John Benzing Claims Woman Was Abusive Cat Hoarder
Paul Venema, KSAT 12 News Reporter
POSTED: Wednesday, September 28, 2011
SAN ANTONIO -- The lead detective in the investigation into the death of Leona Benzing, 79, said the odor in the North side home the woman shared with her husband John Benzing, 61, was so overpowering that investigators were forced to wear masks.
"There wasn't much furniture in the living room and the odor was so strong it required masks," San Antonio police Det. Randy Jones said.
He said there were upwards of 50 cats in and around the home.
Benzing is on trial for his wife's Sept. 22, 2009, killing.
He called police and said he had killed his wife, according to police. The woman's body was found in her bed. She had been beaten with a hammer and stabbed repeatedly with a knife.
"I talked to John - I recorded it. I asked him if he called 911 and he said he did. I asked him about his wife and he said she was dead," Jones testified. "Detective Doerer talked to him at the station and he said he killed her."
At the trial's outset, prosecutors told the jury that Benzing had grown weary of his wife's cat hoarding and her physical and mental abuse.
Testimony will continue on Thursday in Judge Juanita Vasquez-Gardner's 399th District Court.
If Benzing is found guilty of murder, he is facing a maximum sentence of life in prison.
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