The former southeast Iowa man accused of killing his parents and three younger sisters will appear before in an Iowa courtroom at 9:30 on Tuesday morning to face murder charges. Meanwhile, residents of Bonaparte are still trying to figure out why Shawn Bentler, who was living in Quincy, Illinois, would have killed his family.
Dustin Troutman is a former classmate of Bentler. Troutman says Bentler was always “really outgoing, easy to talk to, and had all kinds of different friends.” People in the tiny town had heard rumblings of drug problems and some heard reports the family had cut off financial support to Shawn.
Lee Pieper is a former family employee. “I don’t know exactly for sure what was behind it. I do know Shawn was having troubles at home. Right after high school he went to college, didn’t know what to do with himself in college. Then after that, I kind of lost track of him,” Pieper says.
Authorities still aren’t talking about what may have motivated Shawn Bentler to shoot his father Michael Bentler, his mother Sandra, and his three sisters — Sheena, Shelby, and Shayne — to death. Investigators do say there’s no evidence any other person is involved. Shawn Bentler was arrested Saturday on an outstanding Illinois drug warrant and then charged Sunday with five counts of murder.