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About The Clackamas print. (Oregon City, Oregon) 1989-2019 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 21, 2012)
P R IN T : News Wednesday, Nov. 21,2012 »S» 3 Sex change operation leads to investigation Felicia Skriver News Editor Two thousand dollars can either be a wealth o f money or a very small amount of pocket cash; it all depends on the person receiving it. But is it worth murder? Most would say no but Susan Ellen Campbell, 54, o f Gladstone thought it was worth it when she allegedly agreed to kill former Gladstone Police Sgt. Lynn B enton’s wife, Deborah Higbee Benton for him. According to the Oregon City Police Department Campbell is being accused of attempted aggrivated murder. Benton underwent a female- to-male sex change in late 2009. The couple were married a year later in 2010, according to Oregon City Police Detective Brad Edwards who testified at the court hearing, the couple’s relationship was strained after the operation. In fact Benton moved out o f the house they owned together a month before the killing had happened. According to an indictment filed earlier this month, the attempts on Higbee Benton’s life started as early as January 2010; however it was on May 28, 2011, that Higbee Benton was found dead in her salon. She had been beaten, strangled and shot in the back. Six days later the police arrested Campbell for the participation in a murder-for- hire plot to kill Higbee Benton. Campbell implicated Benton in the murder shortly after she had been arrested but then refused to cooperate with the police any further after that. Campbell, who was a longtime friend o f Benton’s then told the investigators that he had solicited her to kill his wife, after she had realized the death penalty was on the table. Friday, Nov. 9 she had agreed to testify against Benton, for the lesser charge o f attempted aggravated murder. “It’s pretty rare to have a police officer involved in crim inal activity anyways,” said Lieutenant Jim Band o f the Oregon City Police Department, in a phone interview. “A case this serious is certainly nothing that w e’ve ever been apart of.” After 25 years o f service to the G ladstone Police Department, Benton was fired last December for unrelated matters. Cam pbell’s son Jason Jay Jaynes was also an accomplice to the conspired murder, according to the police. Shortly after the murder took place in 2010, Jaynes fled to Astoria according. He was pulled over for a traffic violation and then taken in to custody on charges o f attempted aggravated murder and conspiracy. In an interview with OCPD, Benton confessed to getting physical with his wife on two separate occasions. During one instance, he said he choked her and pinned her up against the wall, according to Edwards’ statement at the hearing. . Benton is currently being charged w ith aggravated murder and conspiracy to commit aggravated murder and is being held in a segregated corridor because of the fact he was once a police officer. However some believe that the ex-cop shouldn’t get any kind o f special treatment. “I think he should go away for about 15-20 years. No pension, no nothing,” said Vikki Haggerty, 33, a graduate o f Clackamas. “Just like everybody else. No special treatments. Nothing.” A crime o f this magnitude has shocked the community. It may be years before every one forgets about this unfortunate tale of love gone wrong. Lyrin Benton (top) and Susan Campbell (left) are being charged with the murder o f Deborah Hig bee Benton. The attempts on Higbee Benton’s life started two years before the actual murder. According to Brad Edwards o f the OCPD, Campbell shot Higbee Benton in the back and then called Benton frantically because Higbee Benton did not die from the wound. Campbell’s son Jay Jaynes then showed up to help finish the job according to police. CAMPBELL Campus forum focuses on safety related issues it into the hands o f thieves w ho Joshua Dillen Co-Editor-in-Chief Stolen master keys to col lege buildings, the safety of this campus and emergency pro tocol were a few of the top ics at last Thursday’s Campus Safety Forum in McLoughlin Auditorium. A crowd of about 25 had the chance to weigh in and question Bob Cochran, Dean of Campus Services, and other administrators about these and other concerns that have been ' raised here since the beginning of fall term. A serious and embarrassing issue that he addressed was the theft of an undetermined number of master keys at an unknown time. It is assumed the keys made used them to enter the automo tive shop and steal several valu able items along with the ignition keys to the Campus Safety Jeep on Oct. 28, resulting in its theft as well. Its keys were at the shop so the vehicle could be serviced the following Monday. The Jeep was recovered, but according to Cochran, this and other incidents related to the stolen master keys are still unsolved. “We’ve had several offices that have been entered without forced entry with items taken. So last week we said we just got to just'start re-keying the build ings,” Cochran said. Cochran assured the audience that these thefts are being taken seriously. Mike Pfaffle, a security technician with Campus Services was in the process of changing the locks to die outside doors near the auditorium in McLoughlin during and after the meeting. The time and place that the undetermined number of mas ter keys was stolen remains unknown. Cochran advised staff in the audience that at all times personal items should not be left behind locked doors at any time regardless of the current situa tion. He and Janet Paulson, pub lic information officer for the col lege commented about securing personal belongings. “Someone lost a Larry Bird signed basketball which is unfor tunate. But, you know, that’s a very personal item,” said Cochran. “We have 30 or 40 people at any one time that have a key, not counting the other keys that are out there that we cannot account for. Just remember that when you think about your office and what’s in there.” nob Cochran, Dean oj Campus Services, demonstrates the new barricades that have been designed to give information in the event o f a campus closure. They will be placed at the entrances to the campus to prevent motor vehicle entry. “It’s your workplace not your home,” said Paulson. Kelly White, an administra tive assistant with the Arts and Sciences department, had ques tions relating to the absence of a Campus Safety Director at the college. “I just want to address the elephant in the room and Kurt Nelson is no longer with the col lege,” White said. “And I believe his position oversaw all of this. What is the college doing to replace that person?” ; Cochran explained that the position is open and posted on the college website. The application deadline is Dec.. 14. Then there will be about three to four weeks of evaluations and interviews and it will be potentially filled by the end of January or the beginning of February, he said. The full time administrative position pays a yearly salary of $67,471-$89,862. Cochran also said the depart ment was consulting Captain Kevin Lang of the Clackamas County Sherriff’s Office while the former director’s position is not filled.White had other serious concerns. “Financially how is the col lege ready to implement things that need to be corrected and changed?” she said. “Because to me, I feel this is an unsafe place to come to work.” Cochran’s reply was brief. “That’s a good concern. Thank you,” he said.
