BY TERESA STEPZINSKISTORY UPDATED AT 2:24 AM ON SATURDAY, DEC. 12, 2009
A Pierce County man who murdered his ex-wife to avoid paying alimony last year has been sentenced to life in prison.
Archie Edward Bennett Jr., 67, received the maximum sentence for luring Shirley Dial Bennett, 66, to his home where he shot her and then set it on fire in an effort to hide her death.
Chief Superior Court Judge Dwayne Gillis sentenced Bennett on Thursday night immediately after a jury found him guilty of felony murder, arson and concealing the death of another in the Sept. 5, 2008, slaying. The jury deliberated about four hours.
The former couple had lived in neighboring homes on the same piece of property in Pierce County
The victim died from a 12-gauge shotgun blast fired so close that eight buckshot pellets and pieces of the shotgun shell were embedded in her abdomen.
Bennett doused his ex-wife's body and the inside and outside of the house with diesel fuel and set it afire. The blaze burned part of her body and severely damaged the home.
In his closing arguments, District Attorney Rick Currie told jurors Archie Bennett was tired of giving her half of his retirement pension in alimony. At the time, Bennett was separated from his second wife and his girlfriend, and his finances were strained because of the economy, Currie said.
When interviewed, Bennett told authorities he shot her because "she headed toward me raising hell, and I had all I could take." That videotaped interview was played for the jury during the trail.
"I raised the gun up and shot her ... I'm guilty of murder," Bennett said on the recording.
Bennett also said he set the fire because he got scared.
Bennett did not testify. His lawyer, John Thigpen, asserted in his final argument that Shirley Bennett was killed accidentally. Bennett lived in fear of her and did not intend to hurt her, Thigpen said.
Bennett received a life sentence on the murder count, 20 years for arson and 10 years for concealing a death. Gillis ordered the sentences to run consecutively.
He must serve at least 30 years before becoming eligible for parole, Currie said.
teresa.stepzinski@jacksonville. com, (912) 264-0405
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