The Worst Kind of Justice
While waiting for information pertaining to a Raleigh murder case, I began wondering how many unsolved murders there actually are in Raleigh. Quite a few at the moment, including two pregnant women, Michelle Young and Jenna Nielsen. But I came across an article in the Oct. 2004 issue of the FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin that immediately drew me in.
###
In 2002, Stephanie Renee Bennett was a brown-haired, brown-eyed 23-year-old. She was bright, happy. Her friends said she had the best personality, that she hated exercise and loved dogs, and was about to begin a new adventure with college sweetheart Walter Robinson. Walter said he met her at a sorority party during her freshman year at Roanoke College.
"She was beautiful," he said. "I was speechless."
After earning her business degree, Stephanie announced her desire for independence, and moved into a Raleigh apartment with friends Deanna Powell and Emily Metro in July 2001. The girls initially wanted an apartment on the second floor, but managers said it wasn't available; they instead took a three-bedroom on the first floor.
Stephanie began processing grant applications for an IBM contractor, and enjoyed shopping and playing board games with her roommates every night. She visited Walter in Greenville, SC every weekend.
By April 2002, she had made the decision to move to Greenville.
###
It was the night of May 20 that would forever haunt Stephanie's family and friends.
She was home alone, her roommates in Virginia. She had made broccoli for dinner and had spoken with Emily, Deanna and Walter by phone.
Her body would be found in her bedroom the next day.
Police quickly determined this was a rape-murder case. The killer apparently got into the apartment by removing a screen to an unlocked window, waited, and then jumped her. He bound her wrists and ankles, most probably with handcuffs, and gagged her. He wrapped a rope or wire around her throat, twisted it from behind and strangled her.
Stephanie had been sexually assaulted orally, anally and vaginally.
There was little disturbance within the apartment, and no signs of a struggle. Some pictures and stuffed animals seemed to have been moved deliberately. And a cordless phone was disconnected and placed into the bedroom closet. The killer left with $8 and her stereo.
Several weeks before Stephanie's death, a neighbor reported seeing a man crouching behind bushes and peering through Stephanie's window. A composite sketch of the peeper generated calls but no arrests.
In July 2003, still without suspects, the police released information about evidence left at the crime scene. DNA indicated the killer was white, with 92 percent Indo-European heritage and 8 percent Native American heritage.
In May 2005, police released a description of a person of interest: a thin build with light brown or blond hair. He walked a large dog and was often seen wearing a dark, hooded sweat shirt.
And on Oct. 19, 2005, police got their big break. Drew Edward Planten, 35, was charged with murder.
###
People who knew Drew, or at least knew of him, described him as a loner. Almost 24 hours after his arrest, he hadn't said a word - he didn't answer questions, he refused to life his head for his police photo and wouldn't speak to his lawyer. He wouldn't even walk into the courtroom. Deputies strapped him to a gurney chair and rolled him into court.
At his first trial, it was revealed that Drew lived in apartments next to Stephanie's apartment at the time of her death. He rarely spoke to neighbors, and took his Rottweiler for walks only at night.
One neighbor, Dana Allen, said in the summer of 2004 she had an unnerving experience with Drew. She was unloading groceries from the back seat of her car, when she turned around to find Drew standing behind her, hand on her car door. He attempted to make conversation, but alarmed Dana when he began asking if she lived with anyone.
"He made me so uncomfortable," she said. "I felt like there was something wrong with him," she said.
###
I was scrolling through the "News and Observer" archives on the story, starting from the beginning, feeling relieved that Drew was found, and that he would get to suffer for it.
It was a capital trial. If convicted, he would either face life in prison without parole or the death penalty.
And then, the headline: Suspect in 2002 killing commits suicide.
Not only will questions never be answered about what really happened, but justice will now never be served. He is dead, which is what I would have advocated, but he's dead on his own terms - he still had control.
He had control when he was unresponsive to guards and lawyers, and he was in control when he killed Stephanie.
I believe that's what rape is about: control. This man, if you can call Drew a man, planned everything. He watched the house, looked through windows. He was out walking his dog at night, maybe to scope things out. He was, by all accounts, a monster, and that is too generous.
Murder is a horrible act. Rape is a horrible act. Both together are horrible beyond words. For that, Drew should have had the one thing he apparently needed taken away from him: control. That failed.
What causes a person to commit these kinds of immoral, selfish, unfathomable acts? In Drew's case, at least, we'll never know.
News and Observer, FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin
###
In 2002, Stephanie Renee Bennett was a brown-haired, brown-eyed 23-year-old. She was bright, happy. Her friends said she had the best personality, that she hated exercise and loved dogs, and was about to begin a new adventure with college sweetheart Walter Robinson. Walter said he met her at a sorority party during her freshman year at Roanoke College.
"She was beautiful," he said. "I was speechless."
After earning her business degree, Stephanie announced her desire for independence, and moved into a Raleigh apartment with friends Deanna Powell and Emily Metro in July 2001. The girls initially wanted an apartment on the second floor, but managers said it wasn't available; they instead took a three-bedroom on the first floor.Stephanie began processing grant applications for an IBM contractor, and enjoyed shopping and playing board games with her roommates every night. She visited Walter in Greenville, SC every weekend.
By April 2002, she had made the decision to move to Greenville.
###
It was the night of May 20 that would forever haunt Stephanie's family and friends.
She was home alone, her roommates in Virginia. She had made broccoli for dinner and had spoken with Emily, Deanna and Walter by phone.
Her body would be found in her bedroom the next day.
Police quickly determined this was a rape-murder case. The killer apparently got into the apartment by removing a screen to an unlocked window, waited, and then jumped her. He bound her wrists and ankles, most probably with handcuffs, and gagged her. He wrapped a rope or wire around her throat, twisted it from behind and strangled her.
Stephanie had been sexually assaulted orally, anally and vaginally.
There was little disturbance within the apartment, and no signs of a struggle. Some pictures and stuffed animals seemed to have been moved deliberately. And a cordless phone was disconnected and placed into the bedroom closet. The killer left with $8 and her stereo.
Several weeks before Stephanie's death, a neighbor reported seeing a man crouching behind bushes and peering through Stephanie's window. A composite sketch of the peeper generated calls but no arrests.
In July 2003, still without suspects, the police released information about evidence left at the crime scene. DNA indicated the killer was white, with 92 percent Indo-European heritage and 8 percent Native American heritage.
In May 2005, police released a description of a person of interest: a thin build with light brown or blond hair. He walked a large dog and was often seen wearing a dark, hooded sweat shirt.
And on Oct. 19, 2005, police got their big break. Drew Edward Planten, 35, was charged with murder.
###
People who knew Drew, or at least knew of him, described him as a loner. Almost 24 hours after his arrest, he hadn't said a word - he didn't answer questions, he refused to life his head for his police photo and wouldn't speak to his lawyer. He wouldn't even walk into the courtroom. Deputies strapped him to a gurney chair and rolled him into court.
At his first trial, it was revealed that Drew lived in apartments next to Stephanie's apartment at the time of her death. He rarely spoke to neighbors, and took his Rottweiler for walks only at night.
One neighbor, Dana Allen, said in the summer of 2004 she had an unnerving experience with Drew. She was unloading groceries from the back seat of her car, when she turned around to find Drew standing behind her, hand on her car door. He attempted to make conversation, but alarmed Dana when he began asking if she lived with anyone.
"He made me so uncomfortable," she said. "I felt like there was something wrong with him," she said.
###
I was scrolling through the "News and Observer" archives on the story, starting from the beginning, feeling relieved that Drew was found, and that he would get to suffer for it.
It was a capital trial. If convicted, he would either face life in prison without parole or the death penalty.
And then, the headline: Suspect in 2002 killing commits suicide.
Not only will questions never be answered about what really happened, but justice will now never be served. He is dead, which is what I would have advocated, but he's dead on his own terms - he still had control.
He had control when he was unresponsive to guards and lawyers, and he was in control when he killed Stephanie.
I believe that's what rape is about: control. This man, if you can call Drew a man, planned everything. He watched the house, looked through windows. He was out walking his dog at night, maybe to scope things out. He was, by all accounts, a monster, and that is too generous.
Murder is a horrible act. Rape is a horrible act. Both together are horrible beyond words. For that, Drew should have had the one thing he apparently needed taken away from him: control. That failed.
What causes a person to commit these kinds of immoral, selfish, unfathomable acts? In Drew's case, at least, we'll never know.
News and Observer, FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin
Labels: Drew Planten, Raleigh murder, Raleigh rape, Stephanie Bennett
posted by Emily at
1:03 PM
7 Comments:
steph was a good friend of mine in college. she was sweet, easygoing, engaging and just all around a really cool girl. even six years after the fact, i still have not recovered from the shock of what happened to her. she had so much ahead of her and to think of what that monster did to her- and then when they finally caught him and it seemed as though there would finally be some sort of justice, or closure, to the hell her family and friends had been going through to give them some peace, then he takes even that away from them by his final act of cowardice. i just dont get why that had to happen to someone like steph. i just dont. i will never forget her.
Can someone who knows more information about this case please reach out to me on here, I know this is a very old post, but I had an eerily similar situation happen to myself by a man who was dressed in all black, and his face covered by the string to his black hoodie pulled real tight around his face. This happened to me in 1997, and whoever the man was who did this to me peeked in all of my windows (verified by police) and observed the fact the my mother was never home on Wednesday evenings until very late. This peeping Tom had wedged something in the track of my window prior to him attacking me, and was getting in my room while I was in my kitchen and I would leave creepy notes in my room, and threatening that if I told anyone he would come in at night and kill me. As I would walk through my house on random nights I would look out the kitchen window and see a man peering in at me. I was too afraid to tell anyone, because he said in the notes he would rape and kill me in my sleep. At the time I wasn't aware that he had wedged something in the track of my window to prevent it from locking, and he was pushing in on my window to pop it open. About a week before this man broke in and attacked me I was locked out of my house and tried to push on my window and see if I could pop the lock as he was doing but instead shattered the window, fell through it and got stitches. A window repairman came and replaced my window, which is when the material was found wedged in the track of the window. The first Wednesday after the window being repaired (a night he knew my mom wouldn't be home) I carelessly left my front door open. He attacked me in my sleep, tried to anally rape me, I fought back with everything I had in me, when I started winning, he fought back harder and punched me so hard a few times I was knocked out, when I came to he had me on the ground trying to rape me again. When I came to, I started screaming, but he was on top of me and started strangling me, screaming "if you shut the *f up I'll let you breathe" I stopped struggling as I was passing out, which is when he let go, I got some strength in me and pulled the back of his sweatshirt over his head so he couldn't move his arms or see. I kicked him and beat him off of me, ran to the kitchen and grabbed the phone and a knife, and called 911. I was standing in the kitchen shaking with the knife in my hand and he came running out of my room and out the front door. I tried to chase him, but the portable phone started getting staticky and I had no underwear on at this point, so I had to run back inside. This man was never caught, and it has been 15 years of torment and fear since. If anyone can please tell me if this guy lived in Florida in April of 1997, it would help me out in knowing if this man Drew Planten could have done this to me too. It just sounds way too similar not to be him...please reply back to this post if you can help me. I desperately need closure from this attack! PLEASE!!!!
To the person who was wondering about Drew living in Florida. I don't know that, but the Nightstalker is supposedly still around. See if the description of him fits what you dealt with. If there was physical evidence left behind, see if the police/investigators entered the dna (if any) was entered into CODIS the national dna database.
Good luck.
To the person wondering if Drew ever lived in Florida. Not that I know of...but, beware...his brother did... around that time and Drew may have visited him or stayed with him for a while. His brother's name is Ronald Planten. He has another brother named Donald...apparently, lived in Ashville, NC Donald Planten was arrented in 2003 in a scheme that involved hiding video cameras in women's restrooms at his job. It was suspected that Drew may have been involved with a killing in his hometown before he left.
I hope this helps. He was so evil. Glad he is gone regardless whether he paid his due or not at least we don't have to worry about him doing anymore harm.
Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2005/11/13/46036/suspects-mother-fled-with-sons.html#storylink=cpy
I do not think Drew Planten lived in Florida. His younger brother has done a blog called "My Brother was a Serial Killer" that you can find online where you can ask him directly about the brother visiting him. (He may not have even lived in Florida then)The brothers did not get along so it is unlikely he visited.
The so-called original night stalker is technically still out there (if alive) but the activities accounted here do not match his MO and he'd be a lot older now (last known crime 1986)so it is unlikely he'd be more aggressive than when he was younger. The ONS seems to have monitored his victims ahead of time but not in a way in which they noticed. And he was able to control two victims at the same time while the attacker here was unable to control one. It was probably a different guy who is probably in jail for a different crime since he was so blatant it seems unlikely he did not get caught somewhere along the line.
He lived in Michigan in 1997
refused to *lift* his head
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