Thats the way Steve was.. The only survivor of the blast, Steven Benson's sister, Carol Lynn Benson Kendall, testifies about the explosion and injuries she sustained. You know, he wouldnt say yes or no or nothing. Murphy does not know whether the couple, who had three children, later divorced. Steven Wayne Benson was an American double murderer of his mother, tobacco heiress Margaret Benson, and his brother, tennis player Scott Benson. 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. Carol Lynn Benson Kendall. Hed claimed he had no money to pay his attorneys, so he claimed indigency -- and Judge Hayes approved the claim. 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. [6][7] Over the course of his sentence, Benson was transferred to various prisons because of constant threats and abuse from other inmates. Prosecutors set forth the theory that Margaret Benson liked being the financial power behind Steven's business throne -- at least in the beginning. Carol Lynn Benson Kendall, a former Naples City Council candidate, is now a lawyer in Broward County focusing on family law and real estate. Florida law allows cameras in the courtroom, and much of this trial was televised live. 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. 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. 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. One pulled Kendall, who was screaming, Im hot! He walked behind him and put his hand on his shoulder and he said, Steven Benson is a nice person. He said that "initially" he thought it was just sloppy bookkeeping. Not Eligible to Practice Law in Florida . On Monday, the state produced a witness whose testimony left a strong impression on those spectators who had seen the trial from the beginning. Carol Lynn Benson Kendall Obituary - Death, Cause Of Death, Funeral: Friends and others affected mourn the death of Carol Lynn Benson Kendall, has suddenly passed away.click to read and leave tributes. You could see a hateful heart in Steven then. Menu. Carol Lynn Benson Kendall, 2719 Hollywood Blvd., Suite 164, Hollywood, disbarred effective immediately, following a September 22 court order. She cannot believe that two decades have passed since the day that two family members were killed and her familys life was changed forever. In the Know: Is that Benson guy still in prison? 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. No mental problems, he was just evil., The case garnered national attention, and four authors later wrote books about it. (AP Photo). 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. 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. 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. ", Edward Benson died in 1980 at the age of 60, and his widow moved to Naples, Fla., a Gulf Coast enclave whose Chamber of Commerce boasts more millionaires per capita than any other U.S. city. Error! Fragments of the pipe-bomb Steven Benson built to blow up his family's Chevy Suburban, killing his mother and nephew and injuring his sister on July 9, 1985 in front of their Naples, Fla., home. 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. Beyond that, Young had little to say. [4] Kendall survived but was badly burned; Margaret and Scott died instantly from the bomb blast. "How long does it take to say a guy was stabbed in the temple?" The Herald also reported that it was common knowledge among certain of Steven's childhood friends that he liked to make bombs. It wasnt discussed. Thats how Margaret died. I never saw him cry as much as he did with the Challenger. ", Once all was set, she testified, Steven handed Scott the keys, and then said he had forgotten something and headed back toward the house. 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 Money. Benson told his family members where to sit in the Suburban. 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. Attorney (s) appearing for the Case ", 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. Naples Daily News 0:00 1:22 Steven Benson is led into the Collier County jail complex on the day of his arrest in 1985. 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. he asked. 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. Jul 23, 2015. He had cautioned his new employes, according to testimony, not to let anyone in the offices of the Naples-based companies know the name of the company or what they did. 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 was the hometown of the wealthy Benson family and the case received coverage . 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. FDLE spokeswoman Gretl Plessinger said the agency had no updated information as of Friday afternoon. 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. And he is an arbitrator within the family when things go wrong., Steven started to cry. 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 is also charged with the attempted murder of his sister, Carol Lynn. 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). Trending. The three children were to divide the estate equally. Moments later there was a loud explosion. There had been general rumors (about the boys parentage) going around Lancaster, where the family was brought up, Cirace said. FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) _ The estate of murdered tobacco heiress Margaret Benson should be shared equally by the children of the son who killed her and by her daughter, a judge has ruled. He was tall and thin and looked intellectual. Steven Benson is serving two life sentences at Union Correctional Institution in Raiford, Fla. Scott tried to start the vehicle, she testified, "and immediately after that I was surrounded by this orange thing.". He complimented the jury for its "staying power," but that didn't stop him from holding court all day Saturday, too. It was her sister, Margaret, 63, and her nephew, Scott, 21, who had died in a horrific car explosion in Florida. Carol Lynn Benson Kendall came in to see her brother's jury be excused for the night. 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. I hope he does, she said. But the jury only wanted to have portions of Carol Lynn Benson Kendall's testimony read back. It wasnt very long at all. Dysfunction, said Patty Bennett, a juror on the case, trying to describe the Benson family. Kendall was retained by clients in two separate cases but failed to adequately represent them. . In the spring and summer of 1985, she asked Wayne Kerr, a young lawyer from Philadelphia, to come down to Naples. Florida authorities have charged Steven Benson, Mrs. Kendall's 34-year-old natural brother, with setting the blast outside . The problems, Sands says, were all Benson wanted to talk about during the visits. The Trustees set up a trust for Kendall, a trust for Stephen, and a share for Scott. I still get recognized, said Michael McDonnell, Bensons defense attorney, who at 74 still practices in Naples and Fort Myers. 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. She hardly looked at her brother, but when she testified about Scott Benson, she called him "my son. 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. Janet Murphy, Steven Bensons maternal aunt, said no one in the family ever patched things up with him, and he has never as much as admitted to the crime. When he returned, they said, he prepared to join his family to look at a piece of land his mother had bought. He was going to turn it into an apartment house. "I don't really know how to comment on it. Dwight Brock was an assistant state attorney in Florida, specializing in white collar crime, when Steven Benson was arrested. 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. Murphy declined to say where she now is living and says she does not see her regularly. Most recently, he was assigned as a houseman, performing maintenance and cleaning duties. It was obvious he was spending his mothers money on himself and his family, Brock said. Through taxes, disbursements and attorneys fees, the estate has dwindled from $10 million to about $1.2 million, said Carl Westman, the estates attorney. Under the law, jurors are not supposed to take this into consideration. Lets go with disastrous hate. There was none. 'My brother has been convicted of murdering my family,' Kendall said. Maybe it was the money, the power and the greed, they say. Prosecutors said it showed that while Carol Lynn owed her mother $118,560.33, Steven's IOU was $268,163.89. But that changed over the next three weeks, as witness after witness took the stand. . On the morning of the explosion, the entire family agreed to inspect the land at Stevens suggestion. The Lancaster Township woman was playing golf on a July day at the Lancaster Country Club when she was asked to come in off the course. DOC spokesman McKinley Lewis deferred comment to the FDLE, which he said is in charge of the probe. Related story: Naples pipe bomb killer Steven Benson dies in prison. The star of the show by far was Carol Lynn Benson Kendall. Steven Bensons children - Elizabeth Benson, 5; Christopher Logan Benson, 5; and Natalie Nichole Benson, 4 - are entitled to inherit from their grandmothers estate, the judge said. 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. Inmates told investigators that Washington planned to extort $1,000 from Benson within days after arriving at Taylor Correctional Institution. David Ahntholz/Staff (Photo: David Ahntholz .da-), Ajuror compares a police artist's sketch of the man who bought pipe at Hughes Supply to a mug shot of Steven Benson. After Harry Hitchcock had health problems in the late 1950s, Edward ran the company for him. He thought he was better than everybody else.. Benson was also charged with the attempted first-degree murder of his sister, Carol Lynn Benson Kendall. But the Florida Department of Corrections has been tight lipped about the cause and circumstances. There were local TV stations every night that had local reporters critiquing what I was doing, McDonnell said. 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. He just ignored it.. . I knew it was no accident, said Young, now 75, of Naples. 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. Hitchcocks daughter, Margaret, it turned out, was not really the mother of Scott Benson. The Lancaster tobacco heir was convicted after a monthlong trial that was carried on Florida television, drew national headlines and spurred books and intense media coverage both here and in Florida. I suppose I have a strong sex desire, and Tracy's voluptuous figure, plus her vast sexual knowledge, I think from the beginning just overwhelmed me. Also on the public record is a 3-year-old paternity suit filed by Scott's former live-in girl. I know it happened to me and my family, she says, but it seems so surreal.. Benson was sentenced to life in prison. Im hot! from the burning car. I dont think he believed he belonged in there.. That's a negative as far as the jury is concerned. A maid testified that he was "the apple of his mother's eye." Steven Benson is led into the Collier County jail complex on the day of his arrest in 1985. McDonnell argued that palm print identification is not reliable. (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 the morning of the blast, prosecutors said, Benson drove the vehicle shortly before the explosion, allegedly to get doughnuts at a nearby convenience store. Tracking money - that was my forte, said Dwight Brock, who is now 61 and works as the Collier County Clerk of Courts in Florida. [4] Oh no, she thought. He was talking to one of his associates - the phrase How much did we take in yesterday? sticks in my head. 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. I dont know if it will ever go away or not., Information from: LNP, https://lancasteronline.com. 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.. I think it was the dumbest murder I ever solved that had been planned. The thing that stuck out in my mind was, wow, how easy this is to see what the money did. 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