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In July 1985, Margaret, 63, her 41-year-old daughter, Carolyn Benson Kendall, her 33-year-old son Steven Benson, and her 21-year-old adopted son, Scott Benson, all got into a vehicle to go check out a plot of land in the city, where Margaret was planning to build another home for the family. ", 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. Steven Wayne Benson was an American double murderer of his mother, tobacco heiress Margaret Benson, and his brother, tennis player Scott Benson. 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. Another daily attendee was a lawyer representing the trust funds left by Harry Hitchcock's late wife. That she was once a beauty contest winner is easy to see. The prosecution's evidence is entirely circumstantial. They had so much, and the family dynamic was about as whacked out as you could ask for.. That she is now horribly scarred is obvious; large red subdermal slashes streak her face. 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?. I couldnt get through to him spiritually., Im no psychologist, Sands adds, but he lives in denial. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. doesn't have anything to do with my mother anymore.". Joyce Quinn, Margaret Benson's quiet and polite young secretary who'd lasted but three months in the job before realizing there had to be saner employment, testified that Margaret "paid for everything for Scott" -- his cars (among them two Lotuses, a sports car that costs $45,000 to $50,000) his van, his Cigarette speedboat, his apartment and furniture, repairs, his tennis lessons, his clothes and his gas credit cards. I thought I was being electrocuted. 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. Benson's 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. He parked it and positioned his family in it. he asked. He was supposed to provide them the next day, the day the bomb went off.. To him, sadly, its not a shocker, the terrible things people do to each other, the terrible things they do for money. 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 . 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. He was born in 1951 in Baltimore. He is also charged with the attempted murder of his sister, Carol Lynn. [12], Dominick Dunne's investigative crime show Dominick Dunne's Power, Privilege, and Justice devoted an hour for the case of Steven Benson. Its like the story that keeps on giving. 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. And then, at the last minute, he went back into the house, supposedly because he had forgotten a tape measure. 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. Steven Benson, convicted in 1986 of murdering his mother and adopted brother, died in July at Taylor Correctional Institution in northern Florida. She suffered first-degree burns on her face and hands in the explosion and is still undergoing extensive reconstructive surgery. Benson, he recalled, had a reputation as a wimp., He didnt fit in, Schelling said. . Eric Strachan/Naples Daily News, 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. 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. ", 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. You can add or change photos at IMDb Pro. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. I have a strong feeling Steven Benson also knew, Cirace said. I know it happened to me and my family, she says, but it seems so surreal.. The judge did another unusual thing. 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. But by late 1984 and early 1985, they argue, she was coming to the conclusion that bankrolling Steven was something less than sound. 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. 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 and son. At this time, I was not convinced he could really murder his mother and his adopted brother and sister, said the Fort Myers resident, now 68. After nearly three decades behind bars, Benson died July 3 at 63, the same age his mother, Margaret Hitchcock Benson, was when she was killed by a pipe bomb he planted in her Chevrolet Suburban in the familys North Naples driveway in 1985. 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. Also Read:Mariannette Miller-Meeks : Role during Iowa elections. The only survivor of the blast, Steven Benson's sister, Carol Lynn Benson Kendall, testifies about the explosion and injuries she sustained. Privacy Policy Agreement * I agree to the Terms of use and Privacy Policy. Defense lawyer Mike McDonnell, who represented Benson along with attorney Jerry Berry, said it was one of the first trials to have televised gavel-to-gavel coverage.. She wanted an accounting and, if it had to be, a confrontation with Steven. Sands, who spent winters in Florida, visited Benson a half a dozen times in the mid-90s. 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.. 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." It r He turned to the television cameras and delivered a stern warning to the "youth of Southwest florida" about the dangers of laughing gas. * The prosecution's key evidence, along with the testimony of Steven's sister, were palm prints on sales receipts for pipe identical to that used in the bombs, as well as end caps. Once these equal trusts were created, the children of the settlor would receive a net income over their lifetime and an amount equal to 2% of the capital, which would be determined at the time of the establishment of the individual trusts on a quarterly basis. Harry Hitchcock, second from right, patriarch of the Benson family and founder of the Lancaster Leaf Tobacco Co., with his daughter Janet Murphy in a hallway of the Florida courthouse during the trial their family member, Steven Benson. Eventually the second will was ruled valid, but before that happened, Steve Benson was arrested. It wasnt very long at all. He. The first thing he said was, Well, Steve done it, you know that. He thought that right away, Sands, now 81, remembered today. That she is now horribly scarred is obvious; large red subdermal slashes streak her face. 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. Tragically, Hitchcock turned out to be right about his grandson. 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. If Steven Benson caused problems, then Scott caused traumas. He was a strange fellow, says Sands, who worked as a landscaper for Bensons late grandfather, Hitchcock. Steven Wayne Benson was an American double murderer of his mother, tobacco heiress Margaret Benson, and his brother, tennis player Scott Benson. 'My brother has been convicted of murdering my family,' Kendall said. He said that "initially" he thought it was just sloppy bookkeeping. 10-Year Discipline History: . It was very weird. He was the last person to drive the SUV. He got stabbed, and a knife was found in his own cell. As beautiful as she looked, her most noticeable feature was her facial scarring. Im hot! from the burning car. She was not allowed to leave town, as there was the possibility that the state might put her back on the stand. He cried so much, she says. Steven Benson denied all requests for media interviews. 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. (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. Through taxes, disbursements and attorneys fees, the estate has dwindled from $10 million to about $1.2 million, said Carl Westman, the estates attorney. 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. 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. Not long after his mother moved to Naples, so did Steven Benson, a self-described "executive" who had been in and out of the family business with embarrassing quickness and a notable lack of success. Photo Gallery. 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. ), After a brief rebuttal by the prosecution, Judge Hayes let the jury go. Later, investigators found a receipt, with Bensons palm print, for the purchase of pieces of pipe and end caps used in the bomb. But in reality she had been alone with her thoughts -- the memory of that "malevolent orange thing," and her recollection of the day she took the stand and referred, for the first time in public, and in front of all those strangers, to the late Scott Benson as "my son.". Carol Lynn Kendall testifies during the trial of her brother, Steven Benson, during his 1986 trial. The thing that stuck out in my mind was, wow, how easy this is to see what the money did. When he went in, he was pudgy, even for 6 feet 2 inches tall, but by last month, the realities of prison fare had slimmed him down noticeably. Required fields are marked *. 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. The Daughter and Her Son. On the morning of the explosion, the entire family agreed to inspect the land at Stevens suggestion. 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. It was then that she had her personal secretary run a tab of what her children owed her. My memorys getting pretty hazy. Carol Lynn testified that he arrived unusually early and insisted on taking the Chevy Suburban, rather than his own car, and first going by himself for coffee and doughnuts. The jury deliberated just 12 hours before finding Benson guilty. Bensons aunt, for one, is glad her nephew is behind bars for likely the rest of his life. Steven said he was sorry but that he already had a business meeting. . As for Carol Lynn, she too waited in Florida for the verdict. 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. [4] Kendall survived but was badly burned; Margaret and Scott died instantly from the bomb blast. 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. He just stood there. (AP Photo). The siblings did not return phone messages Friday. Bensons grandfather, the family patriarch and the Lancaster Leaf Tobacco magnate, the late Harry Hitchcock, was a congenial-looking, white-haired Christian businessman known for his tulip gardens in School Lane Hills. 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. His grandson never acknowledged him again, not even when he came to Florida for the trial. The chief prosecutor, Jerry Brock, argued she had made conflicting statements in earlier depositions. The case still resonates three decades later. Carol Lynn testified that she thought Scott's being there was a "silly request. Hed always been sort of strange, she says. He was stabbed in the neck in 1991 by a prisoner who was later sent to a mental hospital. Cirace said Scott was born in 1965 in a Baltimore hospital and later adopted by Mrs. Kendalls mother, Margaret Benson of Pennsylvania, heiress to the Lancaster Leaf Tobacco Co. fortune. She said she will never forget that moment. In addition to the fatal wound to the head, Associate Medical Examiner Anthony Clark noted a puncture wound to the left scalp and multiple bruises on Benson's torso, upper and lower extremities. "How long does it take to say a guy was stabbed in the temple?" I told my wife after we left, I said, Its funny he can see the problems everywhere but in his own life, Sands says. 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. 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. In prison records, Benson listed the oldest of his three children, twins Victoria and Christopher, as his next of kin. Under the law, jurors are not supposed to take this into consideration. ", The jowly and bespectacled witness testified that Steven's company books were a mess, with checkbook entries missing and no balance carried forward. When Sands heard that Benson had been pressuring his mother for money shortly before her death, he was not surprised. 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. He was my main suspicion before I got out of the house with him.. The best defense witness was Brenda Turnbull, Steven's former secretary, who said flatly that he was in his office at the time both the pipes and the end caps were purchased. 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. Here, prosecuting attorney Jerry Brock addresses members of the media outside the Florida courtroom where the case took place. 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. 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. (Admitted to practice: 2002) Further, Kendall shall pay . He had retained Naples attorney Michael McDonnell. An investigator said later they probably didnt have a chance to move.. After her testimony, Carol Lynn Benson Kendall was nowhere to be seen. 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. Benson, they learned, had been pressuring his mother for money. Justice is justice," he said. He was born in 1951 in Baltimore. 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. LANCASTER, Pa. (AP) - Heres what has stuck with them for 30 years, since the day that Steven Benson blew up his family in a Chevy Suburban in the driveway of their Florida home, in a greedy attempt to inherit a $10 million Lancaster tobacco company fortune: . . Daddy. The three children were to divide the estate equally. 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 killings, prosecutors said, were sparked by one motive. Amos Sands of West Donegal Township remembers the day 20 years ago today as well. If they had objections they were to say, quietly, "May we approach the bench?" He went through money like crazy, Sands says. Office: 954-789-0834. Minutes later the Suburban erupted into flames. ", 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. He just kept a straight face.. He was always doing things but never getting anything accomplished, Sands recalls. 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). Simpson trial before the O.J. Carol Lynn Benson Kendall is 42 years old. 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. It is said that she has taken their three children and returned to her small Wisconsin home town. . 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. It was full of surprises. Attorneys representing Steven Benson, 36, and Margaret Bensons daughter, Carol Lynn Benson Kendall, 43, said they both probably will appeal Mondays ruling. Keep supporting great journalism by turning off your ad blocker. Attorney (s) appearing for the Case Then, as they got into the car, Caroline noticed Stephen asking them to get in. Theres no record of him having a single visitor during his 28 years in prison, a Department of Corrections spokesman said. All but 30 remain open investigations. And he is an arbitrator within the family when things go wrong., Steven started to cry. Success! Benson wasnt much more popular in the penitentiary: At one point, he was stabbed by another prisoner and had to be transferred to a different facility for his own safety. 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. Once in Florida, Steven founded a series of loosely related businesses (most of which had the word Meridian in the title), the most nearly successful being a burglar alarm security company. Thats how Margaret died. I never saw him cry as much as he did with the Challenger. and never miss an insightful take by the TFIGlobal team, This website uses cookies. Not Eligible to Practice Law in Florida . Bensons aunt, Murphy, recalls him as being different as well. September 1, 1989. 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. Even though her grandfather and her aunt opposed Steven's release on bail, she apparently still fights the conclusion that Steven did it. 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. 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. But Murphy will never forget how the deaths affected her father. An autopsy report obtained by the Naples Daily News indicates the cause of death was a stab to the right temple. 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. In the Know: Is that Benson guy still in prison? At first, Murphy thought her niece, Carol Lynn Kendall, 40, also had died, but she found out that she was badly burned but had survived. Trending. Connect with the definitive source for global and local news. But everyone agreed that she had done so well, it might be unwise to risk a second appearance. 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. In the Know: Is that Benson guy still in prison? Then you had Scott as an aspiring tennis player, but ordering nitrous oxide to be delivered to the house like some people get milk, he said, so he could carry on with his girlfriend, who was a stripper.. 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. "Sharp force head trauma. Support local journalism. Menu. The bombing took place July 9, 1985 in the Quail Creek community. Jul 23, 2015. [9][10] Benson was in a long running feud with Cordell Washington, another inmate at the facility. 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. Carol Lynn Benson Kendall. Steven Benson 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. The matricide was a huge point, she said. Carol Lynn Benson Kendall, 2719 Hollywood Blvd., Suite 164, Hollywood, disbarred effective immediately, following a September 22 court order. She was afraid her brother would come after her and her children if he ever got free. She thought he had been embezzling family funds and had called her attorney to check into it. He said Steven was laughing. 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. He is a good brother. Murphy declined to say where she now is living and says she does not see her regularly. "), Near the end of his testimony, he said he had finally told Margaret Benson, "You have to stop being a bank for your children." The Defense. It was just a tragic story. It was her sister, Margaret, 63, and her nephew, Scott, 21, who had died in a horrific car explosion in Florida. But showing little emotion after that. File photo. Also Read : . Steven Benson is scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 2, and prosecutors have asked for a life sentence. He spent a lot of money and never did anything with it. [13] For his work, the man who once stood to gain millions received no compensation, prison officials said. 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. Steven Benson and his wife, Debra, leave funeral services for his mother and brother, Margaret and Scott Benson, at St. James Episcopal Church in Lancaster in 1985. 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. Benson wanted to kill his mother and siblings so he could be sole heir to the familys $10 million estate, police believed. Nobody else had time to put a bomb in there, Young said. Steven Wayne Benson was an American double murderer of his mother, tobacco heiress Margaret Benson, and his brother, tennis player Scott Benson. When Benson refused to pay, Washington and another man, identified as Marvin Taylor, ambushed and shanked Benson. Before the day was over, according to newspaper accounts, Steven had asked for and received a loan of $20,000 from his grandfather. The feud went back to at least 2012 after a series of assaults by Washington. By the time the trial began, Steven Benson had been in jail for almost 11 months. Cirace said the rumors were never confirmed until Steven Bensons lawyers questioned Mrs. Kendall about it, to test her credibility. He told the attorneys he did not want them standing up and shouting, "I object." 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.. Collier Circuit Judge Hugh D. Hayes issued the ruling Monday. As the trial date neared (there were several postponements before it finally began July 14) it became obvious that the large amounts of money involved meant that there would be a lot of lawyers on both sides of the courtroom trial. There was an error processing your request. Error! The star of the show by far was Carol Lynn Benson Kendall. Please enable JavaScript to properly view our site. Margaret Benson and her son, Scott (who was actually Kendalls son, later adopted by her mother) already were dead. [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. "Malevolent" is what the prosecutors for the state call 35-year-old Steven Benson. [4] She said, I want to know where all the money went. She wanted to see the books. (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. On Monday, the state produced a witness whose testimony left a strong impression on those spectators who had seen the trial from the beginning. She had retained Boston attorney E. 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Ruled valid, but before that happened, Steve done it, is carol lynn benson kendall still alive know that Mrs. Kendall about,... 9, 1985 in the know: is that is carol lynn benson kendall still alive had been pressuring his and! Identified as Marvin Taylor, ambushed and shanked Benson almost 11 months through money like crazy, Sands,... Affected her father Sands heard that Benson had been in jail for almost 11.... Visited Benson a half a dozen times in the temple? 1991 a... Was, wow, how easy this is to see what the money went right temple Kendall during... He spent a lot of money and never miss an insightful take by the Naples daily News indicates the of! A piece of land his mother for money shortly before her death, he prepared is carol lynn benson kendall still alive his! Is said that `` initially '' he thought that right away, Sands, who spent winters in Florida visited... ), after a brief rebuttal by the Naples daily News indicates the cause death...