Man who found Hanahan victim 'knew something wasn't right'

7-17-2012 South Carolina:

Hanahan — Roy Ray Bennett had been a victim of crime before.

Last week, a man was arrested on forgery charges after $10,000 worth of checks were cashed in Bennett's name.

And Bennett had been accused of crime, too.

He recently learned that prosecutors were pursuing a trial in his 2009 child pornography arrest.

But Bennett's son doesn't know why anyone would want to hurt the man, known by residents of his Otranto neighborhood as “Mr. Ray.” The retiree and Army veteran was found dead in his bed about 1 p.m. Sunday, his limbs bound with duct tape and a bag over his head, according to the person who discovered his body.

“Who kills a 71-year-old man?” Tim Bennett, a 47-year-old Columbia resident, said outside his father's home Monday. “I was just hoping he died in his sleep.

“I found out he was murdered instead. I thought he had passed peacefully.”

The Hanahan Police Department released few additional details Monday about the city's first homicide this year. Berkeley County Coroner Bill Salisbury said an autopsy Monday morning did not immediately indicate how he died and that toxicology tests might shed light on that.

Detectives found no sign of forced entry at Bennett's home at 2 Lombardi Lane and were still looking for his Toyota Tacoma pickup, which was thought to be stolen after the killing.

A neighbor who borrowed Bennett's lawn mower Sunday morning told The Post and Courier that he became suspicious when he spotted two men inside Bennett's Toyota. The neighbor said the men, who had been living with Bennett for a short time, scrambled back inside the house.

When the neighbor returned with the mower and to check on Bennett, he saw several empty bottles of alcohol on a counter. He walked through an unlocked door and found Bennett's body on the bed.

“He was a nice man, but he didn't let people take his truck,” said the neighbor, who cited fear of retribution in asking that his name be withheld. “I knew something wasn't right, but I didn't expect to find him in the state he was.”

Hanahan police Lt. Michael Fowler would not “confirm or deny” the account about how Bennett's body was found and said investigators still were looking for the Toyota. They intended to question several people but had developed no firm suspects, Fowler said.

At the request of the local police force, the State Law Enforcement Division was helping to run down leads and interview Bennett's acquaintances.

Neighbors said they recently saw several people from outside the community visiting the home. Some might have been staying there.

“There was a lot of traffic in and out of that house, but I can't go into details,” Fowler said. “Some of those people, we are desperately interested in talking to.”

Previous cases

Police officers knew of Bennett, though they did not visit the home frequently, according to Fowler.

An officer last spoke with him Friday, when Bennett said prosecutors were continuing to pursue the 2009 charge of second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor.

That case was based on SLED agents' discovery of “visual materials” on his computer that showed children engaged in sex, according to a 2009 news release. He was accused of downloading and distributing the porn.

In letters to neighbors, he defended himself by saying someone else had put the images on his computer and used a peer-to-peer network to share them, according to his son.

On Friday, the Hanahan officer visited his house to follow up on an arrest that the North Charleston Police Department made July 10 in which a man was accused of forging 13 of Bennett's checks and cashing $9,800 worth.

The man, 39-year-old Harry Shane Dupree of Vine Street in Goose Creek, told police that a woman would forge Bennett's signature on the checks, then give them to Dupree to cash.

But Bennett refused to tell authorities about the activity because of his history with that woman, according to Dupree's statements to the police.

“(The woman) had been a neighbor of (Bennett),” Dupree said, according to an incident report. “While she was a child, (Bennett) had supposedly taken advantage of her that was criminal in nature.”

Fowler, the Hanahan lieutenant, would not say whether Bennett's past was connected to his slaying.

“The officer went there because someone was writing bad checks,” Fowler said. “But he ended up not wanting a report.”

'Had no enemies'

Though they were aware of the allegations against him, neighbors knew Bennett as a caring man who often would lend his possessions, such as power tools.

He was a skilled woodworker. He constructed much of his own furniture from cedar.

Children living in houses along his tree-lined, dead-end street often went for a swim in his backyard pool, including 18-year-old Cody Buehrer.

“If anyone here needed anything, he was the one who did it,” said Buehrer, a next-door neighbor of Bennett's for seven years. “This cul-de-sac is losing a good man.”

A native of Raleigh, Bennett graduated from North Carolina State University in the 1960s, his son said. He then spent two years in the Army, a requirement of his involvement with the school's ROTC program.

After serving a tour in Germany during the Vietnam War, he moved to Hanahan with his wife and only child. The couple later divorced.

He worked his entire career as an electrical engineer at the MeadWestvaco paper plant in North Charleston, where he retired during the last decade.

“He kept to himself, but he liked piddling in the yard and the garden. That was his life,” said his son, who last saw Bennett on Christmas, when they ate sugar cookies and exchanged gifts. “He always had his garden of tomatoes and corn.”

Tim Bennett said his father's Sunday newspaper had been retrieved from the yard and was on his living room couch, where he read it religiously each week. Nothing in the house seemed disturbed, though his wallet was missing.

“I'm just in a numb state right now,” Tim Bennett said. “He had no enemies.” ..Source.. by Andrew Knapp

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Hanahan homicide victim was charged for child porn in 2009

7-14-2012 South Carolina:

HANAHAN, S.C. (WCIV) -- A person is dead in the Otranto area of Hanahan, and police investigators believe foul play was involved.

The victim has been identified as 71-year-old Roy Bennett. An autopsy will be conducted today to determine the cause of death. Officials say his body was found by a neighbor.

ABC News 4 spoke with Lt. Fowler with Hanahan Police this morning who said Bennett was killed between 6:30 and 10 a.m. Sunday morning.

Fowler says investigators continue to believe that Bennett knew the suspect because there was no sign of struggle. He says there were many people coming and going from the house.

According to SLED records, Bennett was charged with felony first degree sexual exploitation of a minor back in April of 2009. SLED filed those charges when investigators reported they found pornographic images of minors on Bennett's computer.

Fowler does not believe the suspect in Bennett's death was connected to the 2009 incident.

The Berkeley County Coroner's Office released a statement Monday saying an autopsy was conducted and the results are pending.

"We will be awaiting the results of toxicology test before a final cause of death can be determined," said Coroner Bill Salisbury.

Police have asked for the public's help in this investigation by locating a 2009 Toyota Tacoma taken from the home. The truck is Silver and has a license tag number of CBP-692.

Lt. Fowler said the homicide is the first in Hanahan for 2012. ..Source.. by WCIV.TV

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Arrests made in Hanahan killing

7-20-2012:

Roy Bennett may have been killed over money.

Hanahan police arrested three people Thursday night in connection with the 71-year-old's death, saying that's what drove them to go to his home over the weekend.

Brittany Lynn Swagner, 24; Robert Andrew McFadden, 24; and Robert Randolph Clark, 39, are charged with murder, according to Lt. Michael Fowler of the Hanahan Police Department.

Police believe Bennett was killed Sunday, between 6:30 a.m., when he picked up his newspaper from his Lombardi Lane home, and 1 p.m., when a neighbor found him dead in his bedroom.

The three accused in Bennett's slaying were living in area motels and didn't have permanent residences, Fowler said. They're being held in the Berkeley County jail and are scheduled for a bond hearing at 11:30 a.m. today.

Goose Creek police also will charge McFadden with possession of a stolen motor vehicle, Fowler said.

Additional charges may follow, Fowler said, as police continue their investigation.

McFadden was spotted in surveillance footage abandoning Bennett's 2009 Toyota Tacoma in the Goose Creek Walmart parking lot and walking toward a nearby Murphy USA gas station, Fowler said.

The State Law Enforcement Division scoured the truck for clues Wednesday and found fingerprints, and investigators examined surveillance video from Walmart and the gas station.

McFadden ditched the pickup in the far reaches of the Walmart camera's range, Fowler said, but police analyzed the gas station's footage Thursday and were able to capture “a really good view” of him.

A North Charleston police officer recognized McFadden in that image and knew where he hung out, Fowler said. He was arrested and helped lead police to Swagner, then to Clark.

“Everything really got rolling after we found that truck,” Fowler said.

From interviews, police also learned that the three took guns from Bennett's home, and Fowler said Clark and McFadden stole duct tape from Walmart before Bennett's death.

The neighbor found Bennett's body with duct tape around his arms and legs and a bag over his head after he returned a lawn mower he had borrowed.

Fowler said late Thursday that police are confident that they have found the three people who were at Bennett's home in the Otranto neighborhood Sunday. They haven't ruled out the possibility of other related arrests.

“The real work has just begun,” Fowler said. “It's entirely conceivable that once they realize they're charged with murder that they might be forthcoming with even more information.”

Early in their search, investigators said they hadn't found signs of forced entry in Bennett's home, leading them to think he knew his killers.

Fowler said police think Clark and Bennett knew each other “in some form or fashion.”

All three knew that Bennett had money, and police say that was the trio's motive.

Bennett's money had been exploited previously, authorities said.

On July 10, a North Charleston man was charged with forging 13 checks totaling nearly $10,000 in his name. He worked with a woman who was not charged. She was “supposedly blackmailing” Bennett over an incident from her childhood, according to a police report.

Bennett “had supposedly taken advantage of her (in a way) that was criminal in nature,” the report said.

Whether those cases are related is not clear. “We haven't made any connection as of yet to North Charleston's arrest last week,” Fowler said.

Bennett was charged in 2009 with second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor. He was accused of downloading and distributing child pornography and had been recently told that prosecutors were pursuing a trial.

An autopsy Monday didn't indicate how Bennett died, and toxicology tests are still pending. Those usually take two to three weeks to complete, said Berkeley County Coroner Bill Salisbury. ..Source.. by Thad Moore

Paedophile killer 'was murdered': Post-mortem examination confirms child rapist was strangled in jail cell

10-20-1993 United Kingdom:

LESLIE BAILEY, a convicted paedophile killer, was murdered in his cell at Whitemoor Prison despite being kept in a wing apart from other prisoners, it was confirmed yesterday.

An inquest in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, was told that post-mortem examinations had established Bailey was strangled with a ligature, which was found near his body, on 7 October. Police originally said they were not ruling out the possibility he had killed himself.

Detective Superintendent Bob Wordsworth, who is leading the inquiry, said afterwards: 'I can confirm that, as far as we are concerned, we are now treating the matter as a murder inquiry. This is based on medical evidence and other examinations by Dr Nat Carey, a Home Office pathologist.

'We will be concentrating within the prison. We have had superb co- operation from the governor and his staff as well as co-operation from the inmates. I hope we will be successful.' Mr Wordsworth said that although there were reports that Bailey had received threats, there was no evidence that he was generally hated within the prison.

Yesterday's inquest was adjourned after hearing evidence of identity from a prison officer, and of the cause of death.

Bailey was one of about 100 'Rule 43' prisoners at Whitemoor, segregated from other inmates because they could be subjected to violence. Rule 43 prisoners - so called because of the prison rules which provide for their segregation - include child murderers and abusers, paedophiles, other sex offenders and, in some prisons, informers.

Bailey's body was discovered during a 'free association' period when inmates were allowed to move around the wing and visit each other in their cells. The wing is entirely separate from the rest of the prison, which is a modern, high security establishment housing mainly Category A inmates.

Police will now continue to question all the inmates who were on the wing at the time of the murder but are likely to come up against a wall of silence which will make it difficult to establish the truth. There have been four other murders in prisons in England and Wales in the last five years.

Bailey was serving a life sentence after being convicted in 1989 of the manslaughter of a male prostitute Jason Swift, 14, and admitting the murder of Barry Lewis, aged six. Both boys were kidnapped and subjected to gang rapes by a group of east London paedophiles, who police believe may have been involved in several more child murders.

In October last year, Bailey was given two additional life sentences after pleading guilty to the manslaughter in June 1984 of Mark Tildesley, from Wokingham, Berkshire. The boy's body has never been found. The three other men convicted with Bailey are being held in Albany Prison on the Isle of Wight. One of them, Sidney Cook, 66, was assaulted in his cell last week. Security at the jail is believed to have been increased. ..Source.. by TERRY KIRBY , Crime Correspondent

KS- Killing near river described

8-16-2006 Kansas: UPDATE 6-23-2009:

Topeka homeless advocate David Owen died in June as a result of asphyxiation after being bound, gagged and tied to a tree in a wooded area along the north bank of the Kansas River, authorities testified Tuesday.

Details surrounding Owen's death and events leading to it were recounted during a preliminary hearing in Shawnee County District Court for four people arrested in connection with his death.

All four defendants attended Tuesday's hearing, which adjourned in mid-afternoon and will resume at 1:30 p.m. Aug. 29.

Owen, 38, a registered sex offender who formed an organization known as Homeless Come Home, was known to visit homeless campsites near the Kansas River in an effort to get people to call family members and return home.

He was reported missing on June 24. At that time, his father, Darrell Owen, of Cimarron in southwest Kansas, stated that he last spoke to his son by telephone on June 16.

Several searches were conducted in late June before Owen's decomposing body was discovered July 2 by Topeka police using a cadaver dog in an area of tall weeds and saplings near the Kansas River.

Police on July 13 arrested four homeless people in connection with Owen's death: Carl L. Baker, 60; Charles L. Hollingsworth III, 18; Kim D. Sharp, 27; and John R. Cornell, 28.

Baker, a convicted rapist who absconded from parole from Shawnee County on April 25, was booked into the Shawnee County Jail in connection with conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, aggravated kidnapping, aggravated robbery and arson.

Hollingsworth was booked in connection with first-degree murder, aggravated kidnapping, aggravated robbery and aggravated assault.

Sharp and Cornell both were booked in connection with conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, aggravated kidnapping, aggravated robbery and arson.

Testimony Tuesday indicated Owen's death followed a heated confrontation in mid-June at a homeless campsite in North Topeka, near the Kansas River dike, where several people were staying.

Topeka police Detective Mike Barron, a lead investigator in the case, testified Owen could be aggressive in dealing with the homeless and rubbed some the wrong way by insisting they needed to start a new life.

Barron said Owen entered the campsite uninvited and got into a dispute with Hollingsworth and others that quickly escalated. After a rope was wrapped around Owen's arms and neck, Barron said, Hollingsworth and Baker walked Owen south from the campsite toward the Kansas River dike.

Barron said when Owen sat down pleading to be let go, he was dragged by his feet down a rocky incline on the south side of the dike, then to a wooded area near a railroad bridge.

With a rope around Owen's arms and neck and a rag in his mouth to keep him quiet, Barron said, Hollingsworth tied him to a tree with his feet in the air.

Hollingsworth told Owen that he could suffocate, but also could free himself by loosening part of the rope, Barron said.

Hollingsworth and Baker left Owen in that position, and Hollingsworth checked on him three times, Barron said.

"The fourth time, he found him blue," Barron said. "He was dead."

Barron said Owen was tied to the tree for at least 21/2 hours.

After Owen was found dead, Barron said, his shirt, shoes, glasses, cell phone and backpack were burned at the campsite. His body was dragged from the tree to an area near the river, where it was found.

Dr. Donald Pojman, Shawnee County deputy coroner, testified that he ruled Owen's death a homicide based on autopsy findings and police reports. He said information from the autopsy and police reports indicated an asphyxiant death.

Also testifying was Ron Greene, 35, who said he entered the campsite one evening in June searching for a male acquaintance to obtain sleeping pills. Greene, who testified he was living at the Topeka Rescue Mission at the time, said the man wasn't there, but four other people were at the campsite, in addition to Owen. He identified the four as the defendants.

When he arrived at the campsite, Greene said, Owen and Hollingsworth were having a loud dispute. Sharp had Owen's cell phone and refused to give it back to him so he wouldn't be able to call the police, as he threatened to do, Greene said.

Before he left, Greene said, he saw Hollingsworth take Owen to a wooded area near the campsite, grabbing a hatchet from a tree on the way. He said he didn't see or hear anything else before he left about 20 minutes later.

Greene said he contacted police several weeks later after learning Owen had been killed.

Cross-examination of Barron by Baker's, Hollingsworth's and Sharp's attorneys will continue when the preliminary hearing resumes.

Several of Owen's family members attended the hearing but declined comment. ..more.. by Phil Anderson

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Justice for David Owen
7-16-2007

On Friday, a jury convicted Charles Hollingsworth III of murdering David Owen, a self-appointed lobbyist for the homeless. Juries had previously returned guilty verdicts for Carl “Outlaw” Baker and Kim “Baby Girl” Sharp. A fourth defendant, “Big” John Cornell, cut a deal to turn state's witness.

I profiled Owen, a convicted sex offender (for possession of child pornography) who annoyed lawmakers in the Kansas statehouse and destroyed homeless camps near the Kansas River, in March 2006. Three months later, Owen disappeared. His body was eventually found near the Kansas River.

In February, I chronicled Owen's grisly murder – Hollingsworth had strung Owen's feet in the air, looped the rope around a tree and then cinched it around Owen's neck — if his feet dropped, the rope would strangle him.

I had written letters to Hollingsworth and the others shortly after his arrest. I told them that I wanted to know more about their lives. On September 22, Hollingsworth wrote this confession letter.

"I had to kill a man to realize that the lifestyle I was living wasn't getting me anywhere," he wrote. "I had to kill a man just to realize that the path my father was trying lead me to was actually what I needed to do and was ... the best move for me. I say I had to kill a man because of killing a man I am guilty of, but of 1st degree murder, I am not guilty of, more like reckless second/voluntary manslaughter!!"

Last week, a jury disagreed. The jury found him guilty of kidnapping and first-degree murder. ..more.. by Justin Kendall, The Plog

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Kansas Supreme Court upholds conviction of woman involved in the murder of lobbyist

6-23-2009 Kansas:

The Kansas Capitol hasn't been the same without self-appointed homeless lobbyist and registered sex offender David Owen.

Three years ago, I profiled Owen in the midst of lawmakers' sex-offender hysteria while Owen -- convicted of possessing child pornography in 1998 -- was walking the halls, which were often filled with children.

Owen wanted strict penalties for sex offenders, but his mission was to send every homeless person home. If that meant destroying homeless camps to make sure homeless people weren't feeling comfortable, then he'd trash the camps. This didn't endear him to the people who lived there.

And in June 2006, he barged in to the wrong camp. In my story, Owen claimed that his father had bought him a burial plot in case a homeless person killed him.

Four months after profiling him, I was writing about his death.

Then, the next year, I was writing about the people who killed him: four homeless people. They were all convicted and sentenced.

One of them, Kimberly Danielle Sharp, was an on-again, off-again meth addict. She was also the divorced mother of two young children -- a 3-year-old girl and a 6-year-old boy. Last Friday, the Kansas Supreme Court upheld Sharp's first-degree murder and kidnapping convictions. Here's the court's 37-page ruling.

Sharp's role in Owen's murder was burning Owen's possessions -- his phones, his photos, his messenger bag.

At her trial, lawyers argued one key point: Whether Sharp told her 18-year-old boyfriend Charles Hollingsworth III "Don't kill him" or "Don't Kill him here" when she saw Hollingsworth standing over Owen with an axe).

The Kansas Supreme Court denied Sharp's appeal on all four points:

Did the trial court err in denying Sharp's motion to suppress her confession? No.

Did the trial court err in limiting the defense's cross-examination of an accomplice witness? No.

Did the trial court err in admitting into evidence statements from two codefendants under the coconspirator exception to the hearsay rule? No.

Did cumulative error deny Sharp a fair trial? No.

Sharp entered maximum custody at Larned State Hospital on April 3, 2007, according to the Kansas Department of Correction's Web site. Sharp's earliest possible release date is July 13, 2026. ..Source.. by Justin Kendall