A double murder in London, Kentucky ended the lives of Mary and Johnny Benge in September 2020. Mary Benge, 66, and her husband, Johnny, 69, were found dead in the living room of their Tomcat Trail home by a family member; both had suffered multiple gunshot wounds. Mary had worked for many years as a cook at the Clay County Detention Center and co-pastored the Gospel Tabernacle Church of God.

Investigators identified the couple’s 40-year-old son, Joseph L. Benge, as the primary suspect and reported he fled in his parents’ white 2015 Ford Taurus. Police tracked his cell phone to Mayfield, Kentucky, and located him there during a traffic stop. Officers recovered multiple firearms and body armor in the vehicle. Joseph Benge was arrested and charged with two counts of murder, one count of robbery, and theft by unlawful taking of an automobile over $10,000, and was lodged in the Laurel County Correctional Center. Motive has not been released; family reports say Joseph previously disappeared in 2018 and 2019 and had been the subject of Golden Alerts with mentions of mental disabilities.

Did anyone in the area know the Benge family or notice the Taurus leaving Tomcat Trail around the time of the killings?