♪
♪ I can feel you finding ways ♪
NARRATOR: When you deal with snakes,
there's a good chance you'll get bit.
♪
BEN RENICK: Welcome to the basement of Renick Reptiles.
This is a T Positive Albino Green Anaconda.
NARRATOR: Ben Renick makes a killing
breeding pythons and anacondas...
- Here we have a normal sunset.
LUCAS GEISLER: We have a 29 year old
at the top of the game of the reptile world.
NARRATOR: until his obsession
ends in horror.
[woman weeping]
♪
NARRATOR: But there were far more snakes
in Ben's life than just reptiles.
- Well, I think everybody is a suspect in the beginning.
NARRATOR: And no one knew
that a little poisonous joke would be laced with venom.
- I think those messages were really crucial.
We've got evidence right here.
♪
♪ theme music playing ♪
MAN 1: She solved her own murder
from beyond the grave.
MAN 2: The fitness app on the phone,
it was overwhelming evidence.
♪ I've been haunted by the visions ♪
♪ That I've seen with my own eyes ♪
♪ And the only way to find you ♪
♪ Is to go beneath the lies ♪
♪
MAN: She did help catch this killer.
♪
NARRATOR: This is New Florence, Missouri,
Ben Renick's hometown.
[birds chirping]
It's where this 29 year old
is amassing a fortune
in snakes.
♪
But on June 8th, 2017...
♪
...his success story
turns tragic.
[keypad beeping rapidly]
[Lynlee weeping]
[crying]
♪
LUCAS: My name is Lucas Geisler.
♪
I am a news anchor and investigative reporter
for ABC 17 News, KMIZ in Columbia, Missouri.
♪
NARRATOR: Lucas is 26 years old
and three years on the job
when he in the small community
of New Florence changes forever.
- It was certainly one of the bigger stories
that I've ever covered
and maybe one of the biggest ones I ever will cover.
♪
You got a guy at the top of his game
in the reptile breeding world.
LUCAS: A beloved figure killed,
struck down in his prime.
- I thought there's gotta be something strange going on here.
♪
NARRATOR: Ben's older brother Sam
thought the same thing.
SAM RENICK: On June 8th, I was working at the farm.
[phone line ringing]
♪
That's when I got the call from Ben's wife Lynlee.
[Lynlee screaming indistinctly]
She called hysterical,
so I headed towards the snake facility.
♪
She led me to the body.
♪
When I found Ben's body, he was face down.
♪
I had to turn him over to check him.
♪
He was a mess.
♪
[wailing]
NARRATOR: What police will be walking into
is horrifying.
♪
NARRATOR: It's no way for someone
to find their kid brother.
♪
- He deserves much better.
♪
He could have done anything.
He had his whole life ahead of him.
♪ Lay it down ♪
♪ On me ♪
NARRATOR: Ben and Sam grew up
on the Renick Family Farm in New Florence.
♪ Talk it out, talk it out ♪
♪ Talk it out ♪
♪ Just breathe ♪
- Ben and I as... young kids.
♪
Ben was a big fan of snakes at a young age.
♪
He was out in the wilderness catching snakes all the time.
♪ Lay your head upon my shoulder ♪
And he managed to turn that passion into a business.
♪ Hold me closer ♪
NARRATOR: As Ben's work in the reptile world grew,
so did his reputation.
CHERYL METULA: My name's Cheryl Metula.
I work with exotic animals, primarily reptiles.
♪
Ben was introduced to me as one of the largest ball python breeders,
the most well-known one
across the entire world.
♪
NARRATOR: Cheryl became friends
with Ben and his wife Lynlee...
♪
...and got to know both of them well.
♪
- Lynlee was probably the sweetest person ever.
♪
She was extremely kind.
♪
They just seemed so in love.
♪
BOBBETTE TUCKER: My name is Bobbette Tucker.
♪
Ben was so happy.
♪
We fell in love with her just like Ben did.
She was a perfect partner for him.
NARRATOR: Ben and Lynlee have busy lives
with two kids and two businesses.
Renick Reptiles and a spa
that Lynlee operates in Columbia, Missouri.
- They're a young, attractive family with seemingly everything going for them.
♪
They live in the big country estate out in Missouri
doing this quirky business
that is netting them a literal million dollar sum to do this.
♪
NARRATOR: Some of Ben's anacondas
are 12 to 15 feet long
and weigh more than 400 pounds.
♪
Large enough to be lethal.
SAM: When I saw Ben's head the way that it was,
his skull had been crushed.
In my mind, the only thing that could have happened
would've been an accident with the snakes.
♪
[wailing]
♪
NARRATOR: When sheriff's deputies and EMTs arrive,
they think a killer snake is on the loose.
[Lynlee crying]
NARRATOR: Ben's wife Lynlee doesn't think
a snake is responsible for his death.
[Lynlee crying]
♪
[Lynlee crying]
NARRATOR: Deputies find themselves
inside a horror movie...
NARRATOR: ...looking for a missing and anaconda.
[Lynlee crying]
OFFICER 2: Where's the victim?
♪
- Ben, that's Ben Renick.
MAN: Uh-huh.
NARRATOR: Officers find Ben,
but don't find any evidence of a killer snake on the loose.
MAN: He's not under there.
NARRATOR: But they do spot evidence on Ben's body.
♪
[wailing]
NARRATOR: The coroner is sent in.
♪
And soon,
what seems like a fatal snake attack...
[camera shutter clicks]
♪
...becomes far more mysterious.
More sinister.
[camera shutter clicks]
SAM: At that point in time,
we were outside the facility.
Then the coroner came out
and he let me know that it was not a snake attack.
♪
My brother had been shot.
♪
NARRATOR: Who shot Ben Renick?
He was successful,
loved.
♪
A rock star in the snake world.
Now everyone's a suspect.
♪
[gunshot]
♪
♪ Take a breath ♪
♪
Family and friends are in shock
after they learn that Ben Renick's been murdered.
But it's so much worse.
♪
LUCAS: They found shell casings,
bullet fragments throughout a snake barn.
♪
NARRATOR: Ben was shot eight times.
♪
SAM: His skull was crushed
by that eighth bullet.
That's why I thought it was a snake when I first saw him,
because his head was destroyed.
♪
NARRATOR: Who could hate Ben enough
to pull the trigger over and over?
[gun firing]
It's almost impossible to believe.
♪
- Ben Renick was incredibly well liked by people.
NARRATOR: Members of the reptile community
like Cheryl and Ben's best friend Chase
desperately wanna know who gunned down their colleague,
but there were no weapons found at the scene.
And if authorities have a suspect or a motive...
♪
...they're not sharing.
♪ I've been washed in the blood of the lamb ♪
- There was a theory that perhaps it was a robbery.
♪ Dancing with the devil ♪
Maybe somebody just happened to stumble upon this barn...
♪
...and in a panic...
[gunshot]
...killed the person there.
♪
NARRATOR: Or was it something more personal?
♪
Someone hiding like a snake in the grass.
♪
Ben's reptiles sell for thousands of dollars each
and he's got thousands of them.
♪
BOBBETTE: We didn't know if maybe somebody
from the reptile community maybe came in.
♪
Somebody that was looking for a fast buck to steal some of his snakes.
♪
Maybe he'd been taken by surprise and it was a robbery gone bad.
[gunshot]
♪
NARRATOR: But within days,
those closest to Ben confirm,
no snakes were stolen
and nothing else is missing from the reptile house.
So another theory takes shape.
Before he died,
Ben was working on a deal that would've changed his life.
Maybe someone in Ben's circle wanted a piece by any means necessary.
♪
- Ben Renick had made a million dollar deal
to sell most of his pythons and anacondas
to a hockey player who is going to pay the installments.
Two hundred thousand dollars every quarter throughout the year 2017.
But around the time the next payment was due...
♪
...Ben is killed.
♪
What becomes of these snakes, what becomes of the money?
♪
It seems very contentious.
INTERVIEWER: Ben Renick is possibly
one of the most meticulous snake breeders out there.
And so how do you, how do you maintain it?
- A lot of work. Yeah. INTERVIEWER: A lot of work?
- Certainly when you rise to the top of your game,
there might be a target on your back.
♪
Maybe a rival reptile breeder had it out for Ben.
♪
That Ben had something that they wanted
so they'll go off Ben.
♪
NARRATOR: There are people in the snake community
who might benefit from Ben's death.
♪
But what about someone closer to home?
♪
LUCAS: Sam and Ben did not particularly
get along well before Ben's murder.
♪
That relationship as it frayed put Sam, I think,
on the lead investigative radar as well.
♪
NARRATOR: Sam and his family
live on the Renick property.
♪
CHERYL: One of the last times I spoke to Ben,
he was clearly aggravated
and venting about his brother.
♪
There was some kinda stress going on.
So first person I thought of was Sam.
♪
NARRATOR: Authorities bring Sam in for questioning.
♪
NARRATOR: Sam and Ben argued over money
and ownership of the property.
♪
Something Ben's widow Lynlee stands by in her interview.
♪
♪ I've got skeletons in my closet ♪
NARRATOR: Lynlee's not a fan of her brother-in-law,
but what is Sam thinking during all of this?
SAM: I was initially told that I was a person of interest
in Ben's murder and I needed to stay put
and I did exactly that.
♪ Don't go snooping around ♪
NARRATOR: But what about Lynlee, Ben's widow?
Authorities have to wonder, could she be involved?
- Well, I think everybody is a suspect in the beginning.
♪ The picture's growing clearer ♪
NARRATOR: They even tracked down
one of Lynlee's former boyfriends who was at her spa the day of the murder.
♪ You're closer with every clue ♪
LUCAS: Michael Humphrey is an ex
of Lynlee Renick.
He says he went to Columbia to get a massage.
So that's where he said he was on June 8th,
that he did visit the spa, he got a massage and then he left.
♪
NARRATOR: Humphrey is the dead end.
♪ Don't look back ♪
It's all questions, no answers.
♪
♪ The past is fading ♪
Traumatized, Lynlee takes the kids
and moves in with her father.
♪ What's to come ♪
But then days after Ben's death,
Lynlee makes an announcement that throws everyone.
♪
She wants to unload the snake business
and the farm.
♪
♪ When the walls keep falling down ♪
- Oh, God, everything was up in the air with the farm at the time.
♪
Ben had just taken out
a one million dollar life insurance policy on himself
because he did not have a will.
When he was murdered all of his assets went directly to Lynlee.
♪
It was shortly after the murder that I was informed though,
that I had about 30 days to leave the property
because Lynlee was gonna sell it.
♪
I had a hard time with that.
We had a--
That home was everything to us
and I was alone out there.
I had to make the, I--
I'm glad I didn't kill myself.
Got close.
♪
[exhales deeply]
♪
- Oh, sorry.
- Oh. gosh, sorry.
- Gotta calm down.
NARRATOR: Sam and his family
are evicted from the house.
♪
♪ I see shadows on the wall ♪
NARRATOR: By the fall of 2017,
Cheryl Metula and her boyfriend
are living on the property to look after Ben's snakes.
- I moved in to Ben's house
after Sam already left.
There was no one else there
to take care of, uh, Ben's animals.
♪
NARRATOR: Four months pass
since Ben Renick was killed.
♪
But as far as finding his murderer...
- At this time, law enforcement was not willing to talk,
not willing to share updates
other than to say the investigation is ongoing.
A constant refrain from the sheriff's office
and the Highway Patrol throughout this.
♪
Still no updates.
♪
NARRATOR: No updates, no arrests,
no peace of mind.
♪
Cheryl spends every day at the Renick property
scared out of her mind.
- Living at the farm was absolutely horrifying.
♪
Because, you know, the killer could come back.
♪
NARRATOR: Turns out the killer
has been within striking distance all along.
♪
♪ humming ♪
♪
♪ Little drops of doubt ♪
♪ Dripping down from ♪
♪ My brain and my heart ♪
NARRATOR: By the fall of 2017,
police still aren't revealing any details
about Ben Renick's murder,
but Ben's widow Lynlee has her suspicions.
Maybe it was her brother-in-law Sam.
♪
SAM: Lynlee suggested that my relationship
with the farm and the ownership levels
and the fact that I was gonna have to leave the farm
was motive for me to-to hurt Ben.
♪
NARRATOR: The whole history
of the Renick family farm
is what you would call complicated.
Back in the '80s, Ben and Sam's father Frank Renick
started a pet food company.
Then he bought the land and built a big house
where he raised his two boys.
- Unfortunately, there was a gas leak.
The house filled with gas and it exploded...
♪
...and completely destroyed the home.
♪
And then immediately after that happened,
my mother was diagnosed with stage four breast cancer.
♪ We lost our way ♪
My father attempted to maintain the company,
and however, with my mother being ill,
a lot of the focus went to-to her.
NARRATOR: Frank spent 15 years juggling the company,
the property, and his wife's medical bills
until it all came crashing down on June 4th, 2012.
♪
[siren wailing]
DISPATCHER [over radio]: 20-29, come in.
♪
- Frank Renick is indicted by a federal grand jury.
♪
SAM: Unfortunately, he had taken investors' money
and he used it to pay back other investors,
and, and by the time we knew it was, it was too late.
NARRATOR: Frank ripped off a lot of people.
[siren wailing]
♪
OPERATOR: [echoing] 9-1-1.
NARRATOR: It was millions of dollars
and it could come back to bite him.
- We were gonna lose our family farm.
LUCAS: Frank wasn't willing to let that happen.
♪
BOBBETTE: Unfortunately, he took his life
on Father's Day.
♪
And Ben was the one that found him in his home.
♪
NARRATOR: In a desperate attempt to salvage
something for his sons, Frank shot himself.
So maybe Frank's scam five years earlier,
provoked a killer to finally seek revenge
and shoot his young son.
- It had to have been somebody from the past
that still harbored a lot of bad feelings
about his dad's legal problems.
Maybe one of the investors.
♪
SAM: We definitely thought that
that could have been an issue
that related to Ben's murder.
However, we didn't know.
♪
NARRATOR: Until one day in October, 2017,
four months after Ben's death.
- We had someone come to the property looking for Sam.
♪
We said he no longer lived on the property, he was gone.
Then this guy said he heard about the murder,
what happened and details,
and he apparently knew Ben got shot in the head.
♪
We were, of course, a little freaked out about that.
We contacted the authorities.
NARRATOR: Suddenly investigators
have another potential suspect.
CHERYL: It was possible
that one of Frank's investors
wanted a little bit of revenge.
The fact that one of the
"supposed investors" showed up
and knew these details that we didn't even know.
So we were suspicious of him.
♪
NARRATOR: As investigators search
for a scorned investor,
friends and family noticed there's something up with Lynlee.
♪
- I think she had wanted to put this behind us
and start over as she very quickly,
soon after entered into another relationship.
NARRATOR: Lynlee's new boyfriend
is a local man named Brandon Blackwell.
CHERYL: You really can't judge someone, you know,
you lost the love of your life.
You need that, you need some kind of comfort there.
NARRATOR: Then in January, 2018,
seven months after Ben's death,
Lynlee dropped some crazy news.
- She's like, just so you're not surprised, I'm pregnant.
BOBBETTE: And I'm like, "Wow."
You know.
And we were, we were quite shocked.
CHERYL: So Lynlee and Brandon ended up
getting their own little townhouse,
but she was looking a lot healthier now that she was pregnant.
♪
NARRATOR: Lynlee appears to be moving on
while the investigation into Ben's murder
is stuck in place.
- I'm constantly in touch with Sam
or a couple of the Highway Patrolmen that I know personally.
We've been asking, you know,
what's going on with Ben's murder?
Where's the investigation?
♪
[indistinct police radio chatter]
If you don't catch a murder right away, it goes cold.
And so we were really worried that this somebody
has gotten away with murder.
♪
NARRATOR: Months turn into two and a half years
of frustration, grief, pain.
Then in early January, 2020,
investigators get lucky.
Lynlee's boyfriend Brandon Blackwell is arrested
on criminal charges, including stalking.
And for years of nothing comes something big.
♪
LUCAS: On January 14th, 2020,
Brandon Blackwell claims to have information
about Ben Renick's murder.
♪
♪ In the tug I feel it come to life ♪
♪ The way it grows inside of me ♪
NARRATOR: Two and a half years
after the murder of Ben Renick,
there's a break in his cold case.
♪
Lynlee's boyfriend Brandon Blackwell has just been arrested.
[indistinct chatter]
And he's got a secret to share.
He says he knows who killed Ben.
♪
- It was because of Brandon coming forward
that we were able to get the case finally moving again.
NARRATOR: Brandon has a baby
with Ben's widow Lynlee Renick.
But after their child is born, the relationship blows up
and Lynlee files a restraining order against him.
♪
- So Brandon Blackwell has his own legal troubles to worry about.
NARRATOR: He's charged with two counts
of first degree stalking
and five counts of violating a restraining order.
♪
LUCAS: He's in jail with a pretty significant bond.
For violating the protection order that Lynlee took out against him
and in a moment of incarceration,
had something to give in order to get something.
♪
NARRATOR: Over the course of Brandon's relationship with Lynlee,
he'd ask her about Ben's murder
and something felt
off.
♪
- He tells Missouri State Highway Patrol investigators
that Lynlee had shot Ben.
♪
[cocks gun]
♪
[gunshot]
[gun firing]
♪
- Brandon said Lynlee was the one who did it.
NARRATOR: But is Brandon lying?
♪
Trying to fire back at Lynlee for getting him thrown in jail?
[door buzzes]
Why would Lynlee kill Ben?
♪
- He had just sold his snakes for almost a million dollars.
♪
He, according to the bank,
was the sole owner of that property.
And so when that happened, everything went to Lynlee.
♪ I'm on a mission, I'm about my business, I gotta get it ♪
Between the life insurance money...
♪ I'm on a mission, I'm about my business, I gotta get it ♪
...a million dollars.
The sale of snakes, a million dollars
and about a million dollar family farm.
She was set to inherit...
♪ I'm on a mission, I'm about my business, I gotta get it ♪
♪
...quite a bit after my brother's death.
♪
NARRATOR: Inheriting money isn't a crime,
but it can be one hell of a motive.
[indistinct police radio chatter]
BOBBETTE: We wanted to still believe that,
you know, she was innocent of everything.
♪
NARRATOR: Brandon tells investigators
not to take his word for it.
Then he gives police two names.
Ashley Shaw and Rachel Hunt.
They worked for Lynlee at her spa.
- Hi, I'm Ashley, I'm the spa manager.
- I'm Rachel and I'm one of the estheticians here.
- And it wasn't until after that
that the police had reached out
to Ashley Shaw and Rachel Hunt.
♪
♪ You got something to hide ♪
♪ Secrets behind these lies ♪
CHERYL: So Ashley Shaw and Rachel Hunt
have the same story
that Lynlee admitted she pulled the trigger.
LUCAS: Ashley Shaw has essentially told police
that she knew about Lynlee's plot to kill Ben.
♪ I see trouble ♪
And in fact helped her with certain aspects of it.
♪ Trouble ♪
The state has given her immunity
from first degree murder charges
in exchange for giving up this information.
NARRATOR: The plot includes a name
that rings a bell with investigators,
someone police questioned right after Ben was shot.
Lynlee Renick's ex-boyfriend,
Michael Humphrey.
♪
LUCAS: In June of 2017,
Highway Patrol interviews Michael
and they start asking him,
"Do you know Lynlee Renick?
♪
Were you with her on June 8th of 2017?"
♪
NARRATOR: At the time,
Michael claimed he got a massage at Lynlee's spa
the day Ben was killed and then he went home.
♪
In 2017,
police had no reason to hold Michael,
so they let him go.
♪
[door buzzes]
In 2020,
not so much.
♪
- My name is Michael Humphrey.
and I'm currently housed
in the Jefferson City Correctional Center.
♪
NARRATOR: Michael now admits he went to the farm
with Lynlee the day Ben died.
♪
MICHAEL HUMPHREY: Earlier Lynlee was filling me in
on some different abuse situations that was going on
with her and Ben.
From physical altercations to different sexual altercations.
♪
She was like, "Can you go out there with me?
I need somebody that I trust."
♪
Then she ends up telling me that she's going to try to kill him
or wants somebody to try to kill him.
♪
NARRATOR: On the afternoon of June 8th,
Michael says he picked Lynlee up at the spa
and they drove to the farm.
♪
About 45 minutes away.
♪
MICHAEL: We're out there in the middle of nowhere.
♪
I figure she's gonna go down there
and have her conversation that she needs to have.
♪
I'm more locked in on that there's a whole lot of snakes to this.
♪
And then the next thing I hear is a gunshot go off.
♪
[gunshot]
When I look up, I see her posed up like this
with a firearm in her hand.
♪
On the way out the door, I hear another two or three shots.
[gun firing]
♪
After I'm outside, another one or two.
[gun firing]
♪
Later I'm told there was eight total.
NARRATOR: Humphrey swears up and down
he had nothing to do with Ben's death.
- Never meant for anybody to get hurt.
I don't know the guy.
I don't have any bad intentions for the guy whatsoever.
NARRATOR: On January 16th, 2020,
two and a half years after Ben Renick is gunned down,
police are finally ready to make a move.
♪
SAM: So Michael and Lynlee
were both arrested and charged for first degree murder.
♪
♪ The mystery in you just pulls me in ♪
♪
- My ex-boyfriend got a phone call
that Lynlee was being arrested.
♪
♪ Can't you see my eyes? ♪
♪ I'm hypnotized ♪
When he told me that, I cried, um, I felt horrible.
It still didn't make sense.
- I just couldn't believe it, It just broke my heart.
Knowing how their relationship was,
knowing Lynlee and how sweet and loving
and she, she is not the Lynlee I knew.
♪ I'm under your spell again ♪
♪
[phone ringing]
NARRATOR: But it's not so easy.
Investigators have confessions and eyewitness accounts,
but little to no hard evidence.
♪
Who really pulled the trigger?
♪
So they look at every bit of information
they've collected on Ben Renick,
including his phone records.
- They had the messages that they were able to look at,
text messages between Ben and his friend Chase.
NARRATOR: Chase and Ben are great friends.
They text each other nearly every day
and in those text messages,
a disturbing conspiracy comes into focus.
A calculating plot with poison.
- May 24th of 2017.
"I have a fun story.
"Food poisoning is dumb.
Or just poisoning."
NARRATOR: And Ben believes
Lynlee is the one who poisoned him.
LUCAS: Chase, "LMFAO.
I literally think y'all were poisoned at this point."
Ben, "Agreed.
Or it was Lynlee all along."
♪
- Once the police took a closer look,
they realized there was more there.
It was definitely a red flag.
♪
[keypad beeping rapidly]
OPERATOR: 9-1-1. What's the address of the emergency?
NARRATOR: Did Lynlee Renick
finish what she started with eight bullets?
[gunshot]
♪
NARRATOR: In a series of texts before his murder,
Ben Renick offers clues about who wanted him dead.
♪ Now I've been haunting ♪
♪ Wrapping my arms around you ♪
NARRATOR: The clues point to his wife Lynlee.
But first a little backstory.
♪ Only death knows ♪
♪
♪ Are you afraid, are you afraid of dying? ♪
It begins about two weeks before Ben is killed.
- May 23rd, 2017.
Lynlee had told a spa employee Ashley Shaw
that Ben had been abusive.
Lynlee never filed any police reports about the alleged physical abuse.
♪
Ashley felt sorry for Lynlee and wanted to help her.
Ashley and Lynlee got about 12 to 15 Percocet pills.
♪
And their plan was to grind up the Percocet pills...
♪
...and put them in a smoothie.
♪
Lynlee gave it to Ben under the guise of,
"Could you please try this shake?
We're thinking of selling it to customers."
♪
Shortly after Ben and Lynlee both drink the shake,
Ben becomes very ill.
[retching and coughing]
- If he hadn't thrown up, he probably would've died.
♪
NARRATOR: Ben tells his friend Chase what happened.
LUCAS: May 24th of 2017.
"LMAO.
"Why would she do it to herself too?
"Maybe the customer gave it to you and laughed
because they dislike their service."
Ben, "Right?
"Maybe, who knows why.
She didn't seem as bad as me, so--"
From Chase,
"LMAO. Lighter dose."
From Ben,
"Besides, she needs the deal
"to pan out first before I die,
"she would walk away with legit three mil
"before selling property for another mil.
"If I died next year,
"Lynlee would be set for life.
Fuck."
♪
NARRATOR: The deal calls for Ben
to be paid in installments.
SAM: Ben was in the process of selling
a large majority of his snakes to a-a major buyer
and Ben had received payments in part
for the first half of this transaction
and the other rest of the transaction
should have just sailed right through.
However, when Ben was murdered, um,
it was renegotiated.
This murder had everything to do with money.
♪ Truth be told, I'm leaving ♪
♪ You're so cruel, you're the devil in disguise ♪
♪ Death on the path you're leading ♪
♪ I've seen the madness in your eyes ♪
NARRATOR: Now Lynlee and her ex-boyfriend Michael Humphrey
both face charges of first degree murder.
♪
But only one of them shot Ben.
- Humphrey claims that
Lynlee is the one that pulled the trigger,
while Lynlee claims that Michael Humphrey is the one that pulled the trigger.
♪
NARRATOR: Michael goes on trial first
in October, 2021.
More than four years after Ben's death.
LUCAS: The state says Michael knows
what they're going to go and do,
that under the law
he bears as much legal responsibility
for the charge of first degree murder, as does Lynlee,
who the state says pulled the trigger.
♪
NARRATOR: The defense argues
Michael only drove Lynlee to the farm,
that he never planned to hurt Ben.
- So I took it upon myself to bring her a firearm that I'd had.
When I went into the spa that day and I told her,
"You could use this for self-defense."
And then I gave her that firearm.
♪
CHERYL: I do not believe Humphrey saying that
he went there not knowing what was gonna happen.
♪
I genuinely believe he did go there with a full, you know, intent to do it
and she ended up just
doing it herself.
[gunshot]
♪
[gun firing]
♪
[gunshot]
♪
NARRATOR: The jury deliberates for a few hours
before returning a verdict.
♪
Michael Humphrey is guilty of first degree murder.
♪
- When they first initially announced the verdict, disbelief,
a hundred percent disbelief.
♪
- The state had waived the death penalty in this case.
He has only one sentence he can receive
and that his life in prison without parole.
[rattles, thuds]
- It's a lot to take in.
♪
You're never going home.
♪
- His fate's been sealed with this conviction.
♪
NARRATOR: Two months later,
Lynlee Renick murder trial begins.
LUCAS: This is the person
they say pulled the trigger.
This is Ben's wife,
this is the state trying to prove who did this.
If they can't prove this,
then what is their theory anyway?
[camera shutter clicks]
SAM: During the trial,
it came out that Ben and Lynlee had fought over the finances
of the spa, which weren't going well.
I believe she's pulling money out of the spa
for personal use and-and other things,
things that Ben didn't even know about
and that he was going to be informed of that by the bank prior to the murder.
♪
LUCAS: These financial issues
are a huge part of the case
because it also speaks
to what motive Lynlee may have had to kill Ben Renick.
If he's questioning her business acumen, hounding her about money
and that might upset someone to the point
that they maybe wanna kill that person.
NARRATOR: Prosecutors also reveal
Lynlee's history of cheating.
ASHLEY SHAW: They were together.
- Right.
NARRATOR: This wasn't the fairytale marriage
everyone thought it was.
- During the marriage she had numerous affairs.
♪
SAM: She had a very active
Ashley Madison account
while she was married to my brother.
♪
And she was involved in multiple affairs prior to the murder.
CHERYL: And they just always seemed happy.
It just warps your reality.
NARRATOR: And then another surprise,
the defense calls their star witness.
LUCAS: It's not often that somebody takes the stand
in their own defense.
♪ Play along with the game ♪
- Hey, I'm Lynlee Renick.
♪ Do whatever it takes ♪
SAM: When she got on the stand,
she knew exactly what she was doing.
- Ben started really, getting really upset
about all of the time that I was focusing on the kids
instead of dedicating it to him and Renick Reptiles.
- Lynlee testified that
she had gone out there with Michael
to confront Ben about a divorce.
- Michael turned around and I saw a gun in his hands
and then I heard shots.
[gunshot]
♪
And everything just went numb.
♪ Who did we become? ♪
♪
SAM: And then she was so distraught,
she got back in the car with him
and went about her day.
Continuing to text Michael, other people.
♪
She even put it on a show for the school to pick up the kids.
She covered her tracks
before and after the murder.
ATTORNEY: Do you regret it?
- Yes.
CHERYL: She was the "woe is me, I'm the victim."
To me that was a complete show.
Complete BS.
BOBBETTE: Both sides rested their case
and the jury goes out to look over all of the evidence.
And we're feeling pretty confident.
♪
You know, that she's gonna get life.
♪
And the longer, the more hours go by,
the more concerned we're getting.
NARRATOR: In the Show-Me state of Missouri,
juries can convict for first degree murder
or settle on a lesser offense.
Juries also determine the sentence for any reduced charge.
So when the decision finally arrives,
everyone is holding their breath.
- The jury in Lynlee Renick's case
says that she was guilty of murder in the second degree.
♪
SAM: They gave her 13 years,
just over the minimum of ten
and three years for armed criminal action.
JUDGE: I don't know what they were thinking.
Somehow they got confused.
You're awful lucky, ma'am.
You're gonna get out in your 40s,
and my 40s weren't too bad.
I just hope you don't kill again.
That's it.
♪ Turn down the lights ♪
NARRATOR: In a way, Sam Renick was right all along.
♪
NARRATOR: His little brother was killed by a snake.
♪
- It's tough, I mean, she would've gotten more years in prison
if she had walked in there and killed all of those snakes.
Eight bullets into my brother's 29-year-old body.
He deserved better.
♪
MICHAEL: In the long run at this point,
I'm the one sitting here on a life sentence
while she has 13 years.
That's... that's
unbelievable.
♪
NARRATOR: Despite her sentence, in the end,
Ben was able to catch his killer
through the messages he left behind.
♪
- It was a crucial part of the case in keeping Lynlee squarely in their sights
and obviously played a huge part in the trial.
♪
SAM: Lynlee's gonna be out someday.
I want her to know that she'll never be free of this.
I won't forget and I don't want others to, either.
♪
♪ I don't know where my head is lately ♪
♪ Have I lost my mind? ♪
♪
♪ But I know that I have a secret ♪
♪ And it's only mine ♪
♪
♪ And the only way to find me ♪
♪ Is to go beneath the lies ♪
♪