Under Florida law, Steven Benson is precluded from receiving proceeds of the estate of the person he murdered, Hayes said. I heard a lot of cursing and swearing.. Carol Lynn Kendall testifies during the trial of her brother, Steven Benson, during his 1986 trial. Murphys nephew, Steven Benson, was the only one to escape the fiery blast that day. Collier County's most notorious killer himself met with a violent end. 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. Florida authorities have charged Steven Benson, Mrs. Kendall's 34-year-old natural brother, with setting the blast outside . Scott was an aspiring tennis professional, but apparently the aspirations were Margaret's rather than his. He was the last person to drive the SUV. 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. [9][10] Benson was in a long running feud with Cordell Washington, another inmate at the facility. Benson told Young that he and his family were going to look at piece of property where his mother wanted to build a home that morning. Kendall was injured in the car-bomb that killed her son, Scott Benson, and mother, Margaret Benson, on July 9, 1985, in front of their Naples, Fla., home. (Admitted to practice: 2002) Further, Kendall shall pay restitution of $1,075 to one client. We learned about the passing of Carol Lynn Benson Kendall on May 23, 2022. [citation needed] The case was featured in Great Crimes and Trials and Infamous Murders. Theyre all dead.. Nervously at first, but then more calmly, she testified in response to the prosecutor's questions. Scott had canisters of nitrous oxide, or laughing gas, to which he was addicted, delivered to the house on a monthly basis, defense witnesses said. Benson died earlier this month in a Florida prison, where he was serving two life sentences for the crimes. (Admitted to practice: 2002) Further, Kendall shall pay . Jul 23, 2015. His sister, Carol Lynn, was badly burned in the blast but survived. Margaret Benson and her son, Scott (who was actually Kendalls son, later adopted by her mother) already were dead. [11] Washington was charged with murder for killing Benson, but was acquitted. Then the witness surprised the judge by asking if he could make a "statement." 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. There was a brief flurry of excitement when the foreman knocked on the door only two hours later. The Herald also reported that it was common knowledge among certain of Steven's childhood friends that he liked to make bombs. 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. The murder of Margaret and Scott Benson in 1985 drew national crime coverage never seen before and rarely since to Naples. On the morning of the explosion, the entire family agreed to inspect the land at Stevens suggestion. "Malevolent" is what the prosecutors for the state call 35-year-old Steven Benson. Debra divorced Steven shortly after his August 22, 1985, arrest. Behind bars, Benson has worked in the laundry and on a painting detail. 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. 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. The star of the show by far was Carol Lynn Benson Kendall. 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. Benson never bothering to wash his mothers blood spatters from the side of his white van, which he had parked near the blown-apart Suburban, and which he was still driving on the day police showed up to arrest him for the killings, a month and a half later. 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. In the Know: Is that Benson guy still in prison? His deposition in that case reads like pulp fiction of old: "My mother (meaning Margaret Benson) who had 38 years of marriage to my father, a greatly respected man of the highest character both in business and his personal life, is herself a religious person of high integrity and moral values. The Fallout, At the funeral of Margaret and Scott Benson, Steven sat between his wife Debra and his grandfather, Harry Hitchcock. emains listed on the DOC website as an open investigation led by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. 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. 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?. Not Eligible to Practice Law in Florida . . Support local journalism. Debunking the Myth: Is Maduro a Dictator? Mail Address: Law Offices of Carol Lynn B Kendall, Esq 2719 Hollywood Blvd Ste 164 Hollywood, FL 33020-4821. ", As for the positioning of the vehicle's occupants, "I thought it was awfully strange that Scott was driving. He said, Thats how Margaret died. 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. 'My brother has been convicted of murdering my family,' Kendall said. 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. Is Carol Lynn Benson Kendall still alive? He just looked at me. Eventually the second will was ruled valid, but before that happened, Steve Benson was arrested. [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. Maybe it was the money, the power and the greed, they say. 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. Prosecutors said it showed that while Carol Lynn owed her mother $118,560.33, Steven's IOU was $268,163.89. She suffered first-degree burns on her face and hands in the explosion and is still undergoing extensive reconstructive surgery. She is shown here in a . 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. Simpson trial, a gripping tale of a wealthy family torn apart by murder and avarice. "Sharp force head trauma. 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 . He stared at her and walked away, said Kendall, who is now 70 and living somewhere in Florida. He returned and got everyone into the Suburban and then went back into the house to retrieve a tape measure. And then, at the last minute, he went back into the house, supposedly because he had forgotten a tape measure. District Court of Appeal of Florida, Second District. Benson has had his share of problems behind bars. 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.. Most recently, he was assigned as a houseman, performing maintenance and cleaning duties. Copyright 2023 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. She was crying. I have a strong feeling Steven Benson also knew, Cirace said. 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. He looked, said one of the many reporters who cover the trial every day, "brain-dead." I can see what money can do when people get so tied up in self, he says. Once, Benson wanted his mother to loan him the down payment for a factory building in Lancaster. A month later, the Naples police arrested Steven Benson and charged him with two counts of homicide and one count of attempted murder. 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. Also Read:Mariannette Miller-Meeks : Role during Iowa elections. 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. Then, as they got into the car, Caroline noticed Stephen asking them to get in. 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. I did most of the talking.. It seemed like a dumb thing." 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. Scott ran with a rough crowd, and was known to get rough with both Margaret and Carol Lynn. Benson was sentenced to life in prison. 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 Benson Kendall Disbarred . He worked in the laundry. ), 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. Even though her grandfather and her aunt opposed Steven's release on bail, she apparently still fights the conclusion that Steven did it. 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. He was talking to one of his associates - the phrase How much did we take in yesterday? sticks in my head. When I see that, I pity people like that. Toxicology tests showed no drugs in Benson's system, the report states. The explosion was so loud that golfers ran off the course to see what had happened. Carol 's cause of death is unknown to us at this time. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. 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. He spent a lot of money and never did anything with it. He was born in 1951 in Baltimore. The only survivor of the blast, Steven Benson's sister, Carol Lynn. 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. After Harry Hitchcock had health problems in the late 1950s, Edward ran the company for him. Attorney (s) appearing for the Case He went through money like crazy, Sands says. Steven Benson is serving two life sentences at Union Correctional Institution in Raiford, Fla. Benson, he recalled, had a reputation as a wimp., He didnt fit in, Schelling said. The jury deliberated just 12 hours before finding Benson guilty. Carl Westman, a Naples attorney named to represent Margaret Benson's estate, usually sat with Cirace. A jury convicted Steven Benson of first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder and arson of a dwelling. She is shown here in a photo shoot at. 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. For his work, the man who once stood to gain millions received no compensation, prison officials said. 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. Kendall, who now is the principal heir to her mother Margaret's $10 million fortune, denied reports she wastrying to cut the children of her brother, Steven Benson, out of any inheritance they might receive. He was supposed to provide them the next day, the day the bomb went off.. I thought I was being electrocuted. I told my wife after we left, I said, Its funny he can see the problems everywhere but in his own life, Sands says. Carol Lynn Benson Kendall is 42 years old. Lancaster was the hometown of the wealthy Benson family and the case received coverage . It wasn't the prison pallor that surprised people who had known him; it was the grim and almost affectless bearing. Carol Lynn Kendall testifies during the trial of her brother, Steven Benson, during his 1986 trial. But that changed over the next three weeks, as witness after witness took the stand. Steven Benson is scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 2, and prosecutors have asked for a life sentence. Other testimony revealed another regular expenditure. Collier Judge Hugh Hayes presided over the trial. ", 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. 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. His face got really red. Benson was 33, just five years younger than Bennett at the time. Margarets blood was still all over the side of his van. Electronics. The Chevrolet Suburban was blown all to bits and pieces, with a body lying out on each side.. . An investigator said later they probably didnt have a chance to move.. Thats the way Steve was.. Steven Benson, convicted in 1986 of murdering his mother and adopted brother, died in July at Taylor Correctional Institution in northern Florida. Even though he had a fancy car" -- the Lotus -- "he didn't like to drive. Steven Benson killed his mother and brother in an attempt to get his hands on the familys $10 million tobacco fortune. The killings, prosecutors said, were sparked by one motive. 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. Hitchcock died in 1990, five years after the Florida killings. You could see a hateful heart in Steven then. Connect with the definitive source for global and local news. It was like . I think it was the dumbest murder I ever solved that had been planned. If they had objections they were to say, quietly, "May we approach the bench?" Prosecutors set forth the theory that Margaret Benson liked being the financial power behind Steven's business throne -- at least in the beginning. 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." 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. 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. Benson, now 53, is serving two life sentences in a Florida prison for killing his mother and brother, and trying to kill his sister. Mrs. Benson was 63 when she died in the blast. However, she continued to pamper him. The only survivor of the blast, Steven Benson's sister, Carol Lynn Benson Kendall, testifies about the explosion and injuries she sustained. Carol 's cause of death is unknown to us at this time. Last Known Contact Information. Carol Lynn Benson Kendall. He was very congenial, very eager to talk, Sands recalls. And if Steven Benson walks out of the courtroom a free man, he will still be in line for a third or even a half of his mother's $10 million estate. Beyond that, Young had little to say. 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. To that end, he held court one day from 8:30 in the morning, his usual opening time, to 10 that night. He doesnt know for sure why Benson has stuck with the public, and with him, all these years. That she was once a beauty contest winner is easy to see. 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. Twelve and a half hours later, almost to the minute, Harry Hitchcock's granddaughter made an equally dramatic, if brief, appearance in the courtroom. 'It's hard for me to even put into words the devastation emotionally that this has caused me and my children,' Kendall told reporters at Logan International Airport after flying home from Florida. [2] (Margaret Hitchcock Benson was heiress of the Lancaster Leaf Tobacco Co., Lancaster, Pa., and had no connection with Benson & Hedges brand cigarettes manufactured in the US by Philip Morris.) . Patty Bennett was a nervous mother of two boys sitting in a jury box when the defense gave its opening statement about Steven Benson. He was stabbed in the neck in 1991 by a prisoner who was later sent to a mental hospital. Margaret Benson eventually loaned her son the money but he never did anything with the building, Sands says. Sands, who spent winters in Florida, visited Benson a half a dozen times in the mid-90s. Bennett heard how the bombs were assembled, with nails and tacks put inside them so they would do the most damage. All but 30 remain open investigations. Also Read:Mustang used by Steve Mcqueen in Bullitt auctioned, Your email address will not be published. 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. 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.. He said he had a judicial conference he wanted very much to attend, so he had determined to finish the trial in three weeks. The Prosecution. He complimented the jury for its "staying power," but that didn't stop him from holding court all day Saturday, too. Murphys father, Harry Hitchcock, was fine. Were going on the premise Scott did not know, but Steven, being the older of the two boys - I have strong feelings he did know., He said he counseled Mrs. Kendall to tell the truth about Scotts birth and answer any and all questions they ask, no matter how private or embarrassing.. Hitchcocks daughter, Margaret, it turned out, was not really the mother of Scott Benson. Steven Wayne Benson was an American double murderer of his mother, tobacco heiress Margaret Benson, and his brother, tennis player Scott Benson. He wanted his own way and he was going to get it one way or another, he says. He didnt say anything after prison. Something is wrong with Daddy. Steven Wayne Benson was an American double murderer of his mother, tobacco heiress Margaret Benson, and his brother, tennis player Scott Benson. It was her sister, Margaret, 63, and her nephew, Scott, 21, who had died in a horrific car explosion in Florida. Bensons aunt, Murphy, recalls him as being different as well. 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. People are interested in that, and the way it was done every day, people dont blow up their mother and brother and sister in a prominent part of Naples., Young described Benson as calm, calculated, coldblooded., He thought he could get away with it, Young said. He was born in 1951 in Baltimore. A jury convicted Steven Benson of first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder and arson of a dwelling. 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. File photo. I still get recognized, said Michael McDonnell, Bensons defense attorney, who at 74 still practices in Naples and Fort Myers. The three children were to divide the estate equally. Trending. (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. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Please enter your username or email address to reset your password. Keep supporting great journalism by turning off your ad blocker. The first thing he said was, Well, Steve done it, you know that. He thought that right away, Sands, now 81, remembered today. He walked behind him and put his hand on his shoulder and he said, Steven Benson is a nice person. (He'd even set up a tobacco company in direct competition with his family's concern, but it fizzled immediately.). [4] Kendall survived but was badly burned; Margaret and Scott died instantly from the bomb blast. You know, he wouldnt say yes or no or nothing. That she is now horribly scarred is obvious; large red subdermal slashes streak her face. Benson, then 33, was running out of it and wanted to inherit his mother's. 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. After his first marriage also failed, Benson married a farm worker from his familys tobacco empire. He was just not your usual teenager. "How long does it take to say a guy was stabbed in the temple?" The motive was money. Steven Benson denied all requests for media interviews. Its been decades since his trial attracted attention, though TV specials still pop up on cable channels from time to time. Carol Lynn Kendall testifies during the trial of her brother, Steven Benson, during his 1986 trial. Also on the public record is a 3-year-old paternity suit filed by Scott's former live-in girl. He got down from his ladder, and walked toward the tennis courts, where he found Steven holding what appeared to be a remote control device. Support local journalism. 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. Steven Wayne Benson was an American double murderer of his mother, tobacco heiress Margaret Benson, and his brother, tennis player Scott Benson. He was going to turn it into an apartment house. It came to an average monthly payment of more than $10,000, or a grand total of "around a quarter of a million dollars.". Some who knew him werent really surprised. She is shown here in a 1975 photo, a decade before the murder. Steven said he was sorry but that he already had a business meeting. 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. 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. 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. Its still fresh in my memory, he said. Not just Steven, but the whole family was just ugly. I guess he didnt want him to go to hell.. But there were other debits. Later, investigators found a receipt, with Bensons palm print, for the purchase of pieces of pipe and end caps used in the bomb. Florida authorities have charged Steven Benson, Mrs. Kendalls 34-year-old natural brother, with setting the blast outside the familys Naples, Fla., home because he believed he was about to be cut out of his mothers will. 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. But the topic was always the same: problems in prison. Carol Lynn Benson Kendall Death, Obituary pending- Carol Lynn Benson Kendall has reportedly passed away unexpectedly and suddenly. Carol Lynn Benson Kendall, a former Naples City Council candidate, is now a lawyer in Broward County focusing on family law and real estate. Carol Kendall was born on 07/08/1944 and is 78 years old. 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. That day, she and Wayne Kerr drove to Fort Myers, and when she saw Steven's new house, and the new Datsun sports car parked in front, she was, as Kerr testified, "angry. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Two hours later, the 11 o'clock local news had pictures of her leaving the courtroom, her lawyer Cirace running interference. Defense attorney, who spent winters in Florida the down payment for a factory building in County! Benson a half a dozen times in the beginning also on the public record is a 3-year-old paternity filed. 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