Murder investigation proceeds in Lake Mead trailer blast

Bill Gang

Monday, Oct. 19, 1998 | 11:20 a.m.

The body of a man burned beyond recognition in a fiery explosion near Lake Mead four years ago still has not been identified, although prosecutors say there is a chance they are close to solving the mystery.

The corpse originally was believed to have been that of Arthur Bennett, a U.S. Marine who was facing child-molestation charges at the time. It was Bennett's trailer that blew up and his truck was nearby.

But Bennett was alive and finally surfaced in Utah in November amid other sexual-misconduct charges, which resulted in a plea bargain and a sentence of three to 45 years in prison.

Deputy District Attorney David Schwartz said that statements Bennett is alleged to have made to a family member indicated the dead man may have been somebody he knew.

Investigators also are trying to determine whether the body is linked to a car that was abandoned about the time of the Feb. 3, 1994, blast and fire.

Bennett was returned to Las Vegas last week and made his first court appearance Friday on murder charges in the death of the victim in the Lake Mead incident.

District Attorney Stewart Bell has said there is sufficient information for a grand jury to conclude that the fire victim was murdered and that Bennett was responsible.

Deputy District Attorney Chris Owens announced that the death penalty will be sought for Bennett, who had dyed his hair red and changed his identity to that of Joseph John Benson to avoid detection.

He had shaved his head for Friday's court hearing.

At his new home in Hurricane, Utah, 150 miles northeast of Las Vegas, he had been described as an affable braggart who endeared himself to the town's teenagers.

Investigators in Utah have said that Bennett moved to the small town near Zion National Park with his ex-wife and three daughters. It is alleged that their new life was funded with more than $200,000 in insurance payments paid out over his death.

The family also had been receiving about $3,000 a month from Social Security. Federal officials are looking to see whether Bennett's family members should be charged with any crimes.

The Clark County Special Public Defender's Office was appointed to represent the 45-year-old convicted child molester, and District Judge Donald Mosley set an Oct. 29 arraignment date.

Bennett is charged with murder, kidnapping, two counts of sexual assault of a minor, insurance fraud, arson and theft.

The body in the trailer tenuously had been identified in 1994 as Bennett by a Marine Corps dentist operating from memory because Bennett's dental records had disappeared. The charred remains were buried in the Southern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Boulder City.

At the time of the fire that lit up the night sky on Feb. 3, 1994, Bennett was a Marine staff sergeant stationed at the Yuma Marine Corps Air Station and facing a court-martial on child-molestation charges related to incidents there and in Okinawa.

"It was Arthur Bennett's trailer and Arthur Bennett's truck that was found at the scene," homicide Lt. Wayne Petersen said as the case originally unfolded. "He was despondent. He was facing court-martial. He had previously attempted suicide. It appeared that Arthur Bennett had taken his own life."

A wake for Bennett, a 30-year Las Vegas resident originally from Weehawken, N.J., was held Feb. 7, 1994, at Palm Mortuary downtown. His funeral service was the next day, followed by a private burial in Boulder City.

But Peterson said Bennett's family knew he was alive and had been in contact with him.

The misidentification came to light when Hurricane police checked the fingerprints taken from the man they were pursuing on sexual-misconduct charges. The fingerprints identified the man as Bennett, although he was listed in Metro's computer as deceased.

That sent Metro detectives scrambling to determine who died in the 2 a.m. explosion on the Lower Gypsum Wash near the north shore of Lake Mead.

Petersen said witnesses saw Bennett near the trailer a few hours before the fire, and that suggested he was the victim.

The murder case has been complicated because investigators have acknowledged that the body was too badly burned to determine the cause of death or tell whether the victim had been injured prior to the fire.