GUILTY KS - Cami Umbarger, 29, & 3 kids slain in their Parsons home, 23 Nov 2013

[glf]

I still think all these mental capacity evaluations are just a bunch of BS. They need to get this show on the road, and stop all this horsing around and wasting tax payer's money.

 

[Rayemonde]

Bennett received an additional psychological evaluation from Dr. Robert Barnett, an expert hired by the defense who opined that Bennett was incompetent to stand trial. Barnett claimed that Bennett is mildly to moderately mentally impaired and suffers auditory hallucinations, which combined make him incompetent to stand trial.

The AG’s office wanted to hire its own expert, Dr. Mitchell R. Flesher, to evaluate Bennett for competency. Jessica Domme, an assistant attorney general, also wants Bennett tested to determine if he’s malingering, or feigning or exaggerating his mental or physical condition. There is evidence that Bennett didn’t fully cooperate at Larned, attorneys said.

http://m.parsonssun.com/news/article_a66b0dc8-d799-11e6-bfdf-6b570c553e81.html?mode=jqm

 

[glf]

BINGO! Evidence Bennett did not fully cooperate at Larned. Just confirms all of my suspicions he is trying to pull the wool over everybody's eyes.:liar::stormingmad:

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Doctors differ in Bennett hearing

http://www.parsonssun.com/news/article_a24571f0-0919-11e7-a769-13bedc46a3a4.html

Three psychologists testified Tuesday at a lengthy hearing to determine if a quadruple murder suspect is competent to stand trial.

One of the witnesses in the six-hour hearing in Labette County District Court in Parsons already determined that David Cornell Bennett Jr., 25, is competent to stand trial for capital murder. But Bennett’s attorneys with the state’s Death Penalty Defense Unit objected to the report, so Judge Robert Fleming ordered additional competency evaluations. At least four psychologists are to testify in the two-day proceeding on Bennett’s competency, which will continue Wednesday morning. One of them was the psychologist at Larned State Security Hospital that wrote the court-ordered report in October 2016 finding Bennett competent to stand trial.

Dr. Barnett, a clinical psychologist, was the first witness called Tuesday. Barnett said he reviewed reports created in the Bennett case and other documents and evaluated Bennett at the Labette County Jail on Nov. 23, 2016. Barnett spent about 2 1/2 hours with Bennett for the interview and testing. He determined that Bennett has a third-grade reading level and he also determined that Bennett had limited intellectual function and could qualify as intellectually disabled.

Bennett was not fully cooperative with Barnett and the doctor noted that Bennett suffered auditory hallucinations. Bennett took a long time to answer questions and stated he was waiting for the voices to tell him what to say. Some of Bennett’s interactions with the voices were angry, as if the voices were pestering him.

The doctor, hired by the defense to issue his report, opined that Bennett appeared to be hallucinating and he didn’t think Bennett was being deceptive, an issue that repeatedly came up during testimony. The doctor didn’t think it possible to fake hallucinations for more than five minutes.

Bennett had difficulty with the tests Barnett conducted and his scores on IQ tests landed him in the intellectually disabled range. The doctor concluded that Bennett was not competent to stand trial because of his low IQ score and hallucinations. He also couldn’t understand the basics about how a court functions and the role of various people in the courtroom and this is key to being competent for trial: Understanding the proceedings, the consequences of them and having the ability to work with an attorney to defend yourself. He told other psychologists that he didn’t understand court proceedings.

Dr. Daum, who wrote Bennett’s evaluation report at Larned, testified for the attorney general. He found Bennett competent to stand trial in October 2016 and noted that Bennett’s responses on tests, even IQ tests, didn’t match his ability to get along at the hospital, follow written rules and interact with professional staff.

The Larned staff observed Bennett from his intake on Sept. 8, 2016, to his discharge on Oct. 25, 2016, before making conclusions in the report. The report was actually written around Oct. 16 or 17, 2016. The staff checked on patients every 30 minutes and professional and mental health technicians observed and interacted with patients at other times.

Daum testified that neither he nor his staff noted any behavior from Bennett that would indicate he was having hallucinations and Bennett self-reported that he didn’t have hallucinations.

Bennett refused to answer questions or respond to many staff members at the hospital, but he did interact with Daum. Bennett also threatened staff during his stay and lost privileges he gained because he didn’t follow hospital rules.

Daum noted that he found the threats or arguments with staff interesting. Not because of what Bennett said or did, but that he had the ability to make arguments about whatever issue that upset him.

Dr. Mintz was the last witness Tuesday for the attorney general. He interviewed and tested Bennett on Feb. 7 and found him competent to stand trial. His evaluation took 3 1/2 or four hours. He conducted non-verbal tests and conducted a test on malingering to see if Bennett was being deceptive. He thought Bennett was withholding information during the tests and interview.

He found Bennett’s thoughts coherent and organized and didn’t find psychosis in his behavior. He noted Bennett’s low score on reading ability and intellectual functioning. His final score on a test to measure malingering indicated that Bennett may be showing only what he wants others to see. The doctor said this is a common issue that comes up when he evaluates people for Social Security disability.

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Judge: Bennett can stand trial

http://www.parsonssun.com/news/article_bac68204-09e7-11e7-8b95-a3b6c79fe8bd.html

A Labette County judge ruled Wednesday that a quadruple murder suspect is competent to stand trial.

Judge Robert Fleming’s ruling was made at the conclusion of a day and a half of testimony from psychologists who interviewed, tested and observed David Cornell Bennett Jr., 25.

After testimony concluded, Fleming reviewed the law and case law dealing with competency of a defendant. He noted Bennett’s behavior in the courtroom, how he sits with his hands on his face or leaning over and seemingly not listening to the proceedings. In the early stages of the case in 2013,
Bennett was more engaged in the courtroom. But Bennett has remained in solitary confinement in the jail while the case has been pending for nearly four years, a fact that psychologists said could impact his mental health.

Fleming said the court security system allows him to see Bennett in the holding cell and Bennett stands up straight in there. When Bennett enters the courtroom, he has no confusion or hesitation.

Bennett’s attorneys, because they objected to the Larned report’s findings, had to prove that Bennett wasn’t competent to stand trial. Fleming ruled that they hadn’t done so. He said Bennett is competent for trial and agreed with Daum’s findings.

Fleming also gave up the Bennett case with his ruling on Wednesday. Fleming is retiring this summer, and the trial is scheduled to start in July. Judge Jeffry Jack is now presiding over the case.

Defense to seek another delay

http://www.parsonssun.com/news/article_10389a12-09eb-11e7-8056-aff50c547ba7.html

A Kansas Bureau of Investigation agent testified Wednesday about an interview he conducted with quadruple murder suspect David Cornell Bennett Jr. The hearing was about the voluntariness of any statements Bennett made on Nov. 27, 2013.

Judge Jeffry Jack is presiding over the Bennett case and Wednesday’s hearing was his first in the case.

Bennett’s attorneys also announced Wednesday that they will seek to delay the jury trial, now set to begin July 10. But that issue will be argued in the spring. Bennett’s attorneys are from the Death Penalty Defense Unit of the Kansas Board of Indigents’ Defense Services.

KBI Special Agent Steve Rosebrough testified Wednesday in what’s called a Jackson vs. Denno hearing. The hearing is used to determine if a confession or statement by a defendant is voluntary or if it was coerced. Assistant Attorney General Jessica Domme didn’t ask Rosebrough about what Bennett said that related to the crime, but instead asked him about the atmosphere in the interview room and how he and former Police Chief Scott Gofourth asked questions and dealt with Bennett.

Jack will review DVDs of the interview (two cameras recorded it), which lasted about 4 1/2 to five hours, and determine if the statement was voluntary or coerced.

 

[kanzz]

Excellent. I'm so glad to hear this.

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Bennett trial delayed until July 2018

http://www.parsonssun.com/news/article_3b5c40f4-1fe9-11e7-a100-571cea86a64f.html

Jack then took up a request by Bennett’s defense team to delay the jury trial from July 10, 2017, to July 2018. The team argued that state budget concerns restrict their ability to hire experts needed for trial and having another year would help that situation. The defense investigation into the case also revealed evidence that needs to be explored and this will take time and money. The attorneys argued that they wouldn’t have enough time between now and July to get this done and defend Bennett to the best of their ability.

The competency issue, which was settled in March, also caused a delay of many months during which no motions could be argued that would keep the case moving forward. The attorneys and the Death Penalty Defense Unit have also had more cases assigned since 2013, including four in 2016.
Bennett waived his right to a speedy trial again and agreed to the year-long delay.

Assistant Attorney General Jessica Domme didn’t want the trial delayed. She said she and Assistant Attorney General Steve Wilhoft are ready to proceed and the Umbarger family is ready for the case to move forward.

The case has been pending more than three years, she said, and the trial has been delayed two times already. But she agreed that the defense has a right to complete its investigation and prepare properly for trial.

Judge Jack said this motion and others like it are difficult, especially because of their effect on the family. But he agreed to the delay to allow the defense to fully prepare for trial. He said the defense unit will have to deal with things in Bennett’s capital case that have never come up in capital cases in Kansas. He said some of these issues will be addressed in future hearings.

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Attorney wants study on Bennett trial location

http://www.parsonssun.com/news/article_fd683e02-4652-11e7-88e0-5b8ca86c644e.html

The first issue taken up Wednesday was a 2016 motion by Bennett’s defense team to subpoena business records. The motion and the attorney general’s objection were filed under seal, so they are not available for public inspection.

Judge Jeffry Jack ruled Wednesday that Frieden and his team could subpoena the unnamed business records and the relevance of the records and their admissibility at trial would be determined later.

Then Frieden addressed an earlier motion to change the location of the jury trial, or to explore this option with an expensive study.

Frieden wants to conduct a venue study, which would cost up to $25,000, but the Kansas Board of Indigents Defense Services didn’t have the money available this fiscal year, which ends June 30, because of the state’s financial crisis. A venue study, in part, would collect public opinion and gauge public knowledge about the case in Labette County.

 

[wfgodot]

Three and a half years later and this still seems a very bad dream. I mean, one of my besties lives fewer than a hundred feet from the death house; I've spent so much time there, half a block away.

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Murder suspect awaits funds for study

http://www.parsonssun.com/news/article_7415145e-a593-11e7-b037-43472f6d98c5.html

The venue study would gauge public opinion in Labette County on the crime and determine if Bennett could empanel a fair and impartial jury in July 2018 when his case is to be tried. Tim Frieden, one of Bennett’s attorneys, said he’s tried twice to get funding for the venue study from the State Board of Indigents’ Defense Services, which provides defense counsel for defendants without funding to hire their own attorneys. He’s been turned down twice and has submitted a third request, Frieden said Friday morning during a brief status hearing in the Bennett case.

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Bennett pleads guilty to capital murder

http://www.parsonssun.com/news/article_99f99bde-dec5-11e7-9065-0fd87e4c2bd0.html

David Cornell Bennett Jr., 26, pleaded guilty to the four counts in Labette County District Court. District Judge Jeff Jack accepted the plea and scheduled sentencing for Feb. 16 at 10 a.m. in Parsons.

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Bennett gets life without parole for four murders

Quadruple murderer David Cornell Bennett Jr. received life in prison without the possibility of parole on Friday.

Bennett, 26, chose not to be in the courtroom for sentencing Friday and avoided listening to the family of Cami Jo Umbarger, Hollie Betts, Jaxon Betts and Averie Betts speak of the unfathomable heartache he caused by taking the mother and her three children from this earth at such young ages.

Judge Jack sentenced Bennett in absentia, since Bennett agreed to be removed from the proceedings. He said in his 12 years on the bench, he’s not seen a more “heinous crime.”

He doesn’t know why Bennett murdered Cami and her children and the world may never know why. But the community cannot allow freedom to a defendant who raped and murdered.

Cami’s father, Larry Umbarger, was the first to speak Friday.

He said he’s glad the case is over and that he will not have to come back to court. Family members have attended all hearings in the case. But the hurt remains, he said.

“It will never be over ... for me, not until the day I die,” he said.

He said Bennett has never shown remorse, and the only way to protect the community is for Bennett to spend the rest of his life in prison.

Bennett signs factual statement in case

As part of his plea, Bennett signed a factual statement that details his role in the murders. The statement was kept under seal until after Bennett was sentenced Friday.

Statement is available at the second link above.