On October 14, 2006, Sandra Lee Mendez Bentler, 47, was killed inside the family home in Bonaparte, Iowa. A 911 call from her 14-year-old daughter Shayne captured frantic warnings about Shawn and pleas from Sandra, followed by a popping sound and Shayne’s final scream. Officers arriving at 3:55 a.m. found Sandra at the top of the stairs and found that she, her husband Michael J. Bentler, 53, and their three daughters Sheena Lee, 17, Shelby Marie, 15, and Shayné Lauree, 14, had all been shot with a .22 caliber rifle. Shayne and Shelby were discovered in closets; Sheena was on a lower-level bed.

Investigators identified the couple’s 22-year-old son, Shawn Michael Bentler, as the prime suspect and located him later that day in Quincy, Illinois. Evidence noted in the case included the victim’s blood on socks he wore at arrest and his cell phone being recovered at the scene. Prosecutors said the alleged motive was financial inheritance. Shawn Bentler waived a jury; a judge convicted him on five counts of first-degree murder and imposed five consecutive life terms without parole, with the sentence for Sandra ordered served consecutively because of the particularly merciless nature of her death.

If anyone knew Sandra or the family, or has information about that night, please share what you remember.