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Family Had Hope For Victim

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By TODD LESKANIC, The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 13, 2007

NEW PORT RICHEY - John Benjamin was killed about the time he seemed to be getting a handle on his life.

Benjamin recovered remnants of his old self after a drug-related hospital stay in September 2005. He was receiving treatment for his previously undiagnosed bipolar disorder and his drug use.

"We had been trying to get him into rehab for quite some time," his brother, Robert Benjamin, said Monday. "Now that he was getting some medical assistance and was participating in it, we were very hopeful."

Weeks later, that hope turned to shock and sadness when a worker discovered John Benjamin's charred remains in a wooded area north of State Road 52 and east of Hays Road.

His body was so badly burned that investigators had to use dental records to identify him. With his body was a burned 2004 Isuzu Trooper registered to Sherry Harris, stepdaughter of then-Port Richey police Chief Bill Sager.

One of the two men authorities believe is responsible for the brutal killing goes on trial today in Pasco-Pinellas Circuit Court. Daniel Lee Parbel, 37, of Hudson, is charged with first-degree murder and faces a maximum sentence of life in prison. The trial is expected to last through Friday.

Parbel's co-defendant, 46-year-old Christopher Wright, will be tried separately. Wright, of Port Richey, also is charged with first-degree murder.
Robert Benjamin said he, his mother and two sisters plan to attend the trial, despite the likelihood of graphic and painful testimony about the killing. He said John Benjamin's sons, now 17 and 12, probably won't attend.

"It's going to be a terrible time for the whole family," he said. "Mentally, I'm not prepared for it, but I don't think anyone really can be."

A Life Spiraling Downward

Robert and John Benjamin were fraternal twins, born just six minutes apart on New Year's Day in 1968. John Benjamin, a dispensing optician, married in 1990 and had two children with his wife, Pamela. The couple separated in 1999 and divorced in 2000.

Things began getting rocky for John Benjamin about a year before his death, his brother said.

"He wasn't getting child support and that caused a lot of financial hardships," Robert Benjamin said. "He hooked up with a woman who exposed him to a certain circle of friends that weren't good for him."

Investigators have said John Benjamin was killed because he owed Harris a couple of hundred dollars in drug money. Harris was not charged in the killing.

She has told investigators that Parbel and another man, Yusef Wilson, were with her on Sept. 24, 2005, as she drove Benjamin around in the Trooper. The foursome stopped at pay phones across west Pasco County and demanded that Benjamin call family members and ask for the money.

One of the calls Benjamin made was to his mother, who was in New York at the time. After her son told her he needed $500, someone grabbed the phone from him and told her to bring the cash to Ridge Road or else her son would die, Robert Benjamin has said.

Hours later, Wright and Parbel drove Benjamin to a construction site off Hays Road in the SUV. Wilson told investigators that Wright, who was sitting behind Benjamin, reached around Benjamin's neck and made a slashing motion.

Benjamin, Parbel and Wright jumped out of the SUV, Wilson said, and fought. Benjamin managed to escape the two men and got into the driver's seat. He tried to drive away but the SUV got stuck in the sand, reports state.

According to Wilson, Parbel and Wright ran to the vehicle, jumped on the roof and broke the windows. Wilson said as the three men left, he saw Benjamin inside the vehicle and unconscious. They returned later in Wright's van and found Benjamin's body on the ground.

Wilson said Parbel and Wright dragged the body back to the Isuzu, poured gasoline on the vehicle and on Benjamin's body and set them on fire.

An autopsy report listed the cause of death as "blunt and sharp injuries."

Arrests Made 2 Months Later
Parbel and Wright were arrested two months later. At the time of his arrest, Parbel was in the Land O' Lakes Jail, charged with aggravated battery, kidnapping and false imprisonment in an unrelated case.

According to investigators, those crimes occurred about a week after Benjamin's death as Parbel was trying to collect a drug debt.
Robert Benjamin said he didn't realize the extent of his brother's descent into drugs until around the time of his death.

"I remember my brother telling me he owed money and there were people looking for him," he said. "He said it at a time he was manic and I didn't pay attention. It was hard to determine what was reality when he got like that.

"I wish I'd listened to him."

Reporter Todd Leskanic can be reached at (727) 815-1084 or tleskanic@tampatrib.com.

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