THE DARK SIDE OF IOWA
Shawn Bentler
#6140607
photo courtesy CBS News
Full Name: Shawn Michael Bentler
DOB: February 5, 1984
Charge: 1st degree murder
County: Van Buren
City: Bonaparte
Current Status: Anamosa State Penitentiary
Date of Crime: October 14, 2006
Tentative Discharge Date: Life
Victim: Sandra, Michael, Sheena, Shelby, and Shayne Bentler
DOB: February 5, 1984
Charge: 1st degree murder
County: Van Buren
City: Bonaparte
Current Status: Anamosa State Penitentiary
Date of Crime: October 14, 2006
Tentative Discharge Date: Life
Victim: Sandra, Michael, Sheena, Shelby, and Shayne Bentler
At 3:38 AM on October 14, 2006, a 911 call was made from the landline of Sandra and Mike Bentler. The recording of that 911 establishes that a person identified as Shayne Bentler tells the operator that her mother told her to call and that "[my] brother's gonna do something, I don't know what. My mom's yelling at him saying 'Shawn, don't.'" A woman's voice can be heard in the background screaming, "Please don't! Please Shawn don't!" There is a popping sound. Seconds later, Shayne screams, "Shawn, no!" and the line goes dead.
While the 911 operator was speaking with Shayne, a second call came into the 911 system. After the call from Shayne ended, the 911 operator attempted to switch over to the other call but there was no caller on the line. The operator called the number of the unanswered call and got Shelby Bentler's voicemail. The number was for a cell phone registered to Sandra Bentler. The 911 operator then called the Bentler landline and got no answer.
At 3:55 AM, law enforcement arrived at the Bentler home. When the house was searched, the bodies of Shawn Bentler's mother, Sandra; father, Michael; and his three sisters, Sheena, Shelby and Shayne were found. Michael's body was found in the doorway to the master bedroom. Sandra's body was found at the top of the stairs. Shayne's body was found in a closet with parts of the telephone receiver around her and the imprint of the telephone on her face. She had been shot through the head with a .22-caliber rifle, as had the four other Bentler family members. Shelby's body was also found in a closet, with a cell phone near her body. Sheena's body was found on her bed in a lower level of the house.
While the 911 operator was speaking with Shayne, a second call came into the 911 system. After the call from Shayne ended, the 911 operator attempted to switch over to the other call but there was no caller on the line. The operator called the number of the unanswered call and got Shelby Bentler's voicemail. The number was for a cell phone registered to Sandra Bentler. The 911 operator then called the Bentler landline and got no answer.
At 3:55 AM, law enforcement arrived at the Bentler home. When the house was searched, the bodies of Shawn Bentler's mother, Sandra; father, Michael; and his three sisters, Sheena, Shelby and Shayne were found. Michael's body was found in the doorway to the master bedroom. Sandra's body was found at the top of the stairs. Shayne's body was found in a closet with parts of the telephone receiver around her and the imprint of the telephone on her face. She had been shot through the head with a .22-caliber rifle, as had the four other Bentler family members. Shelby's body was also found in a closet, with a cell phone near her body. Sheena's body was found on her bed in a lower level of the house.
The Bentler Family, courtesy Murderpedia
Shawn's cell phone was found at the residence. A call had been placed from his phone to a friend of his at 12:09 AM. Shawn, the only remaining living member of the Bentler family, lived in Quincy, Illinois, a one-hour-twenty-minute drive from the Bentler house. Iowa law enforcement contacted Quincy law enforcement and asked that Shawn be placed under surveillance. Shawn left his residence around 10 AM on October 14 on his motorcycle and, at about 10:20 AM, was stopped by Quincy police for driving without a valid license and on an outstanding arrest warrant. He was taken into custody but Quincy officers did not tell him about the murder of his family.
On October 15, charges were filed in Iowa accusing Shawn of the murder of his family. Some time later, agent Richard Rahn entered the evidence closet and opened the paper bags that contained Shawn's clothing and personal effects. He saw what he thought might be blood on the socks worn by Shawn at the time of his arrest. The DNA test on the blood found on Shawn's socks came back as consistent with Sandra's blood.
A friend of Shawn's, Keith Gratz, who knew Shawn growing up and was his roommate in Quincy until a few weeks before the murders, said that Shawn had trouble keeping jobs and was behind in paying his bills and child support to two young daughters he had with two different women. At the time of his arrest, Shawn's water had been turned off. When Keith asked Shawn for help with bills and to pay rent for the house they shared, Shawn would go to Iowa and come back with items like jewelry and bags of quarters. Keith now suspects Shawn was taking it all from his parents' safe. "Shawn was a pawnshop freak," Keith said. "He was always selling his stuff. Then not long before this happened, he went up there (to Iowa) and came back with a bag of quarters to pay his bills."
Keith saw Shawn in Quincy late on the night of October 13, hours before the murders. At around 8 AM on October 13, about four-and-a-half hours after the murders took place, Keith stopped by the Quincy house and said Shawn was asleep on the couch. Keith said Shawn often borrowed roommates' cars without asking and another roommate, Nathan Holder, was missing about a quarter of a tank of gas.
Shawn was found guilty of first-degree murder. Prosecutors said that Shawn, 23, wanted to inherit money from the family's successful grain elevator and lumberyard businesses. They said that is what led Shawn to shoot his parents and siblings. Shawn took the stand during trial and repeatedly denied killing his family. He reminisced about holding each of his sisters at their births, described a bond with his mother and spoke proudly of his father.