Former police officer to be executed for burning love rival alive in ‘most heinous and cruel murder’
A former Florida police officer has been sentenced to death after being found guilty of setting his romantic rival on fire after his ‘particular walk’ helped lead to his arrest.
Otto Lenke, 67, was found guilty of the 17 February 2021, shooting of 57-year-old Richard Benson.
According to officials, Lenke shot the man three times, before setting him on fire.
Sentencing Lenke to death on 14 October, was Circuit Court Judge Michael Linn, who stated the now-convicted killer ‘executed a cold and calculated plan’ to murder Benson ‘in one of the most heinous, atrocious, and cruel ways imaginable.’
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Prosecutors alleged Lenke killed Benson because he was dating Lisa Diggs, who Lenke was apparently previously involved with.
The sentencing order revealed that Lenke drove 40 minutes to a motorcycle repair shop that Benson owned in Fort Pierce, where he lay in wait for 20 minutes.
Once he confronted Benson, he shot him in the back, and tipped two containers of denatured alcohol on top of him and set him alight – despite the fact he was still alive.
The former Melbourne police officer and Indian River County firefighter ended up being convicted of first-degree murder with a firearm and first-degree arson of a structure in May of this year.
However, ultimately, the murder led him to be handed the state's death sentence as Judge Linn said: "The court’s independent evaluation of this case herein leads to the conclusion that the death sentence is appropriate and a just sentence for the murder of Richard Benson.
"Therefore, Otto Lenke, I hereby sentence you to death for the first-degree murder of Richard Benson."
In the end, Lenke was identified as the potential suspect in the case when Diggs recognised his motorbike helmet and his ‘particular walk’ on CCTV footage.
She told police she had been his friend first after her husband died of cancer seven years earlier.
However, things seemed to take a turn when Lenke delivered a handmade wooden boat to Diggs in January 2021 and asked ‘why she did not love him’.
He then allegedly probed into her love life and at that moment it is believed that Benson called Diggs, causing Lenke to plot his death.
It is claimed that Lenke then used his daughter’s Pontiac Bonneville to drive to Benson’s business and left his mobile phone at home.
The phone was later tracked to an area of the Indian River Lagoon near Sebastian, and police recovered a .40-caliber Glock firearm at the location.
Ultimately, the jury chose to hand him the death sentence 11-1 after hearing the evidence supplied at the trial.
"He did a horrific act he's going to pay the price. And up until the day that he dies, he's going to be in solitary confinement. This is justice. For years, this case has been pending and today, the family of Richard Benson got justice. So, I'm very, very relieved for that," said Brandon White, Asst. State Attorney.
As it stands, the Florida Supreme Court will need to review the conviction under state law before it can be enacted.
Britt Jones