Horry County jury will soon decide fate of man who says he’s innocent of killing in 2000
A jury will soon decide whether Gary Bennett committed murder in 2000, or if they believe his claims that he is innocent.
Bennett and his lawyers rested their case on Tuesday in his retrial on murder charges. The jury is expected to begin its deliberations on Wednesday.
Eva Marie Martin was found dead in her Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, area mobile home on May 23, 2000. State prosecutors say Bennett was obsessed with getting the combination to the safe at the Taco Bell, where Martin worked. He then killed her after an argument.
Co-defendant Andrew Lindsey testified he was in the mobile home with Bennett and Martin. He said the two went to a bedroom. When Lindsey went back to the room, he found Bennett on top of Martin. Lindsey said Martin was dead when he turned her over.
However, defense attorneys have repeatedly questioned Lindsey’s account and noted that investigators said they did not find Bennett’s fingerprints or DNA at the scene.
Bennett was convicted of the killing in 2003 and sentenced to life in prison, but has maintained his innocence. He was granted a retrial on the charges, which has been held in Horry County court over the last week.
Defense attorneys presented their final witnesses on Tuesday, many of whom were private investigators or experts.
Throughout the case, Bennett’s attorneys have discussed tape recordings of Lindsey during his police interviews. They say that part of the recordings is missing. At previous hearings, defense attorneys have said the missing part includes LIndsey and his wife having sex and a supposed confession by Lindsey.
Paul Partin is a former Horry County police officer and he said that he set up a tape recording in 2000 of Lindsey at the police station after his arrest. Lindsey’s wife, Tara, was also there for part of the interview. Partin said he set up the tape recording, left the area and came back dozens of minutes later. He said when he came back, he ended the recording. But, years later, when he watched the recording, it was only seconds long.
“It should have been longer than the split second it was,” Partin said.
During cross-examination, Partin said he never watched the tape when he stopped the recording in 2000, so he had no idea what was on the tape at that time.
Former Horry County detective Vic Neal said he watched the tape. He said the tape showed the couple having sex, but there was no audio.
The jury also heard from Amy Durso, who reviewed Martin’s autopsy report. She described how her neck was cut and that if the slash came from behind, it was likely done by a right-handed person. Bennett is left-handed.
The cut could have been done left-to-right by a person who was on top of Martin and restrained, Durso said during cross-examination.
This story was originally published October 27, 2020 at 2:47 PM.
