In the late hours of a Tuesday evening in Allenport, Pennsylvania, the life of 51-year-old Jeanne S. Bennati was tragically cut short. On September 23, 2014, Bennati was found deceased in front of her residence on Locust Street, the victim of a single gunshot wound to the head. Her death was quickly ruled a homicide by the Washington County Coroner.
The investigation into her death pointed to her ex-husband, 42-year-old Ryan Lee Foster of Charleroi.
According to friends and family, their relationship had been fraught with turmoil, causing Bennati to fear for her safety and change the locks on her home multiple times in an effort to keep him away. Her daughter, Alexis Wadsworth, later recounted that her mother had expressed her fear of Foster shortly before her death. There had been a documented history of violence, including a 2011 incident where Foster threatened Bennati's daughter with a knife, for which he later pleaded guilty to simple assault and received probation.
The search for Foster came to a somber end the morning after Bennati's murder. He was discovered deceased in his vehicle in a parking lot approximately four miles from the crime scene in Dunlevy. Authorities confirmed that he had died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, concluding the investigation as a murder-suicide.
Jeanne Bennati was a mother and grandmother, remembered by her daughter as an amazing parent who had raised her on her own. She was an assistant manager for the Monessen Senior Center and had held various other jobs throughout her life, including as a casino supervisor. Her death left behind a grieving family and a community shaken by the senseless act of domestic violence.
