PORTLAND, Ore. — The murder conviction of a former Gladstone police sergeant in the death of his estranged wife has been reversed by the Oregon Court of Appeals.
In 2016, Lynn Benton was found guilty of aggravated murder, conspiracy to commit aggravated murder and attempted murder in the death of his wife, Debbie Higbee-Benton, who was found shot, beaten and strangled in her salon in May 2011.
According to court documents, Benton feared his estranged wife would go to police with domestic violence accusations and damage his career in law enforcement.
At trial, prosecutors said Benton conspired with his friend, Susan Campbell, and her son, Jason Jaynes, to commit the murder.
During the trial, Campbell was set to plead guilty and testify against Benton as part of the plea deal, but the state canceled the deal and instead relied largely on testimony from an inmate who had been jailed in the cell next to Benton's. The jail informant said Benton admitted to him while in jail to having his wife killed.
Benton was found guilty and sentenced to life without parole. Campbell pleaded guilty to aggravated murder and was sentenced to life without parole; Jaynes pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit murder and was sentenced to just shy of 12 years in prison.
After Benton appealed in 2019, the Oregon Court of Appeals found Wednesday that the jail informant was acting as a state agent after coming to authorities with information, which violated Benton's constitutional rights.
The panel ordered Benton's aggravated murder and conspiracy to commit murder convictions be sent back to trial. Prosecutors with the Clackamas County District Attorney’s Office are now considering whether to appeal that decision or retry the case without the jail informant's testimony.
Read the court's full opinion:
