Found Deceased IL - Benedetta 'Beth' Bentley, 41, Mount Vernon, 23 May 2010 #5

[Jenny60123]

Yes, all of this is true about SS. He is the married man she was having an affair with. He is married to one of Beth's girlfriends. This has been well known between many people who know Beth and I'm GUESSING there may be a few people sleuthing here that know about this as well.

I want to add that we need to remember that although LE has stated there has been no activity on Beth's phone since she went missing, that DOESN'T mean they don't have a complete history of all phone calls & texts made up until the phone was destroyed or turned off. We all know it is possible to get that information. I personally think that the LE has kept that very close to the vest because they may have their eye on someone, and are waiting for evidence to move forward with a charge.

BTW, there were MANY text messages between Beth and SS the weekend she was in Mt Vernon. He has been pushing her for quite some time to come clean with their spouses about the affair. Most will find that odd, why would a man want to come clean to his wife?? JMO, but I believe because Beth was pregnant. She had put on quite a bit of weight and a woman of her size, it would be hard to detect a pregnancy, it could just look like weight gain. So, WHY exactly would he want to come clean, I can't answer for him. SS and his wife just married in June 2009 and they have since had a baby as well.

If he was texting her all weekend, and she pissed him off not wanting to comply with his request, who knows what he could have done. JMO, he may have decided at that point, he'd come out ahead if he just got rid of her for good, then his wife would never know and all would be great. JMO, he could have set Beth up...he may have called/texted to say he was driving down there and that they HAD to talk NOW and that's that. Now, he isn't going to do anything to send him to prison again, so he COULD HAVE very easily sent a friend down there, maybe even someone he met in prison, and Beth was met by suprise by someone other than SS, and he took care of it for SS. Because let's face it, if that was SS intention, he knew full well that JW would tell the LE about the affair, and he knew he had better have an alibi. All makes sense to me and all very possible given this man's past.

BTW, SS's wife does know about all this now. What I don't know is, did she find out when JW had her little pow wow with the "woodstock girls" on somebody's patio, or did she find out when the LE contacted SS for questioning. Either way, she knows, and I'm sure she's mad as hell.

I hope the LE are really checking out SS and his alibi, story, whatever because, after knowing about all the texting that went on that weekend, that is MOTIVE for SS to want her gone.

I still often question why JW had to tell everybody all of Beth's secrets. But I agree with Cubby, it could be she felt she had no choice since so many were pointing the finger at her. Maybe JW suspected all along it was SS she was going to meet, and now that Beth is still gone, she is feeling so bad.

All just my opinion.

Beth, I think about you everyday, all day. Your family is hurting so bad, they cannot function without you. PLEASE, if you took off, just call the LE and let them know you are alive but do not want to be found. Please.

Respectfully bolded by me, Do you know what they were texting about that weekend? Were they fighting, were they planning, what was the context?

 

[Joe Friday]

Yes, all of this is true about SS. He is the married man she was having an affair with. He is married to one of Beth's girlfriends. This has been well known between many people who know Beth and I'm GUESSING there may be a few people sleuthing here that know about this as well.

I want to add that we need to remember that although LE has stated there has been no activity on Beth's phone since she went missing, that DOESN'T mean they don't have a complete history of all phone calls & texts made up until the phone was destroyed or turned off. We all know it is possible to get that information. I personally think that the LE has kept that very close to the vest because they may have their eye on someone, and are waiting for evidence to move forward with a charge.

BTW, there were MANY text messages between Beth and SS the weekend she was in Mt Vernon. He has been pushing her for quite some time to come clean with their spouses about the affair. Most will find that odd, why would a man want to come clean to his wife?? JMO, but I believe because Beth was pregnant. She had put on quite a bit of weight and a woman of her size, it would be hard to detect a pregnancy, it could just look like weight gain. So, WHY exactly would he want to come clean, I can't answer for him. SS and his wife just married in June 2009 and they have since had a baby as well.

If he was texting her all weekend, and she pissed him off not wanting to comply with his request, who knows what he could have done. JMO, he may have decided at that point, he'd come out ahead if he just got rid of her for good, then his wife would never know and all would be great. JMO, he could have set Beth up...he may have called/texted to say he was driving down there and that they HAD to talk NOW and that's that. Now, he isn't going to do anything to send him to prison again, so he COULD HAVE very easily sent a friend down there, maybe even someone he met in prison, and Beth was met by suprise by someone other than SS, and he took care of it for SS. Because let's face it, if that was SS intention, he knew full well that JW would tell the LE about the affair, and he knew he had better have an alibi. All makes sense to me and all very possible given this man's past.

BTW, SS's wife does know about all this now. What I don't know is, did she find out when JW had her little pow wow with the "woodstock girls" on somebody's patio, or did she find out when the LE contacted SS for questioning. Either way, she knows, and I'm sure she's mad as hell.

I hope the LE are really checking out SS and his alibi, story, whatever because, after knowing about all the texting that went on that weekend, that is MOTIVE for SS to want her gone.

I still often question why JW had to tell everybody all of Beth's secrets. But I agree with Cubby, it could be she felt she had no choice since so many were pointing the finger at her. Maybe JW suspected all along it was SS she was going to meet, and now that Beth is still gone, she is feeling so bad.

All just my opinion.

Beth, I think about you everyday, all day. Your family is hurting so bad, they cannot function without you. PLEASE, if you took off, just call the LE and let them know you are alive but do not want to be found. Please.

Do you know for fact that Beth was pregnant? She did appear to be gaining a lot of weight from pic's on fb.


Very possible that SS might have some friends do his dirty work. What do know or can we find out about them?

 

[AlwaysThinking]

Originally Posted by Just a Lawyer
Next, MM's alibi (which is solidly confirmed) was he was at home at 8 p.m. in Woodstock. He was at a job where his movement could be documented and time tracked.

I attempted to allude that we would need to carefully identify who we were talking about because the person JW talked to on Monday is different than MM. I used the term moniker and was critiqued for that. The point is, MM texted BB, however we don't know if MM was who BB was supposed to see.

The "happy pills" comment: that was connected with the statement to go to Chicago not MV.

To add to the complexity of this case. The post that discusses missing persons and murders in the Centralia-MV area (via a discussion with LE in that area), is not the first time I have heard those types of rumors from that area. While I think that it is very unlikely that BB met up with an unidentified person (person she didn't know) who killed her, it remains a possibility.

Found it. What's it mean?

Yes, I would love to hear more about the alibi. If the alibi is he was at home at 8pm, was his wife his alibi?

So he was home at 8pm Sunday night, but where does "He was at a job where his movement could be documented and time tracked." come into play. Were you talking about after 8pm on Sunday night, or possibly Monday. Could you elaborate on that please? Thank you Just a Lawyer.

 

[Cubby]

Yes I realize that. I'm not saying he was found guilty or even pleaded guilty of forcibly sodomizing anyone much less a child. I'm just saying he was charged with that at the time all this took place and out of all the charges against him at that time he was ultimately convicted of kidnapping. The other charges look to have been dismissed to to a plea agreement like you said.

Sorry if I create any confusion there.

My reply was in general, not directed at you specifically, as some posts have seemed to imply he was guilty of crimes he had been charged with but never convicted.

 

[AlwaysThinking]

Do you know for fact that Beth was pregnant? She did appear to be gaining a lot of weight from pic's on fb.


Very possible that SS might have some friends do his dirty work. What do know or can we find out about them?

I do NOT know for a fact that Beth was pregnant. A lot of Beth's friends believe she MAY have been because of her body change. When Beth last showed up to my friends house, after not seeing Beth for a few months, she said the weight gain was very noticable.

I do not know SS, or any of his friends but I have done some research online and one of his friends has done time for attempted murder + other charges. I am not going to name names, because we have no proof that SS or a friend, murdered Beth.

I just said in my previous post that given the circumstances between Beth & SS, and the fact that there were so many texts back and forth, all about "coming out to the spouses", he wanted to tell, she didn't, that equals arguing....that is MOTIVE. It could be, that SS is involved, but it has not been proven. Just speculating and sharing my ideas.

 

[Cubby]

I respectfully disagree. Good old attorneys are known for getting charges dropped, or they plea bargain, especially when there are multiple charges against one defendant.

So, I do not agree that SS is only guilty of charges for which he plead guilty.

The truth is, he may have been guilty of all charges, but if the attorney gets charges dropped, or a plea bargain is made, his criminal record will reflect only the charges he plead guilty to, but by no means does he mean he isn't guilty of doing it all.

I understand and agree with your point.

When stating someone is guilty of a crime - at WS - we require a conviction or guilty plea. The thread was starting to get derailed as people were not distinguishing between which charges were dropped and which he pled guilty too. That was my point in my statements.

 

[AlwaysThinking]

Respectfully bolded by me, Do you know what they were texting about that weekend? Were they fighting, were they planning, what was the context?

SS has wanted to come clean with their respective spouses for some time. The texting over the weekend was about coming clean. He wanted to. She did not.

 

[AlwaysThinking]

I understand and agree with your point.

When stating someone is guilty of a crime - at WS - we require a conviction or guilty plea. The thread was starting to get derailed as people were not distinguishing between which charges were dropped and which he pled guilty too. That was my point in my statements.

It's all good Cubby. I am obviously feeling very chatty today, sorry for all my posts.

It's one of my pet peeves, how people who don't obey the law, get arrested and charged, sometimes, with multiple crimes and these lawyers get things dropped, or plea bargains or whatever. Not knocking lawyers, but I believe if you do the crime, you should do the time. There are far too many bad people in this world, which makes my world, and the world we all live in, less safe, especially for children. We see it everyday, murderers, rapists, drug dealers, sex offenders etc, who do horrible things, and justice is NOT always done when it comes to sentencing. Ok, I'm done now.

 

[Cubby]

SS has wanted to come clean with their respective spouses for some time. The texting over the weekend was about coming clean. He wanted to. She did not.

Thank you for this additional information AT.

The following is my opinion only and pure speculation.

A husband wanting to come clean to his wife would logically be two things. Either he is feeling guilty and is sorry for what he has done and wants to work on his marriage, or he wants both of them to leave their spouses. I wouldn't even be logical BB would leave SB for SS....... not a move she would make based on her lifestyle. Why was it so important to SS for BB to tell her husband? Why not just come clean to his wife whether BB came clean or not?

The only logical next answer for me which is pure speculation is Beth had something over SS if he told? I can't imagine what that would be given SS's previous record which is wife likely knew about before marrying him.

I did not see SS listed on the state inmate site so I have no idea if he is still currently on parole. I have no idea if there was something written into his plea agreement that if X occured the plea would become null and void and the State could impose the maximum charges or try him for the charges which were dropped. Plea agreements are written differently and I have no knowledge of what the details were for the agreed plea in 2002.

Is it possible Beth had something over SS which she threated to 'out' if he told his wife about their affair and would that be motive enough to get rid of Beth?

JMO

 

[wordfella]

Thank you for this additional information AT.

The following is my opinion only and pure speculation.

A husband wanting to come clean to his wife would logically be two things. Either he is feeling guilty and is sorry for what he has done and wants to work on his marriage, or he wants both of them to leave their spouses. I wouldn't even be logical BB would leave SB for SS....... not a move she would make based on her lifestyle. Why was it so important to SS for BB to tell her husband? Why not just come clean to his wife whether BB came clean or not?

The only logical next answer for me which is pure speculation is Beth had something over SS if he told? I can't imagine what that would be given SS's previous record which is wife likely knew about before marrying him.

I did not see SS listed on the state inmate site so I have no idea if he is still currently on parole. I have no idea if there was something written into his plea agreement that if X occured the plea would become null and void and the State could impose the maximum charges or try him for the charges which were dropped. Plea agreements are written differently and I have no knowledge of what the details were for the agreed plea in 2002.

Is it possible Beth had something over SS which she threated to 'out' if he told his wife about their affair and would that be motive enough to get rid of Beth?

JMO

He's not on the parole list. I think just time off for good behavior. Or that crowding thing. Only abt 4 yrs though. Sentence was 14?

 

[sadnpod]

ALways.. I could kiss you .. thank you for the great posts!!!!!!!

 

[Cubby]

Sentence was 10 years
according to court records and news paper articles previously linked.


....but pleas are written differently. Some are iron clad with no loopholes, others not so.

OT- We had a case here of a 17 yr old jane doe who went unidentified for 10 years. Tawni Mazzone. Her case is read only now in the located forum.... and she had her own forum. After she was id'd we found tons on the perp and eventually found he had pled guilty for a tiny sentence under an alias.

ETA: IIRC charges were reduced down to reckless driving from manslaughter or something along those lines. (don't quote me, she was id'd a few years ago)

He fled before serving his time and was gone for years and years until LE caught up with him. It was only by chance LE found him just after Tawni was id'd. Even though this tried to recruit Tawni into human trafficking and she was so desperate to get out of the car she either jumped or he pushed her out going 70 MPH down a hwy in AZ, he only got the max which was 27 mo's or 4 years..... it was so minute it was pathetic. Even the plea was under an alias and he was tried under an alias, not his real name....... it was a mess, but the way the plea was written up it was iron clad in the perps favor. Even the jurors expressed they were disgusted the max was so little time.

Not to mention the perp had done time under his real name for another crime while he was wanted in AZ for fleeing from serving his time under the alias. He had so many alias's we couldn't even keep up with them. END of OT regarding Tawni's case.....

So we just don't know here..... I suppose someone could get the info via the FOIA. But to discuss it we'd have to link the docs if anyone is so inclined to see the conditions of the plea....... If there were any.

JMO

 

[CuriousOne2]

... However, if BB was murdered, I have a big problem with JW actually knowing what happened. IMO, she wouldn't be talking at all because she would be the next target. ...

Who Knew raises an excellent point. If a person knows of a murder or other foul deed, you can usually keep them quiet by threatening them. But, if you really want to keep them quiet, you threaten their kids or other family members.

Anyone with knowledge of Beth's disappearance should get it written down f-a-s-t and store it in safe hands. Spare no details. Write down everything! Then let the perp(s) know that you have done so. That should increase your margin of safety.

 

[grapes21]

When you buy a ticket for the train you have to give your name. When I worked as a travel agent, they required legal names of passengers when making reservations. Amtrak should have a passenger list. IMO I don't think Beth boarded any train. Even if she was trying to keep a low profile she would have been noticed, her bag alone would have stuck out to someone. The whole call to the pizza place and the time she would of had to be in Centraila to board the train just don't add up. I wonder do police have the content of the text messages sent between BB and SS? If he was using a cell phone he could be pinged too. He sounds like a horrible person. I pray for some answers soon. I can't imagine what those poor kids and her husband are going through.

 

[CuriousOne2]

... What if what JW said about Beth taking the train to Chicago is true? ...

What about JW's statements on June 10 that Beth never intended to spend the whole week-end with her, and the plan was never to take the train? It would be interesting to know where JW's story changed from "take the train" (if it ever was that) to "never intended to take the train" (June 10 (or earlier?)).

There is, of course, no way to know that what JW said on June 10th was even true. It's just what was said.

 

[who knew?]

What if she took a bus? A Greyhound station is in Mt Vernon - could have gone from MV to St Louis airport to anywhere...........maybe hiding out? (If she's still alive)

 

[sadnpod]

IF BB left on her own and IF she had been planning it, she could have dyed her hair and changed to matronly clothing and no one would notice her? She could also have ID in another name, even a prior legal name. Im assuming and hoping LE has checked all modes of transportation with all names BB has ever legally had??

 

[Cubby]

grapes is it possible Beth could have boarded the amtrak and given a name other than her own? Amtraks web page for the Centralia station indicates the station is not open on Sundays thus she would have had to purchase a ticket from the conductor after she boarded.

What kind of proof would Amtrak require to validate the name she gave was her own? and is it possible the conductor would not have asked for legal id like they do when boarding a plane?

tia

 

[Cubby]

What if she took a bus? A Greyhound station is in Mt Vernon - could have gone from MV to St Louis airport to anywhere...........maybe hiding out? (If she's still alive)

It is possible... or it is possible someone could have met her at the train which she never boarded and then driven to St. Louis to take a flight to Vegas.

Pure speculation but I hope LE also looked at outgoing flights the evening of the 23rd from St. Louis to Vegas.

Wow, you know what just occured to me. With JW and BB looking so much alike what if JW gave her documentation to BB to get a new DL? JW never had one issued in IL so she would not have had her picture in IL DMV database yet.

LE should check and see if a DL was recently issued to JW and take a look at whose photo is on the DL and then see if there were any flights or travel arrangements made in JW's name. Maybe a stretch but not entirely out there with the maneuvering they did to cover for each other.

JMO

 

[wordfella]

grapes is it possible Beth could have boarded the amtrak and given a name other than her own? Amtraks web page for the Centralia station indicates the station is not open on Sundays thus she would have had to purchase a ticket from the conductor after she boarded.

What kind of proof would Amtrak require to validate the name she gave was her own? and is it possible the conductor would not have asked for legal id like they do when boarding a plane?

tia

Wife and I rode Amtrak from Effingham to Chicago a couple of months back. We had e-ticket. Nobody asked for ID.