Apparently, the idea was to cut down on speeches to the jury, and to speed things along. Another daily attendee was a lawyer representing the trust funds left by Harry Hitchcock's late wife. Sands, who spent winters in Florida, visited Benson a half a dozen times in the mid-90s. It all came back to him.. She also said that Steven was gone so long for coffee that she kidded he "could have gone all the way to Fort Myers. Murphys daughter, Brenda, was there that day. (Admitted to practice: 2002) Further, Kendall shall pay . It came to an average monthly payment of more than $10,000, or a grand total of "around a quarter of a million dollars.". Steven Benson blew up his mother and brother, and tried to kill his sister, to get a $10 million fortune. The Chevrolet Suburban was blown all to bits and pieces, with a body lying out on each side.. ", As for the positioning of the vehicle's occupants, "I thought it was awfully strange that Scott was driving. It wasn't the prison pallor that surprised people who had known him; it was the grim and almost affectless bearing. 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. Margaret Benson and her adopted son, Scott, were killed in the 1985 blast at their Naples home. She cannot believe that two decades have passed since the day that two family members were killed and her familys life was changed forever. Steven was paid $244,974.39 so he could pay his legal fees. Success! 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. He thought he was better than everybody else.. He. Hollywood's Carol Lynn Benson Kendall (University of Richmond School of Law, admitted to the Florida Bar 2002) got disbarred, the final step after her suspension in February and a. 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. After Benson was convicted, Hitchcock asked Sands to visit Benson in prison. 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. Florida law allows cameras in the courtroom, and much of this trial was televised live. 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. Had she not left the rear door of the unairconditioned Chevy Suburban wagon open on that miserably hot July morning 13 months ago in Naples, Fla., she, like her mother and her 21-year-old adopted "brother" Scott, would also be dead. Many members of the family have disappeared from public view in the past 20 years. In prison records, Benson listed the oldest of his three children, twins Victoria and Christopher, as his next of kin. Jul 23, 2015. I hope he does, she said. 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. Support local journalism. While she was being helped by the golfer, Carol Lynn Benson Kendall's brother Steven stood and watched the carnage. Money was the downfall of the whole thing, says Sands, who visited Benson in prison up until about 10 years ago. Debunking the Myth: Is Maduro a Dictator? "I couldn't understand why he wasn't coming over to help me," she testified to a packed but dead silent courtroom. Attorneys, an investigator and a juror have never forgotten what Steven Benson did, and how it affected their lives in the years since he was convicted of killing his family in Naples, Florida. He was just not your usual teenager. 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. Carol Lynn Benson Kendall is 42 years old. 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. That she was once a beauty contest winner is easy to see. The next day, Wayne Kerr, at whose wedding Steven Benson had been the best man, took the stand. 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. He is a good brother. 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. 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. (AP Photo). ", When they got back to Naples, Margaret told Steven she wanted to meet with him and Kerr that evening and "talk business." 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. Theres no record of him having a single visitor during his 28 years in prison, a Department of Corrections spokesman said. The problems, Sands says, were all Benson wanted to talk about during the visits. 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. It wasnt discussed. Mrs. Kendalls attorney, E. Richard Cirace of Boston, confirmed the report. Lets go with disastrous hate. Attorneys representing Steven Benson, 36, and Margaret Benson's daughter, Carol Lynn Benson Kendall, 43, said they both probably will appeal Monday's ruling. Before the day was over, according to newspaper accounts, Steven had asked for and received a loan of $20,000 from his grandfather. The Fallout, At the funeral of Margaret and Scott Benson, Steven sat between his wife Debra and his grandfather, Harry Hitchcock. Steven Benson blew up his family in the driveway of their Florida home in July 1985. 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. It also wanted to rehear some of what the government fingerprint expert had said about the palm prints. Margaret Benson adopted her grandson as her son, to cover up the fact that her daughter, a former beauty queen, became pregnant with a water skier from Cypress Gardens, said Cirace, now 64. 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. 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. Dwight Brock was an assistant state attorney in Florida, specializing in white collar crime, when Steven Benson was arrested. 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. . It is said that she has taken their three children and returned to her small Wisconsin home town. Also Read:Mariannette Miller-Meeks : Role during Iowa elections. 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. When the Challenger space shuttle exploded a year after the Florida murders, Hitchcock broke down, Murphy recalls. 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. He got stabbed, and a knife was found in his own cell. It was then that she had her personal secretary run a tab of what her children owed her. Also on the public record is a 3-year-old paternity suit filed by Scott's former live-in girl. Most recently, he was assigned as a houseman, performing maintenance and cleaning duties. Benson told his family members where to sit in the Suburban. I saw you on TV. Police later learned that Scott. 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. 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. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. 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. Amos Sands of West Donegal Township remembers the day 20 years ago today as well. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Please enter your username or email address to reset your password. Within this circle, there was lots of money. Its been decades since his trial attracted attention, though TV specials still pop up on cable channels from time to time. Here, prosecuting attorney Jerry Brock addresses members of the media outside the Florida courtroom where the case took place. Young had several reasons to suspect Benson. Kendall was retained by clients in two separate cases but failed to adequately represent them. To Carol Lynn Benson Kendall, this question is, in a sense, peripheral. District Court of Appeal of Florida, Second District. . He complimented the jury for its "staying power," but that didn't stop him from holding court all day Saturday, too. He just ignored it.. Harry Hitchcock, second from right, patriarch of the Benson family and founder of the Lancaster Leaf Tobacco Co., with his daughter Janet Murphy in a hallway of the Florida courthouse during the trial their family member, Steven Benson. ", 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. 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. The killings, prosecutors said, were sparked by one motive. 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. Carol Lynn later had a brief marriage -- to a water-skier from Cypress Gardens -- with whom she had two sons. Thats how Margaret died. I never saw him cry as much as he did with the Challenger. All but 30 remain open investigations. 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. Hed always been sort of strange, she says. He just wouldnt respond to it, Sands says. 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. 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 Benson Kendall, 42, of Brookline, Mass. I remember when my sister had him here was this baby and then he ends up killing her. 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 . Eventually the second will was ruled valid, but before that happened, Steve Benson was arrested. Inmates told investigators that Washington planned to extort $1,000 from Benson within days after arriving at Taylor Correctional Institution. The mangled Benson family 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. and never miss an insightful take by the TFIGlobal team, This website uses cookies. 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. 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. Then the witness surprised the judge by asking if he could make a "statement." She thought he had been embezzling family funds and had called her attorney to check into it. 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. 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. But a witness for the defense, Steven's secretary, testifed Steven never left the office during the times when the pipe and end caps were purchased. A jury convicted Steven Benson of first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder and arson of a dwelling. Carol Lynn Benson Kendall, a former Naples City Council candidate, is now a lawyer in Broward County focusing on family law and real estate. The chief prosecutor, Jerry Brock, argued she had made conflicting statements in earlier depositions. Represented by attorney Michael McDonnell, Steven Benson was ultimately convicted of first degree murder, attempted first degree murder, and arson of a dwelling. They have never learned to live, really.. 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. Im 91 now, Sands said when reached by phone Friday. 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