True Crime with Kimbyr - Snake Breeder Murder: Ben Renick Part 3

Episode Date: August 12, 2024

In this episode, Kimbyrleigha dives into the mysterious and chilling case of Ben Renick, a successful 29-year-old snake breeder found dead in his reptile facility. Initially suspected to be an animal-related accident, the truth was far more sinister. Ben’s wife, Linley Renck, becomes a key suspect as investigators unravel a web of deception, financial struggles, and secret affairs. With shocking confessions and detailed testimonies, the episode uncovers the dark motives behind Ben’s murder. Tune in to hear how love, betrayal, and greed led to a coldblooded killing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

So Officer Schaefer pulled up to the jail, met with Brandon, and said, I'm here because you used to date Lindley. And Brandon said, yeah. And he wanted to confess the entire story of their relationship and Ben's murder. Brandon said he and Linley met online on a dating site in April of 2017, and they fell in love and they had a baby together. But then Linley accused him of threatening her, which he said he had never done. She broke up with him and got a restraining order, but Brandon wanted to see his kid. It was okay if they weren't living together and they weren't together. But Linley wasn't letting him see his child.

And she was accusing him of all this stuff that he said he never did. Then he never stalked her. He didn't violate the order 12 times. But I'm thinking, wouldn't they have proof of that? Not according to him. Not even once did he do anything out of line. She just wanted him in jail. So somehow this man made a deal with Officer Schaefer if he would tell him.

the story of Ben's murder, he could get out of jail. They were desperate for answers, and Brandon was the closest they had gotten to any kind of inside information. Remember, I told you, in order to solve this case, they knew someone had to confess to something that they knew that nobody else did. When they asked him, where's your information going to come from? His literal words were, they were going to come straight from the horse's mouth, meaning Lynn Lee had told him everything he was about to tell the officer. Brandon said, Lynn Lee had sat him down while they were vacationing in a cabin. He had told her if they were going to be together, he needed to know everything, the full truth of what happened with Ben if she knew anything, because he had a bad feeling

that she knew more than she was letting on. And for some reason, he said that Lindley agreed. She was paranoid. She wanted to get something off of her chest, but she also wanted to make sure their phones were in separate rooms to make sure the conversation wasn't being recorded by the government or the police or anything. And then he said, she dropped a major bombshell. According to Brandon, she told him she killed Ben. And I was not expecting that. But remember, this is Brandon's version. He wants to also get out of jail.

So did I just have to keep that in mind. They also have to keep an open mind. Brandon said Lindley Spa had been going downhill for months. And she asked Ben for money. But $4,000 wasn't enough to pay back all of her debt. So she had actually been secretly withdrawing money from Renick Reptimes. without Ben's permission. Well, Ben wasn't stupid.

He figured it out. She knew that he knew. So Ben finally put his foot down, and he texted Linley accusing her of sucking money out of his business. And Linley got scared. Brandon said that she thought that Ben was not only going to leave her, but take everything, including the kids,

but I mean, wouldn't anyone leave you after you're cheating and stealing from them? Especially after Ben was actually trying to help his wife. Brandon said, Brandon said Linley knew Ben had the money to win any legal scenario. So she began getting scared, thinking that he would take the kids away and abandon her with all of her debt. Brandon said that Linley had decided a divorce wouldn't be enough. So she started to plot Ben's murder.

Brandon said that Linley went to her coworker and really good friend Ashley and told her everything. Linley told her the easiest ways to kill Ben would either be poison or a gun. neither of which Ashley or Linley had access to. But they figured the poison would be easier to get, since Ashley knew how to get narcotics. So Ben and Linley, they regularly drink protein shakes in the mornings and in the evenings, and they would always get a bunch of these for free from the representatives that would come into the spa. So in mid-May, Linley crushed up narcotics that she got from Ashley,

and she put them in a protein shake for Ben. And he drank it, and incredibly, he did not die, but he got super sick. He was vomiting over and over again. He couldn't get out of bed, but somehow he survived through the night. And he didn't have a clue that he had been poisoned. He thought it was a bad shake or he just got some food poisoning of some kind. Brandon explained that Lindley was still scared that Ben was going to run off with the kids. So she thought about people who might have a gun.

And that's when she remembered her ex-boyfriend Michael Humphrey. He was a fresh out of jail meth dealer. So what did she do? She recruited him. He started coming in for what she referred to as regular massages, but this was actually a meeting to plan some murder. On June 8th, Michael came to the spa, according to Brandon, and picked Lindley up in his truck. He brought his gun and a pair of gloves, and they left for New Florence, leaving both of their phones at the spa with Ashley, so it would appear as though they hadn't left the location. Ashley was in charge of texting people for the next two hours to create an alibi for both of them. That's actually really clever.

Since most people do get caught due to their attachment or their reliance on their phones, but we don't know if any of this is true. Brandon said before Michael and Lindley skipped town, Michael realized he was out of gas. So Linley got really angry because they needed to stop. After they did, they made their way to Renic Reptiles. Now Brandon tells this version, of what happened next. He explained that when they arrived in front of renic reptiles, Ben was outside taking out the trash. And they didn't expect him to be outside. So they abandoned

their plan and they left the car without the gun. Linley actually introduces Ben to Michael saying that Michael was one of her old friends who wanted to see some snakes. But Ben was a little confused because this was so spur of the moment. But he was nice enough to show Michael around. Awkward. Brandon said, then they left. And that's when Linley and Michael got into an argument in his truck. She asked Michael to go kill Ben. And Michael was like, no, I can't do it. And he also said he didn't want her to be angry

if she ended up regretting it. But Linley said she had made up her mind. That's when she put the gloves on. She took the gun and she went back into Renic Reptiles. That's when Linley told Brandon that Ben said, what are you doing? And she shot Ben right in the face and then multiple times in his back,

according to Linley and according to Brandon. And Michael just watched everything. And then he helped her clean up the shell casings, though he wasn't able to gather them all. And then Michael drove them back to Columbia to the spa. And Linley then showered and scrubbed all the gunshot residue from her body. Ashley helped her bag up all of her clothes, and Michael got rid of the clothes in a dumpster somewhere.

That was quite the story. And after Brandon was done with his confession, the police were in shock. Brandon apologized for withholding this information. withholding this information, but he said it was weighing on him. And after his confession, all of his charges were dropped. He got what he wanted. He was let out of jail. And I kept thinking, just like that? He's free? Anyone could just make up a story? Were they even fact-checking this? Remember the crime scene? Ben was lying on his stomach, facing the South Wall. It was unlikely

that Ben saw Linley come up behind him. And what evidence was there that Linley had been the one to do it? had been there the whole time. And he hadn't accused her. Detective Schaefer had to find out if Brandon's story had any truth behind it. But I was thinking, shouldn't you have done that first before letting this man out of jail?

So he got a warrant to access Ben and Linley's private Facebook messages. And this can take a while. I've heard it can even take years to get these. But he's scrolling through to see if there was any talk about the protein shake.

And interestingly enough, there was a message where Ben asked if Linley had tried to kill him with the protein shake. So Brandon knew at least one detail of the story that police didn't. That seemed real. So was he telling the truth. I was thinking it's actually quite normal for someone to joke around and say,

what were you doing trying to kill me? My mom used to say things like that when something tasted really bad. So I was kind of surprised by what happened next. Investigators told Sam and the rest of Ben's family, they were making an arrest. And on January 16, 2020 at 12.01 p.m., Lindley Renick was arrested in Colombia on the charge of first-degree murder and armed criminal action. Michael Humphrey was found in Jefferson City at 6.45 p.m. and was arrested on the same charges, that they'd conspired to kill Ben. But who had really pulled the trigger?

They were held without bond for the first few days and then went to separate detention centers where Linley was held on one million dollar bond. But the investigation wasn't over yet. Brandon's testimony was shaky at best. Police then, talked to little Miss Ashley Shaw. Ashley did not show up with an attorney. And she talked about her job, her kids, what was going on in her life without knowing that she could be charged with accessory to murder. The officers showed Ashley the message between Ben and Linley, where Ben said, did you try to kill me? And Ashley said what I kind of said, that it was a joke. Ashley explained it as it was a brand new kind of shake. Lindley and Ben both got sick, but it was just a

just common food poisoning. Some of those wellness shakes are pretty nasty, but Schaefer did not believe her. And at this point, he looked at Ashley and he told her, she could either be on the side of Missouri or the side of Linley and team Linley was going to jail. That was a threat. It implied that if Ashley didn't confess, she was certainly going to jail. And I don't know about you, but if I heard that, I would get a lawyer right away. But Ashley just changed. her story. Ashley said Linley and Ben's marriage was heading in the direction of divorce. And a few months before Ben was killed, Linley told Ashley, according to her, that Ben had inappropriately touched her in her sleep.

Linley had woken up in the middle of the night, and please excuse me for saying this, but said that he was violating her with his hands, his fingers, to be exact. But according to Ashley, Linley didn't trust him anymore. Linley said that this wasn't the first time that Ben had exhibited control of and concerning behavior. But Ashley tells them she'd never seen any evidence of bruises, but she wanted to believe her friend about what was going on. And of course, you're going to side with your friend.

You want to be there for them. And I get that. But that's when Ashley said that Linley asked her if she or her boyfriend had a gun. And Ashley said she didn't and asked what for? Linley said she wanted to kill Ben because she was scared that he would run off and get custody of the kids. Now this is sounding very similar to Brandon's story. So together, Ashley and Linley

looked up how many prescription pills it would take for an overdose. And Ashley asked her boyfriend if he knew anyone who had prescription painkillers. Ashley's boyfriend got her 15 percassette through a friend and gave them to Lindley. That's when Linley made the deadly protein shake. She blended them up in a magic bullet at the spa and took them home to Ben. The next morning, Ashley got a text that said it didn't work. Then Linley called. And on the phone, she sounded frustrated, of all things. And Linley told Ashley she'd made her own unlaced protein shake

and pretended she got sick when she drank it too. So Ben wouldn't suspect anything. But somehow he made it through the night. How heartless and cold would you have to be to do this? Like I just cannot even imagine thinking and saying these things to someone. Then Ashley went with Linley to her ex-boyfriend. Michael's trailer, Michael Humphrey. Ashley drove, and their cover story, if anyone were to ask, was that Michael was installing a new speaker in Ashley's car. When they arrived,

Lindley asked Michael if he had access to a gun, and he said he did. She explained that her husband was abusive, and she tried to kill him, and she wanted to know if he would consider coming with her to confront Ben at their house. She said Michael owed her for getting her addicted to pain killers back when they were together. Michael said he would, think about it. So apparently this was just supposed to be a threat towards Ben. Ashley told the police that Michael came back to the spa a few days later. The cover story this time was that story about how Michael needed his car jumped and a few aestheticians at the spa were going to help him out. Linley, Ashley, and Michael talked in one of the spa rooms and Linley confirmed that Michael would

provide the gun. A few days later on June 8th, again, according to Ashley, she witnessed Michael pick Linley up from the spa. She had all three of their phones in her possession. She said she used Linley's phone and she sent Ben a message that said, hey, I'm sick. Can you pick up the kids from school? So that means Linley's text which served as her alibi was a text that Ashley had sent. Wow. If this is true, it's crazy. Like I cannot believe a friend would do this. I can't believe this whole story. But Ashley said Linley returned two hours later, took all of her clothes off, jumped in the shower and then asked Ashley to scrub her body, her hands, everything. Then Michael showed up and asked Linley if Ashley knew what happened. And Linley said, Ashley doesn't know anything. And Michael nodded and left.

Then Linley told Ashley that Michael had shot Ben. She also confessed that she was angry at Michael for having to stop and get gas before they went over there and that they stopped at the Phillips 66 before leaving town. And Linley had paid for the gas. She was worried. that they were going to get caught on surveillance video and that her alibi would be shattered. Days after that, Linley changed her story about what happened. The day Ben was killed and who did it. She told Ashley that Michael got too nervous. And that quote, once we got there, I was fine to do it. And he handed me the gun and I did it, end quote. So she had killed Ben and Ashley told the police, Linley didn't seem sorry, but Ashley started feeling sorry for her. Ashley then told police

police on June 19th when the police found out that Linley was texting Michael Humphrey, Linley asked Ashley to text Michael and warn him that the police were coming to talk to him and that he needed to keep his mouth shut. Remember that thumbs up? I wonder if that really was an accidental text. A year later, Linley told Brandon the truth of what happened. Then Ashley, Michael, Linley, and Brandon all met up to get on the same page. So now this is really starting to seem like it's the truth. So while this entire testimony was being used to corroborate Brandon's story, she'd been the one to tell Brandon about the protein shakes. So this really didn't tell us any new information other than Ashley being an accessory. But now, she had full immunity for agreeing to

help them and provide all of this information. Officer Schaefer then went through Landley's credit card history and he was able to confirm that she had gotten gas from Phillips 66, around 3.45 p.m. about 40 minutes before he suspected that Ben was killed. Sergeant Schaefer worked with Michael and Linley's prosecution to put a timeline together of all of Linley, Ben, and Michael's messages, as well as financial records. And I'm not going to go into every little text in detail, but I will mention that Ben texted Linley in May, saying it felt like they weren't having sex anymore, and he wasn't even sure if she was still interested in him. That really does truly make me sad.

It really does. And then Linley texts him back and describes him forcing himself on her and her sleep. He's caught off guard. After that, apparently he texts back, he apologizes, and promised to do better. And they discussed going to marriage counseling. So maybe that story was true. Then he asked if there was anyone getting between their marriage. Linley told him, she still loved him and there was no one else, but we know that's a lie. Both of them had made mistakes. But it seemed like one of the of them was after a more severe punishment. Michael's trial was held in October of 2021. And according to the prosecution, Michael had gone with the sole purpose of killing Ben for Linley. This was based on both Brandon and Ashley's testimony, his criminal history, as well as the fact that the two bullets shot on the floor had been done by someone taller than Linley, he was only 5'3. And Michael

was over six feet tall. It was perfectly plausible that Linley told Michael, he owed her and convinced him to bring the gun and kill Ben for her. Michael testified in his own defense, and sometimes that can go a little wild. He said that Linley had shown up at his trailer with Ashley, and he hadn't seen her in six years. When she asked him to kill Ben, he thought she was joking. But remember, we've heard they plotted for a week. But during this time, Linley threw out the possibility that she would kill Ben,

but didn't decide on it yet. But then on June 8th, Michael said he picked her up, and Linley told him she changed her mind about murdering Ben. She didn't want to do it anymore. She just wanted Michael to come there and support her emotionally because she was going to ask Ben for a divorce. Michael said he thought this was going to be a peaceful resolution. They stopped at Phillips 66.

Lindley paid for gas. They showed up. Ben was taken out the trash. Linley said Michael was a friend from high school who wanted to see the snakes. Ben hesitated, but he let them inside. Michael said he was looking at snakes and then he heard a gunshot and he ducked and he turned towards Linley and she was at the end of the corridor holding a gun. He went out the door and went into his car and he heard the sounds of more gunshots behind him. Then Linley ran out freaking out.

Michael said he didn't know where the gun came from, that it wasn't his. He was just there and he wasn't the one to pick up the shell casings either. Well, I don't know who he thought the story was going to convince. because Ashley said Linley didn't have access to a gun. And Michael knew a lot of felons, people who owned guns, including himself, and in late October, the verdict was reached. Michael was found guilty of first-degree murder and the charge of armed criminal action.

His sentencing was scheduled for January 3rd of 2022. The police knew that Michael would most likely get life in prison without parole for killing Ben. They also knew that the person they suspected even more, Lindley Renick was currently sitting at home on house arrest because her defense attorney, Catherine Berger, had somehow convinced the judge while Linley was waiting for a trial that because of COVID, she needed to go home and take care of her kids and her dad who had medical issues. Since Linley had no criminal history, the attorney wanted to know if it would be possible for her

to be placed on electronic supervision house arrest until her trial. and the judge actually agreed. So the police and the prosecutor saw this situation as a bad sign for Linley's trial. They really didn't have enough concrete evidence against her for the jury to convict her. And I watched these Zoom videos of her trying to convince the judge. And in those moments, I saw the power she had to manipulate. She interrupted her own lawyer and the judge was stunned. He was like, wait a minute, do you want her to talk?

But the lawyer allowed it. And it was very. telling to me, I'm going to play it for you. Your Honor, I have a little. Hang on just a second. All right, did somebody else say? I think my client was going to make us, was going to say something.

Okay, Ms. Renick, did you want to say something? Do you want her to say something? That's fine, Your Honor. I don't know if it makes a difference, but my home confinement would be at my dad's and that is in Boone County. They're in Columbia. So I know you had mentioned that they had a service

through the court that you would use. I don't know if that has any bearing on it. That I wouldn't be in Montgomery County on home confinement. I would be at my dad's in Columbia. We understand that, Lenley. We're gonna, I'm gonna talk to you about trying to pay for it. Okay, that's the issue right now.

Surprise to today because the insurance company also has concerns about her causing the death of her. That is incorrect. You don't want her say anything, do you? So they struck up a deal with Michael Humphrey. They told him that they could change his charge to second degree murder, drop the armed criminal action charge entirely.

And this would get him the option of life with parole, he would need to do a couple things. First, he would need to testify against his ex-girlfriend Linley in her upcoming trial, and second, he would need to tell them where the weapon is. If he were there, they said they know he knows who the gun belongs to and who shot it. If he took responsibility for the gun, he could still claim that Linley killed Ben, but had possibly used Michael's weapon to do it. So finally, Michael agreed to these terms. He waived his right to appeal his sentence. He was backed into a corner, so he told them the gun was his. And he told the investigators he knew where it was. It was kept in his current girlfriend's mom's

attic crawl space underneath a big pile of insulation. The investigators got a warrant for the house where it was hidden. They went up to the attic. And sure enough, the gun was there. It was a 40-calibre Springfield. And they sent it off to the lab for testing. But it came back having no DNA, that belonged to Linley. But after all, Michael had brought gloves to the crime scene. On January 3rd, 2022, Michael was sentenced to life with the possibility of parole. He tried to appeal his sentence, but remember, he already waived his right. And he's currently spending his days at Jefferson City Correction Center. But let's wrap everything up. At one of Linley's pretrial hearings, the prosecution came forward with the gun. And this was shock. Like, I watched

this in the trial and I was like, wow, that was a bold move. They have the murder weapon. There was concrete evidence that Linley had participated in Ben's murder. Michael had no reason to be there on his own. They had conspired together, but it still wasn't clear who shot the handgun. Linley's trial was in Boone County and it started November of 2021. The prosecution attorneys Kelly King and Nathan Karras started their opening statements saying that Linley shot and killed Ben, picked up her kids from school, and took them home knowing that these kids were at the risk of seeing their father in his last moments. And that is just cruel. They said that Linley used Michael Humphrey's gun, and her motive was that she wanted Ben's life insurance.

She needed it to keep the spa afloat. The defense consisted of Tim Heisman and Catherine Berger, and they tried to convince the jury that Linley was an open book. She cared about her kids and she would never want Ben dead. Lindley brought Michael with her as a mediator because she was going to ask for divorce. They said that she was outside Reneg Reptiles when she heard gunshots. And Michael ran outside. She was in denial and didn't know Michael killed Ben until she returned home that evening.

What? That doesn't even make sense to me. You wouldn't go in and find out if someone just killed your husband after you hear gunshots? I'm not buying it. The prosecution brought several witnesses forward, including Ashley Shaw and Michael. Humphrey who told their stories. This time, Michael's story lined up perfectly with Ashley's. He claimed that he had provided the gun and they planned to kill Ben the entire way to Rennick Reptiles. But he had decided not to at the last minute because he didn't want Linley to be

mad at him. Brandon Blackwell also testified. He said that Linley lied to police to get him thrown in jail and so that she could get custody over their child. Brandon was now taking care of his child, and Linley had filed a petition of defamation against him while she was on house arrest, but it didn't go anywhere. But the defense, when questioning Brandon, pointed out that Brandon's story was sketchy. First of all, he'd said that Linley pointed the gun at Ben while he was facing her, and from the evidence, that's not true. Also, the defense attorneys had talked to other people in Brandon's life to find out more about him and the protection order. And this is interesting. In Linley's protection order, she said that Brandon had threatened to go to the police several times and tell

them she had murdered Ben if she left him and took away their child. So Linley knew that leaving Brandon would result in him accusing her of Ben's murder. She was hoping that this was just an empty threat from Brandon, but the fact that he was threatening her and he had controlling behavior, she did not want him around the kids. But then while listening to Brandon's calls from jail, as well as other conversations with other people in jail, he said things like, I'm going to ruin Linley's life, I'm going to get out of jail,

and I'm going to burn that bitch. So anything he had to say about Linley could not be 100% honest because it was tainted with revenge, which I kind of had a feeling. Then an ascetician from the spa, Rachel Hunt, was another witness for the prosecution. Rachel said that Linley had told her

they were going to murder Ben with a gun before it happened. Rachel didn't call 911 because she didn't want to be a part of anything. And she had heard that Linley couldn't divorce Ben or he would take the kids. She said that on June 8th, all the aestheticians were told to cancel their appointments.

Michael came and picked up Linley and Rachel and Ashley, who were roommates at the time, walked to the convenience store and the bank in order to establish an alibi. Then when Linley came back, Rachel was told to go into the break room and she could not hear any of the conversation,

conversations between Linley and Ashley. Rachel said that Ashley said that Linley had blood on her clothing, but Rachel never actually saw Linley's clothes. Rachel also testified that the day after police got Ashley's testimony, Ashley had gone home and told Rachel that the police were going to ask Rachel for her story. Ashley said to tell police everything. Now, I don't know if Rachel had discussed the details of the story with Ashley, but since they were roommates, I assume they did. Even Rachel's testimony may not be the most accurate version of events. I'm getting somewhere with this, but I want to tell you these things, Catherine, the babysitter, testified for the prosecution as well. And this I found fascinating. Linley texted to postpone their meeting up until between 5.45 and 6 p.m.

But while Lindley was still driving home before 6 p.m., she called Catherine to cancel the babysitting gig entirely. Over the phone, she said she couldn't reach Ben, so maybe Catherine shouldn't come. So Linley wanted to cancel the date plans for Wonder Woman with Ben before she even got home from picking up the kids. She knew that Ben had been shot, but did she know that Ben had died? Her story was starting to unravel. When the defense attorney asked Catherine if she knew Linley well, Catherine said, yeah. She'd been babysitting the Renix for years. And when asked if Linley knew how to shoot a gun, Catherine also said yes. She told the jury that Linley had posted pictures on Facebook of her target practice.

But the question was, did she know how to shoot using Michael's gun? That's when we finally get Linley's version of the story. Linley was no longer feeling safe in her own home after Ben's alleged forced actions, and she wanted to divorce. But according to her, she didn't think it would be safe to confront Ben on her own. He had gotten physical with her, according to her, allegedly, on several occasions, including pushing her into the fridge and grabbing her arm. She came to work with bruises on her arm.

She did everything in her power to make sure he was. wasn't angry at her. She would send him nude photos. She would apologize for the spa's finance problems, whatever it took. She never wanted to file a report against him because she loved him, and she would never kill him. And in the weeks leading up to his death, she even had a moment where they both drank a bad protein shake and they joked about it later. These are her words. She thought maybe everything was going to be okay. But she says he went back to his old ways. I can't help but feel like she's lying. After all, Ashley said she never saw. saw bruises. There was never any report of this, but I gotta tell you the story anyway.

Linley apparently asked Ashley to come with her to ask Ben for divorce, but Ashley's boyfriend told her not to go because he didn't want her to be in the same room with Ben. Not after everything you'd heard about Ben's violence. So Linley looked up her ex-boyfriend Michael because he was big, he was tall, and he was intimidating. And she got his address off of court records. She asked Michael to come with her. She gathered up her personal belongings from the house and Michael agreed. It took a week of Lonely going back and forth before she truly decided she wanted a divorce, and Michael picked her up and she accidentally left her phone with Ashley at the front desk because that's where she usually kept it during the day. They drove to Brennick Reptiles where Ben was

taken out the trash. Linley said she was just working up the courage to ask him for the divorce. She introduced him to Michael as her friend from high school. Then she told Ben to give Michael a tour of the facility and she took out the trash. She dropped it in the dumpster and then followed the two of them and sighed. It sounded at that point like the men were having an argument. She said, I walked up right behind Michael, and then Michael turned around, and I saw a gun in his hand. And then I heard shots ring out, and I screamed, and I ran outside. And then I heard more shots. And everything just went numb, and I remember staring at the trees. Remember that Michael Scarlet Ben's neighbor said he heard a woman scream sometime in the afternoon?

Linley implied that was her screaming when Ben got shot, not later when she found his body. She says that Michael ran outside and pushed Linley into the truck. He threatened that he would kill her if she didn't keep quiet. So she disassociated and she said she was in complete shock when she got back to the spa. She was in a delirious haze and Linley didn't know at this point if Ben was alive or dead. She went into the shower to scrub off the memory from her body, wondering why Michael would even bring a gun. Then she texted Michael and hoped he had gotten home safe and asked him to come in the next day for another massage. That's when Ben wasn't answering her messages.

So she was concerned that Michael had actually hurt him. And she wanted Michael to reply with more clarification. Linley said she started driving home when the school called her and told her that Ben hadn't picked up the kid so she was freaking out. She was thinking, what if Ben was seriously hurt? Had he been hit by the gunshots? I have to stop and say, girl, really? Like, this story just sounds so fake. The next day, she said she talked to Michael and asked him,

why did you do it? And Michael said, he had a friend from jail who had committed homicide. Michael told her when he asked the felon how to stop someone from abusing their wife. He said, kill him. So Michael did. Linley wondered if he was high on meth that day. She was so upset. She didn't plan to talk to him ever again.

When prosecutors asked Linley why she lied so many times to him. investigators. She started to break down crying, which I have to say she's pretty good at. She can just let the tears flow on demand. She said she didn't want to be implicated in Ben's murder. And she thought it would look like she was conspiring to kill him. Really? You know, they say that the simplest explanation's usually the right one. It looks like she's conspiring to kill him. When asked if she knew deep down who killed him, she sobbed and said yes. And she apologized to Sam. Sam watched her entire performance, and he was sick to his stomach. He did not think this was a true apology.

He thought she was a sociopath trying to garner sympathy from the jury, putting on the waterworks with her innocent little deer in the headlights. The defense painted the entire picture, and I have to hand it to them. They did an awesome job. I still had so many questions. Why would Ashley lie and say, didn't have bruises. She still cared about her friend, and if she really had bruises, it would have made more sense why she lied to investigators about the murder. Why would Michael

leave his phone with Ashley and Linley's if they weren't planning a murder? And even if Linley had not shot the gun, there were four different stories claiming that she had premeditated this, not once, but twice. And if they did it as a plan, she would be guilty of whoever did shoot the gun. The jury deliberated for 12 hours, and Linley was found guilty in December of 2021 of second-degree murder and armed criminal action. The jury recommended that you received life in prison, and you may not believe how long she was sentenced. But maybe you will. 16 years, 13 for murder and 3 for armed criminal action consecutively served, and then she'll go back. to her life. The judge was frustrated by the sentencing because in Missouri, judges are not allowed

to change the jury's decision. He told Lindley, you're awfully lucky, ma'am. I just hope you don't kill again. Linley will be in the Correctional Center of Missouri until 2035, and I just checked my calendar. She'll be eligible for parole in 11 years. At the end of the day, I think it's some kind of combination of all of these stories, I do believe that Linley wanted to kill Ben for his money. And because she thought he was going to divorce her and be able to leave with the kids, she was cheating on him with the men that we know of and using her poor husband to fund her spa project. She manipulated her ex Michael Humphrey into carrying out the murder for her. And based on the way the bullets hit Ben and the fact it was Michael's gun, I think Michael probably

pulled the trigger, but Linley was the one with the motive, and she was there every step of the way. She's a really good liar, and she could put on the waterworks. I'm sure Ben wasn't a perfect person. We are all flawed. He lived his life wanting to make a legacy for the Renick name and to provide for his children and spend as much time with snakes as possible, even taking in Linley's child as his own. Sam thinks, if Ben would have known Linley was cheating, he would have ended things. He would have stuck up for himself, gotten a divorce, and gotten custody of his kids. He would have been a millionaire, but all of that potential was ripped away from him, and it all boiled down to money and greed. Sam said that Linley's sentencing was an injustice.

He doesn't feel his brother's life is just worth merely 16 years, not after everything the children and his family went through. Ben's death will haunt Sam forever, but the renic name lives on through the Rennet Ghost, putting a picture on the screen, and through stories that captivate his creative, kind, generous, and loving personality. The only way this case was able to be solved was through stories. I think this case is about stories and the power of words. And I thank you all so much for being here today.

I hope to see you in my next video. Bye.