Shawn Bentler
| Shawn Bentler | |
|---|---|
| Born |
5 February 1984 Iowa, USA |
Criminal penalty | Life imprisonment in Iowa State Prison |
| Motive | Inheritance |
| Killings | |
| Date |
October 14, 2006 3:30 a.m. |
| Killed | 5 |
| Weapon(s) | .22 caliber rifle |
Shawn Bentler (born February 5, 1984) is a convicted mass murderer from Bonaparte, Iowa.
The crime
Shawn murdered his parents and three teenage sisters in the early hours of Oct. 14, 2006, with a .22 caliber rifle. Prosecutors claimed his motivation was to inherit the family fortune.
The key piece of evidence in the trial was a 911 call placed by his 14-year-old sister, Shayne. In the 3:30 a.m. call, she told dispatchers her brother was in the home and "going to do something." The phone call ended with a scream.
Shawn Bentler took the stand and said he had stolen from his parents and hated his father, but did not kill his family.[1]
Sentencing
On June 19, 2007, Shawn Bentler was sentenced to four concurrent life sentences and a consecutive life sentence to be served in an Iowa State Prison. The four life sentences that are concurrent are for the murders of the three Bentler girls and their father, Michael Bentler.
Judge Michael Mullins sentenced Bentler to a consecutive sentence for the murder of his mother, Sandra Bentler. Mullins called that death in particular "absolutely merciless."