is carol lynn benson kendall still alive
Shocked by the attack, she says that since then, her siblings have been completely uninterested in her physical and emotional well-being. Within this circle, there was lots of money. Also Read:Mustang used by Steve Mcqueen in Bullitt auctioned, Your email address will not be published. Under Florida law, Steven Benson is precluded from receiving proceeds of the estate of the person he murdered, Hayes said. Steven Benson denied all requests for media interviews. [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. We learned about the passing of Carol Lynn Benson Kendall on May 23, 2022. he asked. Benson, now 53, is serving two life sentences in a Florida prison for killing his mother and brother, and trying to kill his sister. The siblings did not return phone messages Friday. After his first marriage also failed, Benson married a farm worker from his familys tobacco empire. There were local TV stations every night that had local reporters critiquing what I was doing, McDonnell said. [5] He avoided the death penalty, and was sentenced to two life terms in prison. Her father, she says, was broken up by the entire affair. In the second half of 2015, there were close to 200 inmate deaths in Florida's prisons. . Success! He seldom looked at Steven.The defendant watched his grandfather enter the courtroom, but after that he never looked at him. Movies. Carol Lynn Benson Kendall, 2719 Hollywood Blvd., Suite 164, Hollywood, disbarred effective immediately, following a Sept. 22 court order. "I don't really know how to comment on it. . It came to an average monthly payment of more than $10,000, or a grand total of "around a quarter of a million dollars.". 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. Her daughter, Carol Lynn Benson Kendall, was injured. However, according to a veteran Florida criminal attorney, "any time in a murder case when a defendant without a prior record fails to take the stand, it looks bad. 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.. Her niece, Kendall, also has stayed out of the limelight. 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 . Brocks brother, Jerry, the lead prosecutor in the case, asked him to help with the financial issues in the case as it was going to trial. My relationship with Tracy was always a very turbulent one. 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?. Carol Lynn Benson Kendall is 42 years old. I had never known anyone like this before. Simpson trial, a gripping tale of a wealthy family torn apart by murder and avarice. 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. Carol Lynn Benson Kendall Death, Obituary pending- Carol Lynn Benson Kendall has reportedly passed away unexpectedly and suddenly. Some who knew him werent really surprised. Under Florida law, Steven Benson is precluded from receiving proceeds of the estate of the person he murdered, Hayes said. Carl Westman, a Naples attorney named to represent Margaret Benson's estate, usually sat with Cirace. In the spring and summer of 1985, she asked Wayne Kerr, a young lawyer from Philadelphia, to come down to Naples. (Admitted to practice: 2002) Further, Kendall shall pay . But that same day, local attorney Guion DeLoach showed up with a second and more recent will, one that Margaret Benson had him draw up and that she signed Jan. 29, 1985. I knew she was scared of Scott, but that was a different situation. . Just follow the money, and you could see what he was doing.. 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. 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. Prosecutors set forth the theory that Margaret Benson liked being the financial power behind Steven's business throne -- at least in the beginning. 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. 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. How people were crooked. 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. He had very few visitors. I must think of a better word. Benson was convicted of killing his mother and nephew and injuring his sister with a car-bomb on July 9, 1985. A 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. Carol Lynn Kendall testifies during the trial of her brother, Steven Benson, during his 1986 trial. A month later, the Naples police arrested Steven Benson and charged him with two counts of homicide and one count of attempted murder. 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. They had so much, and the family dynamic was about as whacked out as you could ask for.. Scott was an aspiring tennis professional, but apparently the aspirations were Margaret's rather than his. Even though he had a fancy car" -- the Lotus -- "he didn't like to drive. 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. 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. 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. . Benson died earlier this month in a Florida prison, where he was serving two life sentences for the crimes. Twelve and a half hours later, almost to the minute, Harry Hitchcock's granddaughter made an equally dramatic, if brief, appearance in the courtroom. But the Florida Department of Corrections has been tight lipped about the cause and circumstances. She had retained Boston attorney E. Richard Cirace to advise her and represent her interests. 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. He was very congenial, very eager to talk, Sands recalls. Nothing was heard from him at all during the trial, she said. Benson was also charged with the attempted first-degree murder of his sister, Carol Lynn Benson Kendall. 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. 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. Puncture wound of right temple made by a sharpened instrument ('shank')," the report states. 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. Only Carol Lynn Benson survived in this tragic blast. The jury convicted 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. Nervously at first, but then more calmly, she testified in response to the prosecutor's questions. Toxicology tests showed no drugs in Benson's system, the report states. 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. Please enable JavaScript to properly view our site. 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. The only survivor of the blast, Steven Benson's sister, Carol Lynn. Sands said he was only allowed to speak with Steven Benson for a couple of minutes because he wasnt family. Prosecutors said it showed that while Carol Lynn owed her mother $118,560.33, Steven's IOU was $268,163.89. I have a strong feeling Steven Benson also knew, Cirace said. Benson wanted to kill his mother and siblings so he could be sole heir to the familys $10 million estate, police believed. 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. Reached Friday about her brothers death, she said, I really have no comment.. Steven Wayne Benson was an American double murderer of his mother, tobacco heiress Margaret Benson, and his brother, tennis player Scott Benson. [4] While she was being helped by the golfer, Carol Lynn Benson Kendall's brother Steven stood and watched the carnage. He was born in 1951 in Baltimore. Benson said he first went to get coffee and doughnuts at a nearby store. It was then that she had her personal secretary run a tab of what her children owed her. [4] Kendall survived but was badly burned; Margaret and Scott died instantly from the bomb blast. Collier Circuit Judge Hugh D. Hayes issued the ruling Monday. But the jury only wanted to have portions of Carol Lynn Benson Kendall's testimony read back. Your email address will not be published. Carol Lynn testified that she thought Scott's being there was a "silly request. Office: 954-789-0834. I heard a lot of cursing and swearing.. I hope he does, she said. Also Read : . An email has been sent with a link to confirm list signup. That she was once a beauty contest winner is easy to see. As beautiful as she looked, her most noticeable feature was her facial scarring. Its like the story that keeps on giving. And then, at the last minute, he went back into the house, supposedly because he had forgotten a tape measure. 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. Mail Address: Law Offices of Carol Lynn B Kendall, Esq 2719 Hollywood Blvd Ste 164 Hollywood, FL 33020-4821. When he returned, they said, he prepared to join his family to look at a piece of land his mother had bought. I guess he didnt want him to go to hell.. 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. Hed always been sort of strange, she says. 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. Maybe it was the money, the power and the greed, they say. He was just not your usual teenager. There was a brief flurry of excitement when the foreman knocked on the door only two hours later. The explosion was so loud that golfers ran off the course to see what had happened. Born on Christmas Day 1963 in a Baltimore hospital to Carol Lynn Benson, then an unmarried teen-ager, he was adopted by Margaret and Edward Benson. He never looked at anybody, says Murphy, who sat right behind Benson during the trial. My memorys getting pretty hazy. He said Steven was laughing. 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. They had a heckuva fight out of it, he says. He just ignored it.. A jury convicted Steven Benson of first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder and arson of a dwelling. Carol Lynn Benson Kendall. 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. 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. I think it was the dumbest murder I ever solved that had been planned. 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. Benson crying on the first day of his trial. I think it was just pure greed for money, Murphy said. He parked it and positioned his family in it. 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." Many members of the family have disappeared from public view in the past 20 years. 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. 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. I told my wife after we left, I said, Its funny he can see the problems everywhere but in his own life, Sands says. (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. Hitchcock died in 1990, five years after the Florida killings. He found Steven Benson inside his mothers house, talking on a telephone. Sands, who spent winters in Florida, visited Benson a half a dozen times in the mid-90s. . Bar Number: 555258. The Steven Benson case drew national media coverage in 1986. 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. After Harry Hitchcock had health problems in the late 1950s, Edward ran the company for him. Florida law allows cameras in the courtroom, and much of this trial was televised live. 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. Moments later, a second bomb, this one planted in the rear of the vehicle, exploded. He was sobbing.. 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. Carol 's cause of death is unknown to us at this time. Justice is justice," he said. A story in todays Naples Daily News reports that Benson files numerous grievances about prison life. The Trustees set up a trust for Kendall, a trust for Stephen, and a share for Scott. Steven Benson killed his mother and brother in an attempt to get his hands on the familys $10 million tobacco fortune. A maid testified that he was "the apple of his mother's eye." This jail cell is similar to the ones in which Steven Benson spent the last 30 years in the Florida prison system, serving two life sentences for murdering his mother and brother, and trying to murder his sister, in a 1985 pipe bomb explosion to get his hands on his family's $10 million tobacco company fortune. Its still fresh in my memory, he said. Benson was sentenced to life in prison. Simpson trial before the O.J. https://insideeko.com/carol-lynn-benson-kendall-obituary-d/ insideeko.com malevolent." McDonnell argued that palm print identification is not reliable. He just stood there. Not just Steven, but the whole family was just ugly. 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 bills were sent to and paid for by Margaret. Attorneys representing Steven Benson, 36, and Margaret Bensons daughter, Carol Lynn Benson Kendall, 43, said they both probably will appeal Mondays ruling. The only survivor of the blast, Steven Benson's sister, Carol Lynn Benson Kendall, testifies about the explosion and injuries she sustained. He walked behind him and put his hand on his shoulder and he said, Steven Benson is a nice person. 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. Murphys daughter, Brenda, was there that day. Not Eligible to Practice Law in Florida . He was stabbed in the neck in 1991 by a prisoner who was later sent to a mental hospital. She thought he had been embezzling family funds and had called her attorney to check into it. This orange thing was all around me. But everyone agreed that she had done so well, it might be unwise to risk a second appearance. Later, investigators found a receipt, with Bensons palm print, for the purchase of pieces of pipe and end caps used in the bomb. Oh no, she thought. He was 63, the same age his mother was when he killed her. 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: . He worked in the laundry. 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. [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.) 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 County's most notorious killer himself met with a violent end. [9][10] Benson was in a long running feud with Cordell Washington, another inmate at the facility. Daddy. In the Know: Is that Benson guy still in prison? And he complained. . 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. Benson died earlier this month in a Florida prison, where he was serving two life sentences for the crimes. He is also charged with the attempted murder of his sister, Carol Lynn. He was tall and thin and looked intellectual. 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. Support local journalism. 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. 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. We learned about the passing of Carol Lynn Benson Kendall on May 23, 2022. Or purchase a subscription for unlimited access to real news you can count on. It was very weird.
