‘She wasn’t trying to kill him’

Published 5:00 pm Monday, October 29, 2012

An Astoria woman is awaiting a court date in Kansas for the murder of her fiancé, Martin Dunn.

A man more than twice her age, Dunn, 49, and Jennifer Bennett, who turns 22 today, had been together for more than a year before Bennett allegedly ran him over Sept. 18 with her car during a heated, hours-long fight that included name-calling, domestic abuse and finally, a brick.

She spent the night in the hospital Sept. 18. And then, a family member said, Bennett took a payback beating from Dunns 26-year-old son while she was handcuffed before being hauled off to jail. The hospital was on lockdown.

In Kansas still, the scene is chaos.

But as the dust settles and Bennett prepares to face the consequences of Dunns death, her 1-year-old son Brandon stands alone.

She signed custody papers for me and my husband to come up and get Brandon because she doesnt want him with that family, Cynthia Bennett tearfully said of her daughter Jennifer. She said he would be better off in an orphange, because his only chance in that family is to grow up and be a pizza delivery boy by day and a crack dealer by night and she doesnt want that for her son.

Cynthia Bennett of Astoria is speaking out, claiming her daughter had been Dunns victim a victim of domestic violence who never meant to kill her fiancé. She was just trying to leave. Dunns family, Cynthia Bennett says, is involved in drugs back in Independence, Kan. And for now, they have Brandon.

If hes with (Dunns sister) then he is OK, hes well cared for, Cynthia Bennett said of where Brandon was placed by the Montgomery County Sheriffs Office. But its the rest of the family that comes around and can take him when they want to that I am worried about.

Cynthia Bennett and her husband Gene are seeking custody of their grandson while their daughter awaits her day in court.

But first theyll need an attorney.

And thats something they cant afford.

If we can get $3,000, an attorney can get us the child, Cynthia Bennett said, tearfully and embarrassed. But were having trouble coming up with the money. So my son said in February when he gets his taxes, that he would pay for the lawyer. But we have to wait until February but its so hard. Its hard to wait.

We have a five-bedroom house, we have his bed, his clothes, we have everything for him. We just need him to come home.

Day of the incident

Cynthia Bennett says she was on the phone with her daughter multiple times the day of the accident, starting at 6 a.m. when the fighting began.

The fighting between Bennett and Dunn was nothing new, said her mother. Name-calling, racial slurs towards Bennett (Dunn is black), and lots of hitting were common in Dunns home where Bennett was staying.

My daughter is 5-foot-2, maybe 115 pounds. Martin was 6-foot-3, 295 pounds. He was a huge man, Cynthia Bennett said.

But this time, it was different Bennett told Dunn that Brandon was not his child.

She wasnt trying to kill him, she was trying to leave, a tearful Cynthia Bennett explained. And the last thing she remembers is that brick going through that windshield and hitting her in the eye. And she said, Mom, I cant see. Im blind! I cant see. I think I hit Martin, but I think I can see him moving. Shes legally blind without her glasses and when that brick went through, God knows where her glasses went. That brick went right into her eye.

Independence Police Chief Harry Smith did not disclose many details of the case, other than that Bennett hit Dunn with the car and killed him.

Thats about all I can tell you, Smith said of the police report that is not yet complete.

But Cynthia Bennett claims Dunn threw a brick through the window that hit Bennett while he and a friend were working on Dunns car in the yard.

Thats something he always did when she was trying to get away, Cynthia Bennett said. Id been in the car with her a few times after he beat her (expletive) and wed load up Brandon and get the hell out of there, but hed be throwing garbage cans, backpacks, boxes of diapers, butcher knives, frying pans, anything he could get his hands ahold of, he chucked at her car. It just so happened, that day when she was trying to get away, he picked up a brick.

Brandon was not there at the time of the accident.

What started it was she kept telling Martin, Thats not your kid. Hes Mexican. Hes not black, Cynthia Bennett said. When the brick went through the window, She said, I need help. Nobody will help me.

And Martin was OK with Brandon not being his at first. But then his mood changed. And he was an alcoholic and a drug addict. Ive seen him do drugs. If you made him a mixed drink, his never seemed to be strong enough. I dont drink, but I see. And I could see he had a problem.

All day, she kept saying Brandon wasnt his. I told her to shut her (expletive) mouth because I knew what he would do. All he was going to do was beat the (expletive) out of her for that. And he did. So I kept calling her all day long because I was worried about her. And I happened to call right after she hit him.

Jennifer Bennetts past story

Cynthia Bennett admits her daughter isnt perfect, but she stands by the fact that neither of them know how Bennetts first child died.

In 2010, Bennett was investigated for the death of her 7-day-old son Chazz in Astoria. The cause of death has never been solved, according to Astoria police.

When Chazz died, Cynthia explained, She went off the deep end. Her life went to (expletive).

Jennifer Bennett went to Independence, Kan., population 9,400, to stay with her brother when her life in Astoria wasnt going well.

But after arguments with her sister-in-laws family, Bennett was no longer welcome.

Looking for a way to come home, Bennett instead found Martin Dunn.

To be honest, we were not real pleased with the age difference, Cynthia Bennett admits. But he let her stay with him and then one thing led to another and they kind of started their relationship. And at first things were OK. But then they started mixing the alcohol in with it and it just started getting not OK.

Leading up to the death

Bennett was getting fed up with the abuse from Dunn, her mother said.

Worried about the welfare of her daughter and grandson, Cynthia Bennett went to Kansas and stayed with her daughter from February to May to make sure everything was OK.

He would do crazy (expletive) like beat the flying flip out of her, take and rip the phone cords out of the wall, take everybodys phone away, take all the furniture in the living room and stack it against the door all the way up to the ceiling and then he would lay in front of it. So that after he beat her, there was no way for her to get out. It was on the second floor, so if she went out the window she would have risked breaking her (expletive) leg jumping down. And neither one of us were exactly that brave.

Dunn never hit Cynthia Bennett and at times, she says, I wished he would have so I could have pressed charges, since her daughter would not.

She would just take it, she said tearfully. Im not a physical person, and neither is she. Shes never done anything violent. But I cant stand there and watch him beat on my baby. I called him a coward. I thought I was going to get decked. I told him I prayed to God he wouldnt teach my grandson to be that kind of a man. But he never touched me. I would have put his (expletive) in jail. Hed have burned. But I was bracing because what I said was very rude but it was true.

So help me God, if my grandson comes out smoking crack and selling crack and drinking all the time, doing all the drug trade in the town.

In May, Bennett and her daughter came home to Astoria, with Brandon and the young mother and sons belongings. Jennifer Bennett planned to leave Dunn for good. But a pending court case for a domestic violence charge, Cynthia Bennett said, drew her daughter back to Kansas.

She sent me the money to hold on to for her trip back. Martin thought it was money to send her stuff, but she was trying to get out of there without him knowing it, Cynthia Bennett said. She went back because there was a domestic violence charge coming up against Martin again and they told her that if she wasnt present, he would walk, again. So she stayed with him. But he didnt know she was still going to testify against him. But she was and then get the (expletive) out of Dodge.

But unfortunately, that (court date) was to occur the day after the accident happened.

Brandon

Cynthia Bennett hasnt seen her grandson since Jennifers first court appearance in September. Dunn is on the birth certificate but a paternity test was never taken. His sister has the child.

Cynthia Bennett has called Dunns sister who sometimes lets the little boy talk to his grandma, but lately, the calls have gone unanswered.

I just called this morning, Cynthia Bennett said Friday with tear-filled eyes. Im probably going to get arrested for harassment because I dont know how many times you can call someone before it becomes harassment. But I just have to talk to him.

She also wants her daughter back.

She didnt mean to. She went through hell. She was trying to come back.