In the early morning hours of October 14, 2006, the quiet community of Bonaparte, Iowa, was shattered by a horrific act of violence. Inside their rural home, 14-year-old Shayné Lauree Bentler, a White female, made a desperate call to 911 at 3:38 a.m. She told the dispatcher her older brother, Shawn, was "going to do something." The call captured the chilling moments that followed, with a gunshot ringing out and someone screaming, "Shawn, no!" before the line went dead.
A second 911 call was made from her mother's cell phone at the same time but went unanswered.
When authorities arrived at the Bentler residence, they discovered a gruesome scene. Shayné, her parents Michael, 53, and Sandra, 47, and her two older sisters, Sheena, 17, and Shelby, 15, had all been shot and killed. The family was known to be affluent, owning a successful lumber and grain elevator company that served much of southeast Iowa.
The prime suspect was immediately identified as the sole surviving son, 22-year-old Shawn Bentler. He was arrested later that same day in Quincy, Illinois, about 60 miles from the family home, on an unrelated charge of possession of drug paraphernalia. He was subsequently charged with five counts of first-degree murder. Investigators believe the motive for the quintuple homicide was financial, with prosecutors arguing that Shawn Bentler carried out the slayings to gain control of his parents' $2.8 million estate.
During the trial, evidence was presented that included the haunting 911 call made by Shayné. Forensic evidence also played a key role, with small amounts of Sandra Bentler's blood found on the socks Shawn was wearing at the time of his arrest. A DNA analyst testified that an impact would have been necessary to create the blood spatter found on the socks. Shawn Bentler was found guilty of five counts of first-degree murder and was sentenced to five consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole.
