Aug. 29, 2024

Snakes, Lies, and Murder: The Ben Renick Story

Show Notes
Transcript

Snakes, Lies, and Murder: The Ben Renick Story

In this episode, we delve into the chilling and twisted story of Ben Renick, a renowned snake breeder found dead in his Missouri home, surrounded by his prized reptiles. Initially suspected to be a tragic accident involving one of his snakes, the investigation takes a dark turn as secrets about his wife, Lynlee, begin to unravel. From financial woes to infidelity and a shocking murder plot, this case is packed with jaw-dropping revelations. Join us as we explore how love, greed, and betrayal led to the tragic demise of the "Rock Star" of the reptile world.

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June seventeenth, twenty seventeen, in Montgomery County, Missouri, law enforcement

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responded to a nine to one one call that you

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just don't see every day. As they pulled into a

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farm sprawling over seventy two acres, they found the owner

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lying in a pool of his own blood. This man

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was Ben Rennick, the bonafide rock star of the reptile world,

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who had over three thousand snakes surrounding him in various

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cages and displays. As if that didn't make this case

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unique enough, it was more than likely that one of

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these snakes was still on the loose and could potentially

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strike again. But Ben had his reasons. Aside from a

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burning passion for having so many dangerous animals in the

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middle of his home, Benrinnick was actually an internationally renowned

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snake breeder. What it started as an interest when he

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was only a child had quickly blossomed into a booming business.

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Ben was doing stuff nobody had seen before. Friend and

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fellow breeder David Levinson later spoke to the press he

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had a lot of world's firsts over the years. Through

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his company Rennick Reptiles Ink, Ben bred snakes with unique

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colored combinations and patterns, essentially filling a hole in the

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market for bespoke designer pets and reptiles. His animals usually

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sold for upwards of one hundred thousand dollars and went

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from everywhere in the States to all the way across

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the ocean to Japan. Maybe needless to say that when

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Ben's wife, Linley and his brother Sam called the police

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after the discovery of his body, the blame almost immediately

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went to one of these prized reptiles. My brother's skull

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was crushed. Sam later said it had to have been

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a snake, he told the nine one one operator over

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the phone. Investigators rushed to the scene and pronounced Ben

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Rennick dead. He was twenty nine years old at the time.

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During the then desperate search to locate and secure the

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dangerous snake believed to have killed him, a grief stricken

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Linley explained what had happened. She claimed to have come

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home and found Ben lying in a pool of his

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own blood. Not knowing what else to do, she then

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called her brother in law Sam and asked for help.

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It had been Sam's idea to call in law enforcement

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and seek aid in capturing the snake that had killed

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his brother. In my wildest dreams, I would have never

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imagined someone would hurt Ben. Sam later spoke to the press,

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but the investigators quickly ruled out that Ben's death had

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been an accident. Lying on the shelf above Ben's body

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was a discharged shell casing, and the investigators would quickly

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find more. It turned out that Ben had been shot

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eight times. One of those had been in the head,

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which had then caused the initial false impression that his

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skull had been crushed. The investigators quickly turned their attention

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from locating a deadly snake to finding Ben's real killer.

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They first held his brother Sam as the prime suspect

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after discovering disputes that the two men had been having

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over the Rennick farm and property. But there was another

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big contender in this arena, Ben's wife, Linley. Ben and

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Linley had known each other since they were teenagers, but

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they had parted ways, only to reconnect again in twenty eleven.

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They were married three years later and had a child together.

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As threw herself into helping Ben develop his snake breeding business.

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By twenty seventeen, Ben had made a million dollar deal

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that included the sale of some pythons and anacondas, and

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it looked like the young family would be set for

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life with one successful business under their belts. Linley then

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wanted to try her hand at running her own business.

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She and Ben opened up a spa called Essentia Spa, Inc.

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And established themselves as the couple to be in Montgomery County.

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Only things are never quite as they seem on the surface.

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Investigators quickly uncovered Facebook messages between the couple where they

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were arguing about finances and Linley's mismanagement of the spa.

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It turned out that Linley was way behind on her loan,

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her rent, and staff payments, and now her business was

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throwing the entire financial stability of the family into jeopardy.

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Sensing a potential motive for murder, the police questioned Lindley.

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They even tested her hands for gunshot residue, but the

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tests came back negative. It looked like the investigation had

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been barking up the wrong tree. Linley was released and

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the investigation continued, and then detectives uncovered another string of

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messages between Ben and Linley. It turned out that only

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three years into their marriage, Linley had cheated on Ben

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with multiple men from the messages between them, it looked

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like Ben had been suspicious about Linley and her infidelity,

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but had no proof. At the time, the Montgomery County

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couple to be was actually falling apart of the seams,

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and then the investigators heard a statement from a SPA

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employee that added fuel to the growing fire. It turned

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out that a month before Ben had been murdered, Linley

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had come into work and opened up about some of

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her most painful secrets. She claimed that Ben was abusing

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her and that she didn't see a way out of

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her marriage. Desperate to help her friend and boss, this

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SPA employee had then agreed to do something heinous. She

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and Lindley laced a protein shake with fifteen percocet pills

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and gave it to Ben. Ben was poisoned. He became

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incredibly sick, but miraculously he survived this murder attempt. He

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then went on about his life, unaware of the fact

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that he was living with someone who had literally just

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tried to kill him. But the investigators would only find

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out about this attempt on Ben's life much further along

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the course of the investigation. For the moment and the

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initial period after Ben's death. Ben's friends and family, especially

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those who knew him from the reptile community, were left

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reeling from the sudden loss. They raised money to help

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support Ben's family and his prize possessions his snakes to

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see that they went to good homes and reptile experts

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within the community. But on the flip side of the coin,

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only two weeks after the death of her husband, Linley

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made preparations to sell the Rennick farm. This action in

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and of itself tells us that she was in a

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bit of a hurry to financially cash in on her

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husband's death, but that wasn't the only thing that she did.

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Mere days after Ben had been murdered, Linley was on

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the phone to the insurance company asking how she could

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claim on Ben's million dollar life insurance policy. She was

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now looking less like a grief stricken widow and more

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like a prime suspect in the death of her husband.

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She was interviewed a total of six times and even

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took a polygraph test. She unsurprisingly failed a polygraph, but

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that alone isn't enough for law enforcement to arrest or

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charge her with murder. With the detective severely lacked was

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physical evidence, and it would take three long years for

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there to be any movement in the case. But it

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started with a tip that came from a jail cell.

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A witness claimed to have overheard a conversation about Linley

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killing Ben with the help of one of her ex boyfriends,

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a man named Michael Humphrey. That wasn't much to go by,

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but it was enough to arrest both Lindley and and

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Michael on suspicion of murder. In the hot seat once again,

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this time, Linley surprisingly cracked. She told investigators that she

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had asked Michael to go with her to the farm

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that day. It turned out that she was finally going

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to pull the plug on her marriage, and she wanted

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back up just in case things turned sour. Linley claimed

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that she had no idea that Michael had been carrying

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a weapon that day. It had never been the plan

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to kill or even hurt Ben, but during the course

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of the argument, Michael had drawn his weapon and shot

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her husband. As you can imagine, Michael had a very

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different version of events. He did admit that he'd shot

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Ben that day, but it had actually been Linley who

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fired the killing shot. Exactly which one of them was

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telling the truth didn't seem to matter much. In the end,

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the jury found them both guilty of second degree murder

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and sent them both to prison. Michael received a life sentence. Linley,

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Ben's wife, the mother of his child and maybe the

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mastermind behind the entire plot, received sixteen years. At a

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Boom County John sentenced Linley Rennick to sixteen years in

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prison after she was convicted of killing her husband, Ben

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Renick in twenty seventeen. ABC seventeen's Laylah Mitchell is live

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from the Boone County Courthouse. She covered this case from

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start to finish. Laila Ben Rennick's brother spoke for the

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first time this whole case.

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Devin Lucas. Emotions were high in the courtroom today as

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Sam Rennick told the court how Linley's choices and actions

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have affected their family since twenty seventeen, and Judge Kevin

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Crane did not take today lately and even had words

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for Lindley at the end of the sentencing. Last month,

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a jury sentenced Lindley to thirteen years in prison for

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second degree murder and three years for armed criminal action. Today,

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Judge Kevin Crane, agreeing with the jury, sentenced Lindley to

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sixteen years in prison. Flint's count one thirteen years, Count

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two three years said sentences to run consecutively. Ben's brother

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Sam spoke to the judge and the court for the

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first time, asking for the maximum possible sentence. And she

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murdered my brother to profit from his death. Lenny Rennick

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is a murderer. She will always be a murderer. Linley

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maintains that she did not kill Ben, but that her

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ex boyfriend Michael Humphrey shot him in twenty seventeen. During

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Linley's three day trial in December, Humphrey told a different story.

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Whatever phrase she used, you understand it to mean.

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What talking about killing Ben?

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What did you tell her about your acknowledge willingness killer?

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I'm not in on my that Today. The defense asked

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the judge for a ten year sentence.

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Injury by finding murder of a second degree, rejecting the

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fact that this was a premeditated burder.

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The prosecution, like Sam, asked the judge for the maximum

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prize for her children, her family, those things d and

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Judge Crane had this message for Lindley. You're awful lucky ma'am.

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You're gonna get out in your forties and my forties

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work too bad. I just hope you don't kill again.

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That's it.

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Snakes, Lies, and Murder: The Ben Renick Story

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Snakes, Lies, and Murder: The Ben Renick Story