Last week I posted a blog about Gary Bennett, who has spent 25 years in jail due in part to John Preston and his scent dogs. Today an article runs in Florida Today outlining Gary Bennett’s case and his pursuit for DNA testing.

Bennett was convicted in the 1984 rape and murder of his neighbor, Helen Nardi, despite contradicting evidence such as alibis from several witnesses stating he was elsewhere, passing a polygraph, and no conclusive results tying him to the crime. The details of the crime and the circumstances surrounding the victim are quite revolting.

Nardi was 55 when she was stabbed to death with an ice pick, a pair of scissors and possibly a steak knife and a screwdriver.

Records in the case indicated that she was having regular sexual relations with her 65-year-old son-in-law, a man who married Nardi’s 16-year-old daughter when he was 53.

The state allowed the marriage to spare Nardi’s daughter from being put into the child welfare system because Nardi allegedly sold her for sexual favors to pay the rent.

The son-in-law, Kermit Parkins, was never considered a suspect in the case despite the unusual relationships. Later, police discovered that Parkins used to rent a trailer from the lead investigator in the case, Palm Bay police Detective Leroy Dunning.

The personal relationship with lead investigator Dunning explains why Parkins was exempt as a suspect, which he should have been from the moment they discovered his affair with Nardi. As the article points out, this situation is similar to that in Bill Dillon’s case where the lead investigator had sexual relations with a key witness.

Centurion Ministries alongside with the Innocence Project of Florida are helping Bennett to obtain the DNA testing that could prove his innocence and hopefully re-investigate the case, taking Parkins in as a key suspect.

Related posts:

1. Florida Today blows open John Preston story Yesterday, newspaper Florida Today published an involved exposé on John Preston and his ties to the Brevard County justice system....
2. Another Man Convicted by Preston’s Dogs Gary Bennett, who has spent 25 years in prison, may be the fourth person exonerated in Brevard County based on...
3. Innocence Project of Florida Files Amicus Brief with Supreme Court of Florida Innocence Project of Florida Files Amicus Brief with Supreme Court of Florida IPF Urges Court to Allow Defendants to File...
4. Time Magazine features article on Pikett’s dogs Not long ago we talked about another case of misleading police scent dogs in Texas (see the articles here and...
5. NY Times Article on Dog-scent Lineups Yesterday the New York Times ran a good article on dog-scent lineups looking particularly at cases in Texas involving that...
6. Innocence Project of Florida Asks State Attorney to Test DNA in Case of Wayne Tompkins Innocence Project of Florida Asks State Attorney to Test DNA in Case of Wayne Tompkins Serious Doubts Remain About the...