Nearly a dozen relatives of the five southeast Iowa family members killed by their son — and brother — gave “victim impact” statements in court today.
Shawn Bentler was officially sentenced to spend the rest of his life in prison after being convicted of five counts of murder for shooting his parents and three teenaged sisters to death. The judge told Bentler the killings were “absolutely merciless.”
Bentler’s relatives told the 23-year-old his grandparents can’t handle the stress of another trial and he needs to “own up” to what he did and drop his appeal.
One aunt warned Bentler “even God” wouldn’t be able to forgive him for the crime. One of his grandmothers said she would pray for him.