Opinion ID: 1136073
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The death of Janet Benner

Text: Janet Benner was an elderly woman who resided in an apartment building located in the City of Fresno. Benner was acquainted with Carolyn Grayson (who resided in another unit in the building) and had befriended Grayson's seven-year-old daughter, Sauda Smith or Shy, who visited Benner on occasion, sometimes watching television with her. Defendant lived with Grayson and Sauda on an intermittent basis from mid-1980 until Grayson's death on or about December 22, 1981. Although the precise date of Benner's death was not established at trial, the prosecution introduced evidence showing that the last check drawn on her personal checking account was dated January 19, 1981, and that on January 22, 1981, defendant, using the alias Don Ray Hill, pawned Benner's Smith Corona adding machine at Federal Jewelry and Loan in Fresno. During the week immediately thereafter, one of Benner's neighbors detected a foul odor wafting through the apartment building. On February 16, 1981, Janet Benner's body was discovered in an advanced state of decomposition, lying on the bathroom floor of her apartment, her face covered with a pillow. An autopsy performed that day revealed that Benner had died as a result of manual strangulation, probably during the latter half of January 1981. Benner's apartment had been ransacked, telephone wires had been cut, and money had been removed from her purse. Her television, stereo, and adding machine were missing.