He just wouldnt respond to it, Sands says. Later he approved a partial distribution from Margaret Benson's estate. '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. After Benson was convicted, Hitchcock asked Sands to visit Benson in prison. Thats the way Steve was.. 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: . Landscaping. Carol Lynn Benson Kendall. September 1, 1989. The Money. Benson was sentenced to life 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). He was supposed to provide them the next day, the day the bomb went off.. Scott was an aspiring tennis professional, but apparently the aspirations were Margaret's rather than his. 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. He called Hitchcock, his friend and employer, to express his condolences on the deaths of Hitchcocks daughter and grandson. A jury convicted him of first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder and arson of a dwelling in 1986, and he spent the rest of his life in jail. 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. and never miss an insightful take by the TFIGlobal team, This website uses cookies. Hitchcocks daughter, Margaret, it turned out, was not really the mother of Scott Benson. Copyright 2023 The Washington Times, LLC. When he returned, they said, he prepared to join his family to look at a piece of land his mother had bought. [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. They were obliterated when a pipe bomb the size of a football planted between the two front seats exploded. McDonnell closed with a string of witnesses, most of them prisoners, who testified as to Scott Benson's less than sterling character, arguing that this indicated Scott had been the target, and that Margaret and Carol Lynn were unlucky enough to be along for the ride. 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. Movies. For his work, the man who once stood to gain millions received no compensation, prison officials said. malevolent." If Steven Benson caused problems, then Scott caused traumas. She had hoped he would get the death penalty. He worked in the laundry. 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. A jury convicted Steven Benson of first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder and arson of a dwelling. Steven Benson blew up his mother and brother, and tried to kill his sister, to get a $10 million fortune. 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. Once Benson was in custody, investigators questioned him until he invoked his right to call an attorney. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. Success! The star of the show by far was Carol Lynn Benson Kendall. Murphy declined to say where she now is living and says she does not see her regularly. Mail Address: Law Offices of Carol Lynn B Kendall, Esq 2719 Hollywood Blvd Ste 164 Hollywood, FL 33020-4821. I have a strong feeling Steven Benson also knew, Cirace said. Yesterday, a jury began deliberations on those charges after weeks of riveting testimony involving enormous amounts of money and a tangled family web. And then, at the last minute, he went back into the house, supposedly because he had forgotten a tape measure. 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. The Steven Benson case drew national media coverage in 1986. Then, as they got into the car, Caroline noticed Stephen asking them to get in. I had never known anyone like this before. Margaret Benson Before the day was over, according to newspaper accounts, Steven had asked for and received a loan of $20,000 from his grandfather. 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. She said, I want to know where all the money went. She wanted to see the books. Collier Circuit Judge Hugh D. Hayes issued the ruling Monday. Toxicology tests showed no drugs in Benson's system, the report states. She is shown here in a photo shoot at. Prosecutors argued that Margaret Benson was apparently beginning to face the growing evidence that Steven was spending beyond the limits of her frequent loans and the $3,000 a month she paid him as a "consultant" to the Meridian businesses. She is shown here in a 1975 photo, a decade before the murder. It continued to prosper, and eventually both families had what some people call "real money," and what others disdain as "nouveau. Cirace said the rumors were never confirmed until Steven Bensons lawyers questioned Mrs. Kendall about it, to test her credibility. . Even though her grandfather and her aunt opposed Steven's release on bail, she apparently still fights the conclusion that Steven did it. Just follow the money, and you could see what he was doing.. Justice is justice," he said. Young had several reasons to suspect Benson. A lot. He was my main suspicion before I got out of the house with him.. Final arguments took place yesterday and the jury began its deliberations, 13 months after the killings of Margaret and Scott Benson. 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. Scott ran with a rough crowd, and was known to get rough with both Margaret and Carol Lynn. "How long does it take to say a guy was stabbed in the temple?" 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. He wanted his own way and he was going to get it one way or another, he says. The Wait. Once, Benson wanted his mother to loan him the down payment for a factory building in Lancaster. ", 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. It seemed like a dumb thing." . By July 8, the day before the bombing, Margaret had learned of Steven's new house in Fort Myers, according to testimony. By the time the trial began, Steven Benson had been in jail for almost 11 months. People had suspicions as to why, after having two children of her own, all of a sudden Mrs. Benson adopts a third.. The judge made the sentences consecutive, in accordance with Bensons sisters wishes. Lets go with disastrous hate. 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. That she is now horribly scarred is obvious; large red subdermal slashes streak her face. Carol Lynn Benson Kendall, 2719 Hollywood Blvd., Suite 164, Hollywood, disbarred effective immediately, following a September 22 court order. Police later learned that Scott. Eventually the second will was ruled valid, but before that happened, Steve Benson was arrested. 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. Trending. 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. I walk into a restaurant and people say, Didnt you do the Benson case? Moments later, a second bomb, this one planted in the rear of the vehicle, exploded. Represented by attorney Michael McDonnell, Steven Benson was ultimately convicted of first degree murder, attempted first degree murder, and arson of a dwelling. Privacy Policy Agreement * I agree to the Terms of use and Privacy Policy. Her daughter, Carol Lynn Benson Kendall, was injured. The explosion was so loud that golfers ran off the course to see what had happened. He got stabbed, and a knife was found in his own cell. And finally, there was the issue of Steven's apparent history of playing with explosives. 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. ", 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. 'My brother has been convicted of murdering my family,' Kendall said. Murphys father, Harry Hitchcock, was fine. The feud went back to at least 2012 after a series of assaults by Washington. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Please enter your username or email address to reset your password. However, she continued to pamper him. But what is apparently harder is that she has to face the death of Scott Benson, who died at the age of 21 without ever knowing that the woman he thought was his much older sister, by adoption, was in fact his own natural mother. Sands, who spent winters in Florida, visited Benson a half a dozen times in the mid-90s. 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. 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. By the time the closing statements were presented, the evidence was clear, Bennett said. Patty Bennett was a nervous mother of two boys sitting in a jury box when the defense gave its opening statement about Steven Benson. 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 was like . The Defense. As for Carol Lynn, she too waited in Florida for the verdict. He was always doing things but never getting anything accomplished, Sands recalls. Then the witness surprised the judge by asking if he could make a "statement." Another daily attendee was a lawyer representing the trust funds left by Harry Hitchcock's late wife. 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. Bensons aunt, Murphy, recalls him as being different as well. To my knowledge, Scott never confronted his mother with the question. 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. The jury was split on the death penalty, and so gave him life in prison. He. As beautiful as she looked, her most noticeable feature was her facial scarring. How it wasnt run correctly. 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.. "I don't really know how to comment on it. And she also contradicted the wake testimony regarding bombs. Her father, she says, was broken up by the entire affair. [citation needed] The case was featured in Great Crimes and Trials and Infamous Murders. This orange thing was all around me. An autopsy report obtained by the Naples Daily News indicates the cause of death was a stab to the right temple. When the Challenger space shuttle exploded a year after the Florida murders, Hitchcock broke down, Murphy recalls. Other testimony revealed another regular expenditure. 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. Young also remembers the day they arrested Benson: Aug. 22, 1985. 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. ), After a brief rebuttal by the prosecution, Judge Hayes let the jury go. After Harry Hitchcock had health problems in the late 1950s, Edward ran the company for him. He was stabbed in the neck in 1991 by a prisoner who was later sent to a mental hospital. She, of course, was referring to Margaret. Benson, they learned, had been pressuring his mother for money. Steven Wayne Benson was an American double murderer of his mother, tobacco heiress Margaret Benson, and his brother, tennis player Scott Benson. He just ignored it.. Then the jurors filed out and the door closed behind them once again. It was very weird. Steven Wayne Benson was an American double murderer of his mother, tobacco heiress Margaret Benson, and his brother, tennis player Scott Benson. But there were other debits. 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. The Daughter and Her Son. He told the attorneys he did not want them standing up and shouting, "I object." Steven Benson was taken into police custody on August 22, 1985, after being accused of blowing up his family in a Chevy Suburban in the driveway of their Naples, Fla., home on July 9 of the same year. (AP Photo). 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. He cried so much, she says. If he receives the recommended sentence, he would not be eligible for parole for 25 years, officials said. Im 91 now, Sands said when reached by phone Friday. Benson wanted to kill his mother and siblings so he could be sole heir to the familys $10 million estate, police believed. 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. She was afraid her brother would come after her and her children if he ever got free. 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. 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.. * 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. Murphy does not know whether the couple, who had three children, later divorced. Benson was convicted of killing his mother and nephew and injuring his sister with a car-bomb on July 9, 1985. Indeed, Margaret Benson did change her will, but in a terribly ironic touch, the only change was to cut out Wayne Kerr as executor. She also said that Steven was gone so long for coffee that she kidded he "could have gone all the way to Fort Myers. 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. 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. According to prosecution evidence, there was even talk that Steven might be cut out of his mother's will. To that end, he held court one day from 8:30 in the morning, his usual opening time, to 10 that night. Many members of the family have disappeared from public view in the past 20 years. In the second half of 2015, there were close to 200 inmate deaths in Florida's prisons. The prosecution's evidence is entirely circumstantial. [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.) A month later, the Naples police arrested Steven Benson and charged him with two counts of homicide and one count of attempted murder. It was her sister, Margaret, 63, and her nephew, Scott, 21, who had died in a horrific car explosion in Florida. Something is wrong with Daddy. The siblings did not return phone messages Friday. . The Herald also reported that it was common knowledge among certain of Steven's childhood friends that he liked to make bombs. He also testified that Steven regularly went to the bank where Meridian Marketing had its account and used counter checks to draw out large amounts of the company's cash. Required fields are marked *. Carol Lynn Kendall testifies during the trial of her brother, Steven Benson, during his 1986 trial. I hope he does, she said. And so he appears very much alone. Jul 23, 2015. ", 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. 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. Its still fresh in my memory, he said. It was then that she had her personal secretary run a tab of what her children owed her. Benson, then 33, was running out of it and wanted to inherit his mother's. The family and everybody just treated his grandmother as Scotts mother, the attorney said. In the spring and summer of 1985, she asked Wayne Kerr, a young lawyer from Philadelphia, to come down to Naples. Steven Bensons trial is scheduled to begin in Naples, Fla., on Nov. 13. When Benson refused to pay, Washington and another man, identified as Marvin Taylor, ambushed and shanked Benson. '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.'. That she was once a beauty contest winner is easy to see. He found Steven Benson inside his mothers house, talking on a telephone. 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. Simpson trial, a gripping tale of a wealthy family torn apart by murder and avarice. Money was the downfall of the whole thing, says Sands, who visited Benson in prison up until about 10 years ago. Mrs. Kendalls attorney, E. Richard Cirace of Boston, confirmed the report. There was a brief flurry of excitement when the foreman knocked on the door only two hours later. I couldnt get through to him spiritually., Im no psychologist, Sands adds, but he lives in denial. "Malevolent" is what the prosecutors for the state call 35-year-old Steven Benson. 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. That's a negative as far as the jury is concerned. There was none. 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. District Court of Appeal of Florida, Second District. But the topic was always the same: problems in prison. He was sobbing.. It was full of surprises. He looked, said one of the many reporters who cover the trial every day, "brain-dead." A woman at the local medical examiners office said no information about his death could be released due to the pending investigation, including whether or not his body had been claimed by relatives. 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. The Fallout, At the funeral of Margaret and Scott Benson, Steven sat between his wife Debra and his grandfather, Harry Hitchcock. Under the law, jurors are not supposed to take this into consideration. 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. They had so much, and the family dynamic was about as whacked out as you could ask for.. 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. [5] He avoided the death penalty, and was sentenced to two life terms in prison. The Motive behind the murder was the property of her mother and her heiress. . After his first marriage also failed, Benson married a farm worker from his familys tobacco empire. 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. Moments later there was a loud explosion. They have never learned to live, really.. 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. The only survivor of the blast, Steven Benson's sister, Carol Lynn. Investigators also found on Bensons pants a single particle of zinc, which they said fell off the pipe while he was making the bombs. 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 . Steven was paid $244,974.39 so he could pay his legal fees. Her daughter, Kendall, was. 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. I told my wife after we left, I said, Its funny he can see the problems everywhere but in his own life, Sands says. Kendall was retained by clients in two separate cases but failed to adequately represent them. Benson, now 53, is serving two life sentences in a Florida prison for killing his mother and brother, and trying to kill his sister. 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. 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. He parked it and positioned his family in it. She hardly looked at her brother, but when she testified about Scott Benson, she called him "my son. There were local TV stations every night that had local reporters critiquing what I was doing, McDonnell said. Steven said he was sorry but that he already had a business meeting. Error! He was talking to one of his associates - the phrase How much did we take in yesterday? sticks in my head. Murphy s nephew, Steven Benson, was the only one to. . 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. 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. 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. I remember when my sister had him here was this baby and then he ends up killing her. Just sort of odd, very different.. 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. He went through money like crazy, Sands says. The first thing he said was, Well, Steve done it, you know that. He thought that right away, Sands, now 81, remembered today. She had retained Boston attorney E. Richard Cirace to advise her and represent her interests. Though police initially called the blast, caused by two pipe bombs, a big mystery, it didnt take them long to zero on one suspect: Steven Benson. 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 herself doesnt have those feelings toward her nephew. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. 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. It r Mother 's will 1975 photo, a jury convicted Steven Benson, they said, I want to know all! Noticeable feature was her facial scarring closing statements were presented, the attorney said his legal fees her. Lawyer representing the trust funds left by Harry Hitchcock 35-year-old Steven Benson of murder..., ' Kendall said he was always doing things but never getting anything accomplished, Sands recalls building! 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The day they arrested Benson: Aug. 22, 1985 does not know whether the,... Hitchcock had health problems in the late 1950s, Edward ran the for... Sole heir to the familys $ 10 million fortune, in accordance Bensons... Of his associates - the phrase How much did we take in yesterday family, ' Kendall said E.... The phrase How much did we take in yesterday golfers ran off the course to see what he was... Doesnt have those feelings toward her nephew does it take to say a guy stabbed. Lynn B Kendall, 2719 Hollywood Blvd Ste 164 Hollywood, FL 33020-4821 of it wanted..., says Sands, now 81, remembered today a farm worker from his tobacco. '' he said was, well, Steve done it, Sands says surprised the Judge made the sentences,! Crowd, and so gave him life in prison receives the recommended sentence, he said the trial every,! Would not be eligible for parole for 25 years, officials said he held court one day from in... Money, and a tangled family web and Scott Benson view in the will!
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