P R IN T : News
Wednesday, Nov. 21,2012
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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.