Bentler reacts to family's deaths during interview

KEOSAUQUA (AP) - A videotaped interview played Tuesday at the murder trial of Shawn Bentler showed him weeping loudly upon being told his parents and three sisters had been killed.

"They're all dead. Oh my God, oh God! There's no way, there's no way! I just talked to my mom yesterday. ? They're not dead," Bentler was recorded telling investigators soon after the killings last fall.

Bentler was later charged with five counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of his parents Michael and Sandra, and three sisters, Sheena, 17, Shelby, 15, and Shayne, 14.

On Tuesday, Bentler cried in court as the videotape played, but he often averted his eyes from the television screen.

The tape was recorded following Bentler's arrest on drug- and traffic-related charges near his home in Quincy, Ill., hours after the bodies of his parents and sisters were found in the early morning hours of Oct. 14 in their rural Bonaparte home.

Dressed in a sweatshirt and jeans, he initially appears calm in the video, stating, "I can't figure out why you guys need to talk to me. I can't think of anything I have done in the last couple of years."

After reading Bentler his rights and asking numerous questions about his background and his family, investigators tell him "some really bad things happened at your parents' last night" and that his entire family is dead.

In the tape, an agent accuses him of shooting his family because his parents refused to give him money. Prosecutors have said he wanted to inherit money from the family's successful grain elevator and lumberyard businesses.

"It's not true. I would never hurt my family. I have no reason to hurt them," a sobbing Bentler said during the interrogation.

Bentler, an unemployed father of two young girls, later screamed at investigators: "I did not kill them! I did not kill them!"

Extended family members intently watched the videotape, some crying and hugging one another. Tears rolled down the cheeks of Sandra Bentler's brother, Mario Mendez, who said of the tape that, "When he talks about loving his mom and stuff, it just tears you up."

Defense attorneys had objected to parts of the video, including investigators' comments that Shawn Bentler is lying and fake crying. They asked Van Buren County District Court Judge Michael R. Mullins to ignore those comments. Bentler waived his right to a jury trial.

Prosecutors are focusing on the videotape, some blood evidence, and a 911 call made from the Bentler home the day of slayings. The call begins with Shayne saying her older brother was "going to do something," followed by the sound of a gunshot and a scream, "Shawn, no!" before the line goes dead.

The call, followed by another, not answered by 911 dispatch in time, sent authorities rushing to the Bentler house at 3:38 a.m. When they arrived, officers found the five bodies in what prosecutors described as a "horrendous" scene.

When questioned on the videotape, Shawn Bentler yelled at investigators, saying, "I don't know," why Shayne told a dispatcher that he was at the house.

Bentler continued sobbing on the videotape for minutes after investigators left the room.

Defense attorney David Sallen has argued that Bentler got along with his family and had no motive to kill them.

Sallen has also said his client was seen by his roommate at his home a couple hours before and a few hours after the 911 calls. Sallen contends he didn't have time to travel from Illinois to Van Buren County and commit the crimes. Quincy is about 74 miles from Bonaparte. The roommate, Travis Holder, testified Tuesday afternoon.

Also testifying Tuesday was an analyst with the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation. He commented on photos of the crime scene, including photos of the Bentler family's bodies that were found throughout the home.

Two of the girls' bodies were found slumped in their closets, another in her bed. Michael Bentler's body was lying face down in the master bedroom, while his wife's body was in a hallway, her arm draped over a chair.

The family reacted strongly to the photos, some looking away, others sniffling and trying to stifle sobs as they passed tissue boxes around the courtroom. One woman glared and shook her head at Shawn Bentler - who stared straight ahead and appeared to be crying. Another family member abruptly left the courtroom.

The analyst, Mike Halverson, said it appeared the bullet that hit Shayne, who made the 911 call, passed through the telephone handset.