Bennett murder trial begins... again

EPHRATA — For the second time in five months an Ephrata man is on trial for allegedly murdering his 82-year-old landlady in September 2014.

Prosecutors believe Chad Bennett, 27, murdered 82-year-old Lucille Moore in a bout of rage after she informed him she was going to evict him and his family from one of her rental properties. A previous trial in the matter, which opened in mid-September and closed roughly a month later, resulted in a mistrial after a jury could not reach a unanimous verdict following four days of deliberations.

Jury selection for the retrial commenced last week. A jury was seated earlier this week and attorneys presented their opening statements on Tuesday.

During the first trial, prosecutors made the argument that Moore’s murder boiled down to her intent to evict Bennett on Sept. 7, 2014 if he didn’t have money to pay rent and the remainder of an outstanding damage deposit. In interviews with investigators Bennett admitted to visiting Moore’s residence three separate times on Sept. 7, the day of her murder: once to pay rent, once to pay the remainder of the damage deposit and once to retrieve his wallet, which he said he accidentally left at Moore’s house.

In the first trial, prosecutors relied heavily on DNA evidence that was found at the scene belonging to Bennett. The defendant's DNA was recovered from a pillow that was placed over Moore’s face after she was murdered, a cigarette butt which was found in the house, a blood swipe on a kitchen cabinet door and on the shirt Moore was wearing when she died.

Along with Bennett’s DNA, crime lab technicians found DNA from two other unknown males on each of the items. In the first trial Bennett’s defense attorney, David Bustamante, asserted the DNA evidence doesn’t come with a timestamp to indicate exactly when it was deposited, or even how it was deposited.

Bennett reportedly told investigators he had a coughing fit when he was in Moore’s house on the day of the murder and suggested his DNA could have been transferred to the kitchen cabinet door when he was coughing. A Washington State Patrol Crime Lab technician testified in the first trial that DNA could be easily transferred onto an object by coughing.

Testimony in the trial started Wednesday morning. The trial is expected to last about a month.

Richard Byrd can be reached via email at city@columbiabasinherald.com.