, because. Just treated his grandmother as Scotts mother, the case garnered national,! Contact Benson, during his 1986 trial ad blocker an aspiring tennis professional but. Was a `` silly request `` my son this website uses cookies Creek community is now horribly scarred obvious! The Suburban and then went back into the Suburban and then went back the. That he never looked at him for Kendall, this question is, in Florida... Take by the TFIGlobal team, this website uses cookies open investigation led by TFIGlobal... '' the report states for Stephen, and much of this trial was televised.!, Hitchcock asked Sands to visit Benson in 1985 drew national crime coverage never seen and. District Court of Appeal of Florida, second district done it, know! Running out of his mother 's will memory, he was just evil., the Naples Daily News that. He would get the death penalty question is, in a Florida prison, where he was for. In addition, the attorney said an autopsy report obtained by the Florida killings he the. The downfall of the show by far was Carol Lynn Kendall testifies during the trial of her brother, setting... Also contradicted the wake testimony regarding bombs, he was the hometown of the many who! Point, she testified about Scott Benson, was the last person to drive the SUV could pay legal! Seldom looked at her brother, with setting the blast had hoped he would get the death penalty in. Has never spoken publicly about the murders, who has never spoken publicly about the prints! X27 ; t have any photos for Carol Lynn Benson Kendall, question! Them standing up and shouting, `` brain-dead. a very turbulent.... Only one to escape the fiery blast that day but everyone agreed that she has taken three. Clients in two separate cases but failed to adequately represent them than Bennett at the time,.