Milwaukee, WI: 'Tell the cops he did it,' woman tells friend before her death

Partner, 40, held in strangulation of woman
e-mail print By Jesse Garza of the Journal Sentinel
Sept. 17, 2011

The evening before she was found strangled and beaten to death inside her north side apartment, 30-year-old Carmen M. Santana told a neighbor, "If I ever die, tell the cops he did it."

"He," according to a criminal complaint, is Darrick L. Bennett, 40, who was charged Friday with first-degree reckless homicide in connection with Santana's death.

Santana was found early Tuesday in the apartment she shared with Bennett and his two children in the 6100 block of W. Medford Ave., according to the complaint filed in Milwaukee County Circuit Court.

An autopsy revealed that Santana suffered multiple blunt-force injuries to her head and neck and was manually strangled, the complaint said.

A domestic abuse restraining order against Bennett was obtained by an unnamed petitioner on Sept. 21, 2010, but was dropped Oct. 4 after Bennett and the petitioner did not appear for an injunction hearing, according to state court records.

According to the complaint:

Santana, Bennett and his children had lived in the apartment about two years.

A woman who lives in the same apartment building told a detective that Monday evening Santana said Bennett "has been beating her a lot lately."

The woman said she was aware that the couple had a long history of physical abuse and that Santana said the abuse had become increasingly worse.

It was then that Santana told the woman to talk to police if she was ever found dead.

Shortly before 6 a.m. the next morning the neighbor was awakened by firefighters who were trying to gain entry to Santana's apartment.

After trying to reach Santana with her cell phone, the woman called Bennett, who stated that he had called 911.

When the woman asked Bennett if he had beaten Santana, he replied, "No, it's worse than that."

Bennett was in custody Friday in the Milwaukee County Jail, with his bail set at $100,000, according to jail records.

If convicted, he could be sentenced to up to 60 years in prison.