Then the bombs went off. After the shaking incident, Margaret had her secretary compile a list of everything she'd bought for Scott in the last two years. His face got really red. 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. I saw you on TV. 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. After Benson was convicted, Hitchcock asked Sands to visit Benson in prison. 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). The matricide was a huge point, she said. He was supposed to provide them the next day, the day the bomb went off.. Mrs. Benson was 63 when she died in the blast. The thing that stuck out in my mind was, wow, how easy this is to see what the money did. ", 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. And he put a lot of planning in it but never covered his tracks at all., Tom Schelling, whom the Benson family had on the payroll to do maintenance and construction around their many estates, said he has known Steven Benson since high school. Macron wont let go off Africa so easily, he is love sick, Canadas Debt Crisis: A Never-Ending Burden Passed On From Generation to Generation, Alcohol tax in Canada: Canadian government is taking a sip out of your beer. Carol Lynn Kendall testifies during the trial of her brother, Steven Benson, during his 1986 trial. 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. A jury convicted Steven Benson of first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder and arson of a dwelling. ), After a brief rebuttal by the prosecution, Judge Hayes let the jury go. Benson told his family members where to sit in the Suburban. Then the witness surprised the judge by asking if he could make a "statement." Just follow the money, and you could see what he was doing.. 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. 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. But everyone agreed that she had done so well, it might be unwise to risk a second appearance. 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 Herald also reported that it was common knowledge among certain of Steven's childhood friends that he liked to make bombs. Through taxes, disbursements and attorneys fees, the estate has dwindled from $10 million to about $1.2 million, said Carl Westman, the estates attorney. In the second half of 2015, there were close to 200 inmate deaths in Florida's prisons. The Fallout, At the funeral of Margaret and Scott Benson, Steven sat between his wife Debra and his grandfather, Harry Hitchcock. By the time the closing statements were presented, the evidence was clear, Bennett said. Margaret Benson and her son, Scott (who was actually Kendalls son, later adopted by her mother) already were dead. Another daily attendee was a lawyer representing the trust funds left by Harry Hitchcock's late wife. Under Florida law, Steven Benson is precluded from receiving proceeds of the estate of the person he murdered, Hayes said. 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. 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. Bensons wife never attended the trial. 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. They have never learned to live, really.. Steven Benson turned gray behind bars and died, to little fanfare. Connect with the definitive source for global and local news. He said Steven was laughing. 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. He said he had a judicial conference he wanted very much to attend, so he had determined to finish the trial in three weeks. 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. It wasn't the prison pallor that surprised people who had known him; it was the grim and almost affectless bearing. He walked behind him and put his hand on his shoulder and he said, Steven Benson is a nice person. You can add or change photos at IMDb Pro. He found Steven Benson inside his mothers house, talking on a telephone. ", 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. He looked, said one of the many reporters who cover the trial every day, "brain-dead." His grandson never acknowledged him again, not even when he came to Florida for the trial. The Chevrolet Suburban was blown all to bits and pieces, with a body lying out on each side.. 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. Mrs. Kendalls attorney, E. Richard Cirace of Boston, confirmed the report. 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. He had been driving it all that time, he said. I couldnt get through to him spiritually., Im no psychologist, Sands adds, but he lives in denial. He stared at her and walked away, said Kendall, who is now 70 and living somewhere in Florida. 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. Related story: Naples pipe bomb killer Steven Benson dies in prison. Not just Steven, but the whole family was just ugly. And then, at the last minute, he went back into the house, supposedly because he had forgotten a tape measure. She is shown here in a photo shoot at. ", 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. Tracking money - that was my forte, said Dwight Brock, who is now 61 and works as the Collier County Clerk of Courts in Florida. It also wanted to rehear some of what the government fingerprint expert had said about the palm prints. 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. Carol Lynn Benson Kendall Death, Obituary pending- Carol Lynn Benson Kendall has reportedly passed away unexpectedly and suddenly. [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. Beyond that, Young had little to say. He was a strange fellow, says Sands, who worked as a landscaper for Bensons late grandfather, Hitchcock. TV show Monday features Benson family murders, one of Naples' notorious crimes, Lighthouse Project - History: Murderers, moonshiners, swindlers lead rogues gallery of SW Florida crooks, Naples pipe bomb killer Steven Benson dies in prison. 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. He was born in 1951 in Baltimore. 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. Steven Wayne Benson was an American double murderer of his mother, tobacco heiress Margaret Benson, and his brother, tennis player Scott Benson. I thought I was being electrocuted. 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. 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. Yesterday, a jury began deliberations on those charges after weeks of riveting testimony involving enormous amounts of money and a tangled family web. Copyright 2023 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. At the age of 63, Margaret Benson, was killed by her son, Steven Benson, with a car bomb that also took the life of her her grandson, Scott Benson, and injured her daughter, Carol Lynn Kendall, on July 9, 1985, in fron t of their Naples, Fla., home. (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. Shortly before his death in 1990, Harry Hitchcock the owner of Lancaster Leaf Tobacco Co. asked a longtime family employee, gardener Amos Sands, to visit his grandson in prison on his behalf. He just kept a straight 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?. She is shown here in a photo shoot at Lancaster Country Club in 1974, more than a decade before the incident. It just never stopped, Cirace said. Nothing was heard from him at all during the trial, she said. Dwight Brock was an assistant state attorney in Florida, specializing in white collar crime, when Steven Benson was arrested. On July 11, two days after Margaret and Scott Benson were killed, Wayne Kerr, the lawyer from Philadelphia, filed a 1983 will that named him executor of the estate. Final arguments took place yesterday and the jury began its deliberations, 13 months after the killings of Margaret and Scott Benson. It wasnt discussed. 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. After Harry Hitchcock had health problems in the late 1950s, Edward ran the company for him. 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. Naples Daily News", "Car Bomb Victim Was Son, Not Brother, Heiress Says", "`Heated Discussions` By Slain Heiress Told", "Benson Guilty Of Murders `He Doesn'T Believe It,' Lawyer Says", "Anniversary recalls notorious crime Marco Eagle", "Naples killer Steven Benson who sought $10 million family fortune dies in jail with $30 to his name", "Man who blew up his tobacco heiress mother and brother dies in Florida prison", "Simmering feud with another inmate led to stabbing death of Steven Benson, inmates say", "Not Guilty: Jury deliberates just under an hour in murder trial of former TCI inmate | Perry Newspapers", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Steven_Benson_(murderer)&oldid=1131550360, This page was last edited on 4 January 2023, at 17:22. Family web her mother ) already were dead he came to Florida the... Risk a second appearance surprised the Judge by asking if he could make a `` statement. the... Certain of Steven 's childhood friends that he liked to make a ``.! 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