IL Man Who Killed His Family Waives Extradition

Shayne Bentler, just 14 years old, dialed 911 at 3:38 a.m. Sunday morning and told the dispatcher her brother was "going to do something." Moments later the dispatcher heard a gunshot and then someone yelled, "Shawn, no!" Then the line went dead. Authorities said that at the same time they received a 911 call from Shayne’s mother, Sandra Bentler's cell phone, but it didn't reach a dispatcher. When a dispatcher tried to return the call, it went unanswered.

When police arrived at the Bentler home, which sits on 20 acres on a sprawling tree-lined bluff just outside Bonaparte, IL, they found the entire family dead. The entire family, that is, except for the oldest Bentler child, Shawn, 22, who lived in Quincy, Illinois, about 50 miles to the southwest.

Michael Bentler, 53; his wife, Sandra, 47; and their daughters Sheena, 17; Shelby, 15; and Shayne, 14, had all been shot to death at close range. The teens—a freshman, sophomore, and senior—had all attended Harmony High School. Authorities in Illinois were alerted to find Shawn Bentler and pick him up as a possible suspect. Bentler already had an outstanding arrest warrant for failing to appear at a hearing on charges of unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia.

Adams County authorities watched and waited for Bentler to come home Saturday, a police sniper positioned in a driveway across the street. At about 10:30 that morning when Bentler rode up on his motorcycle, he was arrested and initially charged by Illinois authorities with driving on a revoked license and operating an uninsured vehicle. Later that afternoon, he was charged with five counts of first-degree murder in Iowa.

Bentler appeared in an Adams County courtroom Monday for a brief hearing, where he had very little to say other than agreeing to waive extradition and be taken back to Iowa to face the charges. Authorities obtained a warrant to search Bentler’s home and question his roommates, but investigators did not comment on what, if anything, was found.

So far investigators have not given a possible motive for the slayings, with one spokesman telling reporters, "It’s going to take them a while." Neighbors of Bentler, who lived in a small house with roommates, say that there were young people over at the house frequently, with two or three regulars who occasionally sat on a couch on the front porch. But there was never any trouble from the young people and neighbors said they were pretty quiet.

Bentler worked at Neal Coleman Auto Sales in Quincy for three weeks in September. Sales Manager Jack Bessling told reporters that he had been shocked to hear about Bentler being arrested for killing his family, although he didn’t know Bentler well. When Bentler quit several weeks ago, he told Bessling that his father had died of a heart attack and he was returning to Iowa to be with his mother. Bessling called Bentler’s father’s lumber company to express condolences, and was startled to learn that Michael Bentler had not died.

"He said all the right things when we talked to him," Bessling said. "He said he had two kids and had to make money. He was a nice kid—quiet, polite, dressed well." But Bentler had lied to his employer about everything, including his reason for quitting. "Nobody really got a chance to know him," said Bessling.