Why meth dealers should get the death penalty...Suspect in Spencer murder pleads not guilty
5:10 PM
SPENCER, Iowa -- The last of 10 suspects believed to have been involved in the 1997 kidnapping and murder of Gregory "Sky" Erickson pleaded not guilty Monday to murder and kidnapping.
Juan Humberto Castillo-Alvarez, 32, is charged in Clay County District Court with one count each of second-degree murder, second-degree kidnapping and conspiracy to commit a forcible felony. If convicted, he would face prison sentences of 50, 25, and 10 years, respectively.
District Judge Don E. Courtney scheduled trial for Dec. 5. Castillo-Alvarez remains jailed on a $1 million bond.
Castillo-Alvarez was extradited to Iowa from Houston earlier this month after being returned to the United States from Mexico. He was charged in 2004 in the death of Erickson, 15, of Estherville, Iowa.
Erickson's body was found in an abandoned farmhouse near Jackson, Minn., just across the Iowa border. He had been beaten and shot in the head execution style.
He was coaxed from a golf course, taken to a Spencer, Iowa, apartment, where he was beaten by a group of people and had a gun barrel shoved down his throat, causing him to vomit. He was then taken back to Estherville, where he was beaten again, then placed in a trunk of a car and driven to the farmhouse, where he was shot.
Authorities have said he was involved in a drug ring and had feared for his life because he owed money to the people who were charged in his death. Nine people have been convicted of felonies in connection with his death and sentenced to prison.
so glad some illegal alien piece of sh*t can come to our country and do this... if they don't make the sentences consecutive, this worthless pile of crap will be out in 25 years. Too bad they can't fry him.
Some other Iowegian freak killed his whole family last weekend... I bet they find out he was a tweeker. He had drug paraphenalia on him when they arrested him...Bentler appears in Iowa courtroom on murder charges
11:00 AM
KEOSAUQUA, Iowa (AP) -- Shawn Bentler appeared in court Tuesday on five counts of first-degree murder for the slayings of his parents and three younger sisters.
Bentler, 22, made a brief appearance in a Van Buren County courtroom that was packed with relatives and media covering one of the worst mass murders in Iowa history.
Bentler sat emotionless in his chair, shackled at the ankles and arms. His only comment was to affirm his identity.
District Judge Michael Mullins maintained Bentler's previously set bond at $2.5 million, and appointed public defender David Sallen as Bentler's attorney.
Bentler is accused of gunning down Michael Bentler, 53; his wife, Sandra, 47; and their daughters Sheena, 17; Shelby, 15; and Shayne, 14, at the family's home just outside Bonaparte before dawn Saturday. Investigators have not provided a motive for the killings.
The mood in the courtroom changed moments after Bentler entered.
Relatives began weeping and embracing each other. Some doubled over, burying their heads in the arms and hands. Others simply stared at Bentler, occasionally shaking their heads in disbelief.
Assistant Attorney General Scott Brown asked Mullins to set Bentler's bond as cash only, citing the nature of the crime.
"It's the state's position that Shawn Bentler is too dangerous to be at large," Brown said.
If convicted, Bentler would face life in prison without parole.
Bentler was arrested Saturday near his home in Quincy, Ill. He waived extradition during a hearing Monday in Adams County, Ill., and was returned to Iowa later in the day.
Iowa authorities were alerted to trouble at the Bentler house at 3:38 a.m. Saturday when Shayne Bentler called 911 and said her brother was "going to do something." Next came the sound of a gunshot and someone yelling, "Shawn, no!"
Then the line went dead.
Authorities said they received a second 911 call at the same time from Sandra Bentler's cell phone, but it didn't reach a dispatcher. When a dispatcher tried to return the call, it went unanswered.
Funeral services for the family are scheduled for 10 a.m. Thursday at Harmony High School, about 10 miles south of Bonaparte, according to Schmitz-Lynk Funeral Home in Farmington. Visitation will be Wednesday evening at the high school, the funeral home said Tuesday.
The Schmitz-Lynk Funeral Home and the King-Lynk Funeral Home in Fort Madison are handling the arrangements.Labels: decline of civilization
posted by decemberx 2:22 PM[edit]
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