June 11, 2025 • 33 mins
In this chilling and heartbreaking episode of Weird True Crime, Gina and Amber unravel the twisted tale of Ben Renick — a world-renowned snake breeder who was tragically murdered in his Missouri reptile facility in 2017.
What initially looked like a freak accident involving one of Ben’s giant pythons quickly unraveled into something far darker. Through twists involving life insurance, poison-laced protein shakes, extramarital affairs, and a murder-for-hire plot, the truth finally came to light — and it wasn’t the snakes who struck.
We follow the investigation step-by-step, from the bizarre discovery of Ben's body to the shocking arrests of his wife Lynlee Renick and her accomplice Michael Humphrey. With firsthand quotes, courtroom testimony, and commentary from those who knew Ben best, this episode dives deep into one of the most serpentine true crime cases in recent memory.
🐍 Was it greed? Jealousy? Cold-blooded calculation?
💔 How did someone so admired in the exotic animal world meet such a tragic end?
🎤 Plus, hear from the community that continues to honor Ben's legacy — including a breed of python named in his memory.
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Edited by - djaudio22@gmail.com
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What initially looked like a freak accident involving one of Ben’s giant pythons quickly unraveled into something far darker. Through twists involving life insurance, poison-laced protein shakes, extramarital affairs, and a murder-for-hire plot, the truth finally came to light — and it wasn’t the snakes who struck.
We follow the investigation step-by-step, from the bizarre discovery of Ben's body to the shocking arrests of his wife Lynlee Renick and her accomplice Michael Humphrey. With firsthand quotes, courtroom testimony, and commentary from those who knew Ben best, this episode dives deep into one of the most serpentine true crime cases in recent memory.
🐍 Was it greed? Jealousy? Cold-blooded calculation?
💔 How did someone so admired in the exotic animal world meet such a tragic end?
🎤 Plus, hear from the community that continues to honor Ben's legacy — including a breed of python named in his memory.
📢 Follow & Subscribe:
Subscribe on Patreon: www.patreon.com/weirdtruecrime
Website: www.weirdtruecrime.com
Instagram: www.instagram.com/weirdtruecrime
TikTok: www.tiktok.com/weirdtruecrime
YouTube: www.youtube.com/@weirdtruecrime
Email: weirdtruecrime@gmail.com
Edited by - djaudio22@gmail.com
Leave us a review and share your thoughts — it helps so much!
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/weird-true-crime--5679751/support.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
Fire Eyes Media. On June eighth, twenty seventeen, a frantic
call to nine one one from a heartbroken wife claimed
that her husband was found lying face down in a
pool of blood at his at home business.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
Ben Rennick, a rock star in the reptile community, was
found dead in his snake breeding facility that housed over
three thousand snakes in New Florence, Missouri.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
Immediately, it was assumed that one of his prized snakes
had been responsible for taking his life. However, the coroner
would make a discovery that turned the entire investigation upside down.
I'm Gina, and I'm Amber, and today we're remembering the
life and tragic demise of Ben Rennick, husband, father, and
(00:53):
the man responsible for rennick reptiles.
Speaker 2 (01:14):
Lenley Rennick discovered her husband's body and called Ben's brother
Sam immediately. Upon finding him, Sam raced over and told
her to call nine one one. When Sam arrived, he
had reached the most logical conclusion, considering where he had
been found.
Speaker 1 (01:33):
One of the snakes that Ben had been caring for
and raising must have attacked and taken Ben's life. Sam
noted to nine one one that it appeared that Ben's
skull had been crushed.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
For those that aren't familiar with snakes, ball pythons, which
were some of the main breeding projects Ben had, don't
typically get large enough to inflict fatal damage to a
grown human male.
Speaker 1 (02:00):
Ben also had reticulated pythons and anacondas at his facility.
Now these snakes can get somewhat large. Reticulated pythons can
reach lengths of ten to twenty feet long and several
hundred pounds, the longest ever recorded being thirty two feet.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
Anacondas a snake many people are familiar with due to
pop culture movies. Specifically, green anacondas, are one of the
largest snakes in the world, reaching up to thirty feet
long and weighing over five hundred and fifty pounds.
Speaker 1 (02:37):
While it is rare, there have been documented cases of
reticulated pythons killing humans, particularly in Indonesia in remote areas. Anacondas,
on the other hand, there are no recorded deaths of
humans and only rare attacks.
Speaker 2 (02:56):
Yeah humans are not typical prey for these creatures. They
are also not venomous snakes, meaning they don't have the
capability to inject venom to incapacitate and or kill their prey.
Speaker 1 (03:10):
Rennick Reptiles specialized in the selective breeding of designer pythons
that Ben started in twenty ten. He sold his snakes
to buyers all over the world, from the UK to Japan.
Speaker 2 (03:24):
A friend of Ben said Ben was a successful snake breeder.
He was kind of a pioneer in that whole industry.
He was definitely very well known in the snake breeding community,
like I would say, worldwide.
Speaker 1 (03:39):
So finding Ben dead in his snake farm came as
a major shock to friends, family, and the reptile community.
No one thought that anyone would hurt Ben, so it
had to have been one of his snakes.
Speaker 2 (03:55):
When the police arrived, they began to prepare themselves to
search the snake far to locate the snake responsible, and
as Montgomery County Coroner Dave Colbert examined Ben's body, he
made a chilling discovery. Ben wasn't the victim of one
of his snakes. He had been shot a total of
(04:17):
eight times at close range and likely died within two
hours of Linley's call to nine one one.
Speaker 1 (04:26):
After the coroner's discovery, their investigation shifted focus from the
reptiles in the building to looking for the human suspect.
They tested Linley for gun residue and the results came
back negative.
Speaker 2 (04:41):
Lenley claimed that she had been at her business a
Sinceha Spa, located in Columbia, Missouri, when she received a
call that her children had not been picked up. She
told police that after she picked up her children, she
went to the Snake facility to locate Ben to find
out why he didn't pick them up, and at six
(05:02):
thirty six pm she placed the call to nine one one.
Speaker 1 (05:07):
The police said that Linley had been very forthcoming during
her interrogation, but she quickly shifted the focus from her
to Sam, Ben's brother. She told the investigators that Ben
had possibly been planning to sell the family property where
they all lived, and allegedly Sam was upset about that.
Speaker 2 (05:29):
Sam wasn't aware that Linley had implicated him in any way,
and he wondered if Ben had been killed in an
act of revenge against their father, Frank Rennick. Frank had
been the owner of Spectrum Pet Care in Montgomery City.
He had been indicted in twenty twelve in a federal
fraud case that stated between two thousand and six and
(05:52):
May of twenty eleven, Frank sold more than seven million
in stocks, bonds, and promisory no It's Inspectrum pet Care
to more than two hundred and fifty investors in Missouri
and to other states.
Speaker 1 (06:07):
He had told the investors that the money would be
used to purchase equipment and to fund operations at the business,
but substantial portions were used to repay existing investors and
for his own personal expenses. This meant a lot of
people lost a lot of money due to his Ponzi scheme.
(06:30):
He was found dead from a self inflicted gunshot wound
on June seventeenth, twenty twelve.
Speaker 2 (06:42):
This theory never took off, though, and Sam tested negative
for gunshot residue, and after fully cooperating with investigators, he
was ruled out. The reptile community stepped up and rallied
around Lindley and the kids and helped raise more than
forty thousand dollars. Da Kaufman, a fellow reptile enthusiast, said
(07:03):
they had raised tens of thousands of dollars to help
them because they all felt the stinging loss of Ben
and Linley and the kids were victims as well.
Speaker 1 (07:14):
Just eleven days after Ben's murder, Lenley was brought in
for questioning again. This time she confessed to having an
affair with a man named Eric, claiming they had hooked
up once or twice a month. It was apparent that
below the surface, Ben and Lenley's marriage wasn't all sunshine
and rainbows.
Speaker 2 (07:35):
Lenley and Ben had actually known each other since they
were teenagers and had parted ways, only to reconnect again
in twenty eleven. They got married on April thirteenth, twenty fourteen,
and ended up having a child together. While Ben helped
raise Linley's son from a previous marriage, Lenley and her
son moved in with Ben into a home he had
(07:57):
built on his family's farm.
Speaker 1 (08:00):
She helped out Ben in the snake farm with the
caring of all the snakes, and eventually, as we said,
opened up her own spa, Asinhia Spa in twenty sixteen.
According to the yelp business page, she had been a
licensed massage therapist for over nine years and some other
mumbo jumbo about wanting her clients to leave the spa
(08:21):
feeling the best versions of themselves, happy and healthy, blah
blah blah.
Speaker 2 (08:27):
The police followed up with Eric, checked out his alibi,
and tested him for gunshot residue, clearing him of any suspicion.
The police then interviewed Ashley Shaw, the SPA's bookkeeper and
friend of Linley. Ashley let the police know that Linley
had also been seeing another man by the name of
(08:48):
Brandon Blackwell, who she had met on the dating website
Ashley Madison. She had even been hooking up with Brandon
before Ben's murder. We'll definitely be hearing more from Ashley
and Brandon.
Speaker 1 (09:04):
Later on, investigators discovered Facebook messages between Ben and Lenley
where they were arguing about finances and Linley's mismanagement of
her SPA business. She was behind in her loan, rent
and staff payments, and her business had been throwing off
the entire financial stability of the family despite Ben's success
(09:27):
in Runnick reptiles. From the messages between them, it also
appeared that Ben had been suspicious about Lenley and her cheating,
but had no proof at the time. As a matter
of fact, just hours before Ben was murdered, it was
discovered that Ben had sent Lenley a message on Facebook saying,
no more lying, no more keeping things from me, no
(09:49):
more not paying people and thinking it's okay to pay later.
Speaker 2 (09:53):
Four months later, Lenley was brought in for questioning again
on October fifth, twenty seven, this time to take a
polygraph test. She even told investigators she thought she did
well on the exam, which in reality wasn't the case.
Speaker 1 (10:13):
The results showed that she failed, specifically when the question
did you shoot that man? Was asked. The police suspected
Linley had something to do with Ben's death, and that
she may have had help from yet another man in
her life, but lacked hard evidence to prove it.
Speaker 2 (10:35):
Enter a man named Michael Humphrey, an old ex boyfriend
and ex con fresh out of prison on drug possession charges.
She had tested and called him numerous times leading up
to Ben's death, including on the day Ben was murdered.
Speaker 1 (10:57):
During one interrogation, the investigator at actually told Linley quote,
there is so much circumstantial evidence against you in this case,
it's mind boggling end quote. Since her gunshot residue test
came back negative, there were no witnesses, no murder weapon,
or any direct evidence linking her to Ben's murder, she
(11:22):
left the interrogation room a free woman. Again. She had
been interrogated a total of six times.
Speaker 2 (11:36):
Dave Kaufman said that he and others in the reptile
community would contact each other feeling ill at ease with
a murderer still on the loose, asking if anybody had
any information on what was going on. He said that
humans do things other than what you expect. Snakes do not.
Speaker 1 (11:57):
And that is one hundred percent accurate.
Speaker 2 (12:01):
The investigation went cold for nearly three years as time passed.
Sam said that when Linley refused to talk to them,
or allow the kids, or even received Ben's belongings, they
knew something was wrong.
Speaker 1 (12:16):
Just weeks after Ben's murder, Linley had sold the family property,
closed up shop, and left town. Only mere days after
his death, Linley was on the phone to the insurance
company asking how she could claim on Ben's million dollar
life insurance policy.
Speaker 2 (12:38):
A jailhouse tip came through to the Missouri State Highway
Patrol on January fourteenth, twenty twenty. They followed up on
it and met with Brandon Blackwell, who we mentioned earlier
had dated Linley. Brandon's dad reached out to the investigators
and informed them that Brandon wanted to speak with them.
Speaker 1 (13:00):
Brandon had been the man that Linley met online and
was even hooking up with the very week Ben was murdered.
Only a year after Ben was killed, Brandon and Linley
had a child together. Lenley alleged that Brandon had become
threatening and they had broken up.
Speaker 2 (13:18):
Lenley got an order of protection in twenty nineteen, and
Brandon had been charged with violating that order and stalking her,
which he denied doing. The stalking and related charges would
later be dropped. After being arrested in January twenty twenty
for the violation of their protection order, Brandon was looking
(13:40):
for a way out of jail, so he reached out
to the investigators. Brandon informed them of a plan hatched
by Linley to give Ben a narcotic laced protein shake.
She had enlisted the help of her friend and bookkeeper,
Ashley Shaw, to help poison Ben with her set. She
(14:01):
allegedly put fifteen percocet into a protein shake and gave
it to Ben.
Speaker 1 (14:08):
Ben was understandably poisoned after consuming that many, but despite
being very, very sick, he miraculously survived, completely unaware that
someone he lived with and loved had tried to kill him.
Speaker 2 (14:29):
Brandon said that after this plan failed, Linley turns to
Michael Humphrey. He told the investigators that Michael and Linley
drove out to the farm. He had gloves, he had
the firearm, and the plan was for him to do it.
Speaker 1 (14:45):
When they got there, he hands Linley the gun and
says that he doesn't feel comfortable doing it and it's
just something she's got to take care of. She walks
in with the gun and just shoots him. Brandon also
said that Ashley show Law was in on it from
the beginning.
Speaker 2 (15:03):
On January sixteenth, twenty twenty, Linley Rennick and Michael Humphrey
were arrested and charged with the murder of Ben Rennick.
Ben's family and friends never saw this coming. They were shocked,
but Sam said that between the life insurance, the sales
of the snakes, and the family farm, Lindley stood to
(15:26):
gain millions.
Speaker 1 (15:29):
The police turned to Ashley Shaw and arrested her, making
sure to immediately let her know what her future might
look like. The investigator told her, quote, now is the
time you're either on team Linley or team Missouri, and
Team Linley is going to jail. They're going to prison
(15:50):
for first degree murder. End quote.
Speaker 2 (15:54):
So in exchange for leniency, Ashley turned on Linley starting
with thee shake. According to Ashley, after the shooting, Linley
claimed that Michael Humphrey was the trigger man, but a
few days later Linley changed her story.
Speaker 1 (16:11):
Lenley told Ashley she had been the killer. In the interrogation,
Ashley said, quote and she said, oh no, once we
got there, I was fine to do it. And so
he handed me the gun and I did it.
Speaker 2 (16:27):
End quote.
Speaker 1 (16:28):
When the investigator asked if after the murder, Linley ever
seemed remorseful, and Ashley said never. No.
Speaker 2 (16:38):
Michael Humphrey's trial started on October twentieth, twenty twenty one.
The defense team argued that Michael had been lured to
the Snake farm by Linley, who claimed she wanted protection.
When asking Ben for a divorce, Linley had been surprised
him and pulled out a gun and shot her husband,
(16:58):
and remember the murder weapon hadn't been recovered.
Speaker 1 (17:03):
The jury watched an interview Michael did with the Missouri
State Highway Patrol on the day of his twenty twenty arrest,
where he claimed that he had no knowledge of Lindley's
plan to kill her husband when they drove to the
farm that day.
Speaker 2 (17:19):
The prosecution said that he drove her to the property
from the spa the day Ben was murdered after meeting
with Ashley Shaw, who was in on the entire plot,
and that he gave Linley the gun to use. They
also asked him why he continued the interaction with Linley
after she tried handing him the gun.
Speaker 1 (17:40):
Now, the defense focused on Linley and Ashley Shaw's role
in the event, stating that the two of them came
up with the details of the plan and left Michael
Humphrey out of most of it. The fact that they
were focusing on Ashley's recount of events after the prosecution
offered her a deal to avoid charges was a definite
point of criticism. Ashley Shaw was the prosecution star witness.
Speaker 2 (18:05):
The jury didn't buy Humphrey's whole innocent bystander spiel, so
after deliberating for about five hours, they returned their verdict
guilty of first degree murder. This was actually later reduced
to second degree murder after he agreed to testify and
assist the prosecution.
Speaker 1 (18:26):
When Michael was convicted in December twenty twenty one and
facing life behind bars, he changed his story. As Gina said,
he agreed to cooperate with the state and the hopes
that he might be able to parroll out.
Speaker 2 (18:40):
Eventually, he admitted that he provided the gun to Linley
and that the police could find the murder weapons stash
in his girlfriend's mother's attic. Linley's trial began in December
of twenty twenty one.
Speaker 1 (18:56):
The prosecution painted Linley as cold blood, as one of
Ben's snakes, a killer who shot Ben and then went
about her daily routine life as if nothing had happened.
The defense countered that by saying, while Linley lied and
cheated on Ben, that doesn't mean she was a killer,
(19:17):
So they pointed the finger at the man who had
already been convicted of his murder, Michael Humphrey.
Speaker 2 (19:24):
They even claimed that Ashley Shaw had made up her
entire testimony to avoid life in prison, just like Michael
Humphrey in Unmoved. It doesn't happen frequently in murder trials.
Linley testified herself. She claimed that her marriage with Ben
had become troubled in sometimes violent, recounting a time where
(19:45):
an argument with Ben had turned physical.
Speaker 1 (19:48):
She never filed any police reports about the alleged physical
abuse either, and Sam, on the other hand, Ben's brother
said that abusive was not a word he'd ever associate
with Ben, saying his brother was very kind, very loving.
Speaker 2 (20:06):
Lenley explains that she asked Michael to accompany her so
she could just get some stuff and go, and that
she did not ask him to help her kill Ben.
She claims that she walked up behind Michael, he turned around,
she saw a gun in his hands, and then she
heard shots rang out.
Speaker 1 (20:26):
She says she screamed and ran outside and heard more
shots go off, and everything went numb for her. Michael
ran out and pushed her toward the car, saying they
had to go. She said she was initially in shock
and didn't tell the investigators the truth initially, but that
also didn't equal murder.
Speaker 2 (20:47):
She repeatedly didn't tell the investigators the truth. She was
interviewed several times, lied to them each time, all the
while knowing who was responsible for Ben's death, and even
had the gall to point the finger at Sam herself.
Speaker 1 (21:05):
According to court documents, Linley said that Michael arrived at
the SPA around two or three o'clock in the afternoon.
Ashley didn't actually see Michael there, but she saw a
vehicle she had previously seen Michael sitting in when Linley
and her first contacted him.
Speaker 2 (21:22):
Lindley left her phone at the Spa before she left
with Michael and they stopped to get gas. Ashley was
left at the spa alone with another employee who went
to the bank in a convenience store, so they were
caught on camera and had alibis. Ashley said that after
an hour and a half to two hours later, Linley
returned to the Spa to shower.
Speaker 1 (21:46):
Well. On December ninth, twenty twenty one, after about twelve
hours of deliberation from the jury, the judge revealed the
verdict guilty of murder and the second degree and guilty
of armed criminal action. Life was an option, but instead
(22:06):
the jury settled on thirteen years for murder and three
for armed criminal action, yeah just a total of sixteen years.
Speaker 2 (22:20):
Michael Humphrey appealed his conviction and life sentence on August first,
twenty twenty three, but it was ultimately denied as he
had waived his rights to a direct appeal in exchange
for a reduction of the charge and sentence that included
the possibility of parole. Linley filed an appeal in October
of twenty twenty two, but it was dropped without explanation
(22:43):
in January of twenty twenty three.
Speaker 1 (22:47):
Today, Michael Humphrey is serving his sentence at Jefferson County
Correction Center, and according to an online search, Lenley Rennick
is serving her time at the Women's Eastern Reception Diagnostic
and Correctional Center. She could possibly be released in twenty
thirty eight at the age of forty nine.
Speaker 2 (23:06):
Sixteen years doesn't seem like a lot, and Sam later said,
we were happy that she was sentenced to the sixteen
years she was given. However, my brother's life was worth
a lot more than sixteen years. Those children, all the
lives that were destroyed by this by these actions.
Speaker 1 (23:28):
The judge also shared Sam's and my frustration at the
light sentence, but under Missouri law, he could not increase
Linley's punishment, and jurors never said why they chose such
a seemingly light sentence. Judge Crane said, quote, you're awfully lucky, ma'am.
You're going to get out in your forties, and my
(23:49):
forties weren't too bad. I just hope you don't kill again.
That's it end quote.
Speaker 2 (23:55):
At the end of it all, there were two convicted
killers and Ashley Shaw, who was granted immunity after plotting
with Linley twice. Ben's legacy lives on through his children,
Sam and a new breed of snake named just for him.
Dave Kaufman said, the rinnic ghost and what a ghost
(24:18):
is is a slight reduction of blacks color. It gives
the snake a ghostly appearance to it, and that is
such a testament to what Ben meant to this community
that he now has a mutation of snake named after him.
Speaker 1 (24:34):
We'll leave you with this excerpt. Ben wrote on World
of Bull Pythons. I have always had a fascination with wildlife,
which began at a very early age. I spent a
lot of time going on hikes and collecting various insects, snakes,
and lizards. By doing that, of course, sparked my interest
more and more in reptiles. So my parents took me
(24:57):
to a local pet shop where I ended up with
my very first snake, a yellow rat snake. Over time,
I accumulated a few more king snakes and milk snakes
as well. But then I got my very first ball
python and it was all over from there. I was hooked.
Over the years, I got to handle a variety of
different snakes from different pet shops and friends, which got
(25:20):
me more and more interested in the keeping and breeding
of different boas and pythons. Every snake that is in
my care is looked after daily and taken care of
to the full extent, and I'm very happy I can
work with such amazing and marvelous creatures.
Speaker 2 (25:40):
This is so sad. It's hard to imagine someone who
could care so deeply for animals would have any sort
of mean bone in his body towards another person.
Speaker 1 (25:58):
And I, you know, it goes back to the very beginning.
Speaker 2 (26:01):
For me.
Speaker 1 (26:01):
It's a testament to Ben that even though he had
ball pythons and the reticulated pythons and anaconda's that he
had been working with for so long, their immediate thought
was one of the snakes had to have gotten to him,
because there was no possible way anybody would have wanted
to hurt him.
Speaker 2 (26:24):
And I guess I'm trying to figure out, like maybe
the answer is obvious, but like what was her motive here?
Like she obviously wasn't happy and he was worth a
lot of money, and she was not good at handling
the financial situation of her life. So maybe she's just like, well,
I take him out, I get all this insurance money.
(26:46):
It's going to solve my problems. But she obviously wasn't
happy in the marriage if she was having multi multiple affairs.
And it's hard because we only know one side of
the story. I want to believe that he was not
abusive and that was not true, but it's hard when
you don't know.
Speaker 1 (27:06):
Yeah, I mean, my instinct says no, absolutely, Like you know,
I'm somebody that is that caring for as you said,
somebody that is that caring for animals. It's hard to
imagine that they can be that caring, especially towards an
animal that most people perceive as oh god, no, you know,
(27:28):
he's so caring towards these How could he possibly be
anything but that in his personal life, towards the people
that he cares about and loves the most. It's it's
hard to fathom that it is.
Speaker 2 (27:40):
And also in this NOVA advocacy training that I've been taking,
there have been courses about the link between people who
abuse animals and abuse people and how it starts. It
normally starts with animal abuse, and then it works his
way up to being violent against other people.
Speaker 1 (28:01):
Exactly when you hear somebody, you know, kicking dogs and
killing cats and stuff like, Okay, that is a lot
more believable that they're capable of inflicting harm on another
human being. But somebody that cares so deeply about snakes reptiles,
like they're not like most people are, not a fan. No,
(28:23):
it's not your cuddly cat or your loyal, faithful, lovable dog.
It's completely but he still showed that level of care
and compassion towards them.
Speaker 2 (28:33):
Yeah, it's it's gross as she only got that much time,
and I don't understand. I don't understand.
Speaker 1 (28:40):
The only thing. Only thing is that possibly the jury
was convinced there was possibly a possibility that Ben had
been abusive towards her. And it's hard not to feel
sympathy towards women in.
Speaker 2 (29:00):
That situation, of course, and that is the case.
Speaker 1 (29:03):
It does you, so I that that's the only thing.
But at the end of the day, she still took
somebody's life, and there was no at any point, there
was no time where she said it was self defense,
that she did it because she was scared for her life,
(29:25):
because of anything No, she was there to quote quote
ask him for a divorce and get some of her stuff,
so and anything else. She never said it was self defense.
It was cold blooded. So a cold blooded murder only
gets sixteen years.
Speaker 2 (29:42):
I just not to mention that that was the second time.
Speaker 1 (29:45):
She she tried to kill him.
Speaker 2 (29:47):
Yeah, And what was the bookkeeper in for, Like why
why was she so supportive of this, like her friend
from the spa.
Speaker 1 (29:57):
Like because she had been telling Ashley that Ben was
abusive and controlling and she was, you know, getting a
you know, getting her on her side. It's so it's
it's so hard to not slightly judge and be a
little biased, you know. It's those situations are hard. If
(30:20):
you are in a situation like that, it is it's
easier said than done to like, okay, just get a divorce.
But she never filed a police report. There were no records,
there was no evidence. And you know, we mentioned the
family farm. So the family farm that they lived on
was Ben and Sam's parents farm. Ben's their dad, you know,
(30:45):
committed suicide and their mom had passed away. She got sick,
and so Ben had a house on the farm and
Sam actually had a house on the property as well.
So they all lived right there together, like not necessarily
like on top of each other, but they're there. So
if there was some sort of physical abuse or anything,
(31:07):
they're not isolated there. Somebody would have seen something, would
have somebody exactly. That's my that's that's my two cents
about it.
Speaker 2 (31:15):
Yeah, it's it's hard. It's like, it's a delicate topic
because you can't just sit there and say it didn't happen,
because there are plenty of circumstances where women are in
that situation and they're not going to file charges or
call because the likelihood of that making the situation worse
is also very high, right, So it's but also, like
(31:38):
you said, it's not like she shot him in a
moment of self defense or in the middle of an altercation.
She chose to go to that shop and shoot him
point blank exactly. If you like what you heard today
or want to give your opinions on how you feel
about this episode, reach out to us DMS on Instagram
(32:00):
at Weird True Crime, email us at Weird true Crime
at gmail dot com. However you want to contact us,
we'd love to hear from you, and please consider leaving
us a five star rating and review so we can
continue giving voices to the victims and sharing their legacies.
Like I said, quote, see us on Instagram, follow us there,
send us an email, all the things.
Speaker 1 (32:24):
You know, this case did hit home for me because
I'm a reptile lover myself and have five ball pythons
of my own. I watch some of Ben's I don't
know if I'm going to be able to get this out.
Speaker 2 (32:41):
Hey them on.
Speaker 1 (32:44):
I actually watched some of Ben's YouTube videos of his facility.
The Rennick Reptiles has their own YouTube channel, and they
were just you know, short introductions to some of the
snakes he was hatching out, and some instructional videos, and
he was showing off the facility. You could just tell
that breeding these snakes and raising them and caring for them,
(33:06):
it just wasn't some flippant hobby. He was really truly
passionate about it and cared about what he did. You know,
snakes aren't the scary creatures that were led to believe.
I used to be terrified of them myself, and Ben
was doing all he could to bring out the best
of his snakes to let the world see as well.
(33:28):
So yeah, now let us know what you think about
Ben's story. We really would love to hear from you, and.
Speaker 2 (33:35):
Until next time, stay safe.
Speaker 1 (33:38):
And make good choices. Bye bye, Di.
Fire Eyes Media. On June eighth, twenty seventeen, a frantic
call to nine one one from a heartbroken wife claimed
that her husband was found lying face down in a
pool of blood at his at home business.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
Ben Rennick, a rock star in the reptile community, was
found dead in his snake breeding facility that housed over
three thousand snakes in New Florence, Missouri.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
Immediately, it was assumed that one of his prized snakes
had been responsible for taking his life. However, the coroner
would make a discovery that turned the entire investigation upside down.
I'm Gina, and I'm Amber, and today we're remembering the
life and tragic demise of Ben Rennick, husband, father, and
(00:53):
the man responsible for rennick reptiles.
Speaker 2 (01:14):
Lenley Rennick discovered her husband's body and called Ben's brother
Sam immediately. Upon finding him, Sam raced over and told
her to call nine one one. When Sam arrived, he
had reached the most logical conclusion, considering where he had
been found.
Speaker 1 (01:33):
One of the snakes that Ben had been caring for
and raising must have attacked and taken Ben's life. Sam
noted to nine one one that it appeared that Ben's
skull had been crushed.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
For those that aren't familiar with snakes, ball pythons, which
were some of the main breeding projects Ben had, don't
typically get large enough to inflict fatal damage to a
grown human male.
Speaker 1 (02:00):
Ben also had reticulated pythons and anacondas at his facility.
Now these snakes can get somewhat large. Reticulated pythons can
reach lengths of ten to twenty feet long and several
hundred pounds, the longest ever recorded being thirty two feet.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
Anacondas a snake many people are familiar with due to
pop culture movies. Specifically, green anacondas, are one of the
largest snakes in the world, reaching up to thirty feet
long and weighing over five hundred and fifty pounds.
Speaker 1 (02:37):
While it is rare, there have been documented cases of
reticulated pythons killing humans, particularly in Indonesia in remote areas. Anacondas,
on the other hand, there are no recorded deaths of
humans and only rare attacks.
Speaker 2 (02:56):
Yeah humans are not typical prey for these creatures. They
are also not venomous snakes, meaning they don't have the
capability to inject venom to incapacitate and or kill their prey.
Speaker 1 (03:10):
Rennick Reptiles specialized in the selective breeding of designer pythons
that Ben started in twenty ten. He sold his snakes
to buyers all over the world, from the UK to Japan.
Speaker 2 (03:24):
A friend of Ben said Ben was a successful snake breeder.
He was kind of a pioneer in that whole industry.
He was definitely very well known in the snake breeding community,
like I would say, worldwide.
Speaker 1 (03:39):
So finding Ben dead in his snake farm came as
a major shock to friends, family, and the reptile community.
No one thought that anyone would hurt Ben, so it
had to have been one of his snakes.
Speaker 2 (03:55):
When the police arrived, they began to prepare themselves to
search the snake far to locate the snake responsible, and
as Montgomery County Coroner Dave Colbert examined Ben's body, he
made a chilling discovery. Ben wasn't the victim of one
of his snakes. He had been shot a total of
(04:17):
eight times at close range and likely died within two
hours of Linley's call to nine one one.
Speaker 1 (04:26):
After the coroner's discovery, their investigation shifted focus from the
reptiles in the building to looking for the human suspect.
They tested Linley for gun residue and the results came
back negative.
Speaker 2 (04:41):
Lenley claimed that she had been at her business a
Sinceha Spa, located in Columbia, Missouri, when she received a
call that her children had not been picked up. She
told police that after she picked up her children, she
went to the Snake facility to locate Ben to find
out why he didn't pick them up, and at six
(05:02):
thirty six pm she placed the call to nine one one.
Speaker 1 (05:07):
The police said that Linley had been very forthcoming during
her interrogation, but she quickly shifted the focus from her
to Sam, Ben's brother. She told the investigators that Ben
had possibly been planning to sell the family property where
they all lived, and allegedly Sam was upset about that.
Speaker 2 (05:29):
Sam wasn't aware that Linley had implicated him in any way,
and he wondered if Ben had been killed in an
act of revenge against their father, Frank Rennick. Frank had
been the owner of Spectrum Pet Care in Montgomery City.
He had been indicted in twenty twelve in a federal
fraud case that stated between two thousand and six and
(05:52):
May of twenty eleven, Frank sold more than seven million
in stocks, bonds, and promisory no It's Inspectrum pet Care
to more than two hundred and fifty investors in Missouri
and to other states.
Speaker 1 (06:07):
He had told the investors that the money would be
used to purchase equipment and to fund operations at the business,
but substantial portions were used to repay existing investors and
for his own personal expenses. This meant a lot of
people lost a lot of money due to his Ponzi scheme.
(06:30):
He was found dead from a self inflicted gunshot wound
on June seventeenth, twenty twelve.
Speaker 2 (06:42):
This theory never took off, though, and Sam tested negative
for gunshot residue, and after fully cooperating with investigators, he
was ruled out. The reptile community stepped up and rallied
around Lindley and the kids and helped raise more than
forty thousand dollars. Da Kaufman, a fellow reptile enthusiast, said
(07:03):
they had raised tens of thousands of dollars to help
them because they all felt the stinging loss of Ben
and Linley and the kids were victims as well.
Speaker 1 (07:14):
Just eleven days after Ben's murder, Lenley was brought in
for questioning again. This time she confessed to having an
affair with a man named Eric, claiming they had hooked
up once or twice a month. It was apparent that
below the surface, Ben and Lenley's marriage wasn't all sunshine
and rainbows.
Speaker 2 (07:35):
Lenley and Ben had actually known each other since they
were teenagers and had parted ways, only to reconnect again
in twenty eleven. They got married on April thirteenth, twenty fourteen,
and ended up having a child together. While Ben helped
raise Linley's son from a previous marriage, Lenley and her
son moved in with Ben into a home he had
(07:57):
built on his family's farm.
Speaker 1 (08:00):
She helped out Ben in the snake farm with the
caring of all the snakes, and eventually, as we said,
opened up her own spa, Asinhia Spa in twenty sixteen.
According to the yelp business page, she had been a
licensed massage therapist for over nine years and some other
mumbo jumbo about wanting her clients to leave the spa
(08:21):
feeling the best versions of themselves, happy and healthy, blah
blah blah.
Speaker 2 (08:27):
The police followed up with Eric, checked out his alibi,
and tested him for gunshot residue, clearing him of any suspicion.
The police then interviewed Ashley Shaw, the SPA's bookkeeper and
friend of Linley. Ashley let the police know that Linley
had also been seeing another man by the name of
(08:48):
Brandon Blackwell, who she had met on the dating website
Ashley Madison. She had even been hooking up with Brandon
before Ben's murder. We'll definitely be hearing more from Ashley
and Brandon.
Speaker 1 (09:04):
Later on, investigators discovered Facebook messages between Ben and Lenley
where they were arguing about finances and Linley's mismanagement of
her SPA business. She was behind in her loan, rent
and staff payments, and her business had been throwing off
the entire financial stability of the family despite Ben's success
(09:27):
in Runnick reptiles. From the messages between them, it also
appeared that Ben had been suspicious about Lenley and her cheating,
but had no proof at the time. As a matter
of fact, just hours before Ben was murdered, it was
discovered that Ben had sent Lenley a message on Facebook saying,
no more lying, no more keeping things from me, no
(09:49):
more not paying people and thinking it's okay to pay later.
Speaker 2 (09:53):
Four months later, Lenley was brought in for questioning again
on October fifth, twenty seven, this time to take a
polygraph test. She even told investigators she thought she did
well on the exam, which in reality wasn't the case.
Speaker 1 (10:13):
The results showed that she failed, specifically when the question
did you shoot that man? Was asked. The police suspected
Linley had something to do with Ben's death, and that
she may have had help from yet another man in
her life, but lacked hard evidence to prove it.
Speaker 2 (10:35):
Enter a man named Michael Humphrey, an old ex boyfriend
and ex con fresh out of prison on drug possession charges.
She had tested and called him numerous times leading up
to Ben's death, including on the day Ben was murdered.
Speaker 1 (10:57):
During one interrogation, the investigator at actually told Linley quote,
there is so much circumstantial evidence against you in this case,
it's mind boggling end quote. Since her gunshot residue test
came back negative, there were no witnesses, no murder weapon,
or any direct evidence linking her to Ben's murder, she
(11:22):
left the interrogation room a free woman. Again. She had
been interrogated a total of six times.
Speaker 2 (11:36):
Dave Kaufman said that he and others in the reptile
community would contact each other feeling ill at ease with
a murderer still on the loose, asking if anybody had
any information on what was going on. He said that
humans do things other than what you expect. Snakes do not.
Speaker 1 (11:57):
And that is one hundred percent accurate.
Speaker 2 (12:01):
The investigation went cold for nearly three years as time passed.
Sam said that when Linley refused to talk to them,
or allow the kids, or even received Ben's belongings, they
knew something was wrong.
Speaker 1 (12:16):
Just weeks after Ben's murder, Linley had sold the family property,
closed up shop, and left town. Only mere days after
his death, Linley was on the phone to the insurance
company asking how she could claim on Ben's million dollar
life insurance policy.
Speaker 2 (12:38):
A jailhouse tip came through to the Missouri State Highway
Patrol on January fourteenth, twenty twenty. They followed up on
it and met with Brandon Blackwell, who we mentioned earlier
had dated Linley. Brandon's dad reached out to the investigators
and informed them that Brandon wanted to speak with them.
Speaker 1 (13:00):
Brandon had been the man that Linley met online and
was even hooking up with the very week Ben was murdered.
Only a year after Ben was killed, Brandon and Linley
had a child together. Lenley alleged that Brandon had become
threatening and they had broken up.
Speaker 2 (13:18):
Lenley got an order of protection in twenty nineteen, and
Brandon had been charged with violating that order and stalking her,
which he denied doing. The stalking and related charges would
later be dropped. After being arrested in January twenty twenty
for the violation of their protection order, Brandon was looking
(13:40):
for a way out of jail, so he reached out
to the investigators. Brandon informed them of a plan hatched
by Linley to give Ben a narcotic laced protein shake.
She had enlisted the help of her friend and bookkeeper,
Ashley Shaw, to help poison Ben with her set. She
(14:01):
allegedly put fifteen percocet into a protein shake and gave
it to Ben.
Speaker 1 (14:08):
Ben was understandably poisoned after consuming that many, but despite
being very, very sick, he miraculously survived, completely unaware that
someone he lived with and loved had tried to kill him.
Speaker 2 (14:29):
Brandon said that after this plan failed, Linley turns to
Michael Humphrey. He told the investigators that Michael and Linley
drove out to the farm. He had gloves, he had
the firearm, and the plan was for him to do it.
Speaker 1 (14:45):
When they got there, he hands Linley the gun and
says that he doesn't feel comfortable doing it and it's
just something she's got to take care of. She walks
in with the gun and just shoots him. Brandon also
said that Ashley show Law was in on it from
the beginning.
Speaker 2 (15:03):
On January sixteenth, twenty twenty, Linley Rennick and Michael Humphrey
were arrested and charged with the murder of Ben Rennick.
Ben's family and friends never saw this coming. They were shocked,
but Sam said that between the life insurance, the sales
of the snakes, and the family farm, Lindley stood to
(15:26):
gain millions.
Speaker 1 (15:29):
The police turned to Ashley Shaw and arrested her, making
sure to immediately let her know what her future might
look like. The investigator told her, quote, now is the
time you're either on team Linley or team Missouri, and
Team Linley is going to jail. They're going to prison
(15:50):
for first degree murder. End quote.
Speaker 2 (15:54):
So in exchange for leniency, Ashley turned on Linley starting
with thee shake. According to Ashley, after the shooting, Linley
claimed that Michael Humphrey was the trigger man, but a
few days later Linley changed her story.
Speaker 1 (16:11):
Lenley told Ashley she had been the killer. In the interrogation,
Ashley said, quote and she said, oh no, once we
got there, I was fine to do it. And so
he handed me the gun and I did it.
Speaker 2 (16:27):
End quote.
Speaker 1 (16:28):
When the investigator asked if after the murder, Linley ever
seemed remorseful, and Ashley said never. No.
Speaker 2 (16:38):
Michael Humphrey's trial started on October twentieth, twenty twenty one.
The defense team argued that Michael had been lured to
the Snake farm by Linley, who claimed she wanted protection.
When asking Ben for a divorce, Linley had been surprised
him and pulled out a gun and shot her husband,
(16:58):
and remember the murder weapon hadn't been recovered.
Speaker 1 (17:03):
The jury watched an interview Michael did with the Missouri
State Highway Patrol on the day of his twenty twenty arrest,
where he claimed that he had no knowledge of Lindley's
plan to kill her husband when they drove to the
farm that day.
Speaker 2 (17:19):
The prosecution said that he drove her to the property
from the spa the day Ben was murdered after meeting
with Ashley Shaw, who was in on the entire plot,
and that he gave Linley the gun to use. They
also asked him why he continued the interaction with Linley
after she tried handing him the gun.
Speaker 1 (17:40):
Now, the defense focused on Linley and Ashley Shaw's role
in the event, stating that the two of them came
up with the details of the plan and left Michael
Humphrey out of most of it. The fact that they
were focusing on Ashley's recount of events after the prosecution
offered her a deal to avoid charges was a definite
point of criticism. Ashley Shaw was the prosecution star witness.
Speaker 2 (18:05):
The jury didn't buy Humphrey's whole innocent bystander spiel, so
after deliberating for about five hours, they returned their verdict
guilty of first degree murder. This was actually later reduced
to second degree murder after he agreed to testify and
assist the prosecution.
Speaker 1 (18:26):
When Michael was convicted in December twenty twenty one and
facing life behind bars, he changed his story. As Gina said,
he agreed to cooperate with the state and the hopes
that he might be able to parroll out.
Speaker 2 (18:40):
Eventually, he admitted that he provided the gun to Linley
and that the police could find the murder weapons stash
in his girlfriend's mother's attic. Linley's trial began in December
of twenty twenty one.
Speaker 1 (18:56):
The prosecution painted Linley as cold blood, as one of
Ben's snakes, a killer who shot Ben and then went
about her daily routine life as if nothing had happened.
The defense countered that by saying, while Linley lied and
cheated on Ben, that doesn't mean she was a killer,
(19:17):
So they pointed the finger at the man who had
already been convicted of his murder, Michael Humphrey.
Speaker 2 (19:24):
They even claimed that Ashley Shaw had made up her
entire testimony to avoid life in prison, just like Michael
Humphrey in Unmoved. It doesn't happen frequently in murder trials.
Linley testified herself. She claimed that her marriage with Ben
had become troubled in sometimes violent, recounting a time where
(19:45):
an argument with Ben had turned physical.
Speaker 1 (19:48):
She never filed any police reports about the alleged physical
abuse either, and Sam, on the other hand, Ben's brother
said that abusive was not a word he'd ever associate
with Ben, saying his brother was very kind, very loving.
Speaker 2 (20:06):
Lenley explains that she asked Michael to accompany her so
she could just get some stuff and go, and that
she did not ask him to help her kill Ben.
She claims that she walked up behind Michael, he turned around,
she saw a gun in his hands, and then she
heard shots rang out.
Speaker 1 (20:26):
She says she screamed and ran outside and heard more
shots go off, and everything went numb for her. Michael
ran out and pushed her toward the car, saying they
had to go. She said she was initially in shock
and didn't tell the investigators the truth initially, but that
also didn't equal murder.
Speaker 2 (20:47):
She repeatedly didn't tell the investigators the truth. She was
interviewed several times, lied to them each time, all the
while knowing who was responsible for Ben's death, and even
had the gall to point the finger at Sam herself.
Speaker 1 (21:05):
According to court documents, Linley said that Michael arrived at
the SPA around two or three o'clock in the afternoon.
Ashley didn't actually see Michael there, but she saw a
vehicle she had previously seen Michael sitting in when Linley
and her first contacted him.
Speaker 2 (21:22):
Lindley left her phone at the Spa before she left
with Michael and they stopped to get gas. Ashley was
left at the spa alone with another employee who went
to the bank in a convenience store, so they were
caught on camera and had alibis. Ashley said that after
an hour and a half to two hours later, Linley
returned to the Spa to shower.
Speaker 1 (21:46):
Well. On December ninth, twenty twenty one, after about twelve
hours of deliberation from the jury, the judge revealed the
verdict guilty of murder and the second degree and guilty
of armed criminal action. Life was an option, but instead
(22:06):
the jury settled on thirteen years for murder and three
for armed criminal action, yeah just a total of sixteen years.
Speaker 2 (22:20):
Michael Humphrey appealed his conviction and life sentence on August first,
twenty twenty three, but it was ultimately denied as he
had waived his rights to a direct appeal in exchange
for a reduction of the charge and sentence that included
the possibility of parole. Linley filed an appeal in October
of twenty twenty two, but it was dropped without explanation
(22:43):
in January of twenty twenty three.
Speaker 1 (22:47):
Today, Michael Humphrey is serving his sentence at Jefferson County
Correction Center, and according to an online search, Lenley Rennick
is serving her time at the Women's Eastern Reception Diagnostic
and Correctional Center. She could possibly be released in twenty
thirty eight at the age of forty nine.
Speaker 2 (23:06):
Sixteen years doesn't seem like a lot, and Sam later said,
we were happy that she was sentenced to the sixteen
years she was given. However, my brother's life was worth
a lot more than sixteen years. Those children, all the
lives that were destroyed by this by these actions.
Speaker 1 (23:28):
The judge also shared Sam's and my frustration at the
light sentence, but under Missouri law, he could not increase
Linley's punishment, and jurors never said why they chose such
a seemingly light sentence. Judge Crane said, quote, you're awfully lucky, ma'am.
You're going to get out in your forties, and my
(23:49):
forties weren't too bad. I just hope you don't kill again.
That's it end quote.
Speaker 2 (23:55):
At the end of it all, there were two convicted
killers and Ashley Shaw, who was granted immunity after plotting
with Linley twice. Ben's legacy lives on through his children,
Sam and a new breed of snake named just for him.
Dave Kaufman said, the rinnic ghost and what a ghost
(24:18):
is is a slight reduction of blacks color. It gives
the snake a ghostly appearance to it, and that is
such a testament to what Ben meant to this community
that he now has a mutation of snake named after him.
Speaker 1 (24:34):
We'll leave you with this excerpt. Ben wrote on World
of Bull Pythons. I have always had a fascination with wildlife,
which began at a very early age. I spent a
lot of time going on hikes and collecting various insects, snakes,
and lizards. By doing that, of course, sparked my interest
more and more in reptiles. So my parents took me
(24:57):
to a local pet shop where I ended up with
my very first snake, a yellow rat snake. Over time,
I accumulated a few more king snakes and milk snakes
as well. But then I got my very first ball
python and it was all over from there. I was hooked.
Over the years, I got to handle a variety of
different snakes from different pet shops and friends, which got
(25:20):
me more and more interested in the keeping and breeding
of different boas and pythons. Every snake that is in
my care is looked after daily and taken care of
to the full extent, and I'm very happy I can
work with such amazing and marvelous creatures.
Speaker 2 (25:40):
This is so sad. It's hard to imagine someone who
could care so deeply for animals would have any sort
of mean bone in his body towards another person.
Speaker 1 (25:58):
And I, you know, it goes back to the very beginning.
Speaker 2 (26:01):
For me.
Speaker 1 (26:01):
It's a testament to Ben that even though he had
ball pythons and the reticulated pythons and anaconda's that he
had been working with for so long, their immediate thought
was one of the snakes had to have gotten to him,
because there was no possible way anybody would have wanted
to hurt him.
Speaker 2 (26:24):
And I guess I'm trying to figure out, like maybe
the answer is obvious, but like what was her motive here?
Like she obviously wasn't happy and he was worth a
lot of money, and she was not good at handling
the financial situation of her life. So maybe she's just like, well,
I take him out, I get all this insurance money.
(26:46):
It's going to solve my problems. But she obviously wasn't
happy in the marriage if she was having multi multiple affairs.
And it's hard because we only know one side of
the story. I want to believe that he was not
abusive and that was not true, but it's hard when
you don't know.
Speaker 1 (27:06):
Yeah, I mean, my instinct says no, absolutely, Like you know,
I'm somebody that is that caring for as you said,
somebody that is that caring for animals. It's hard to
imagine that they can be that caring, especially towards an
animal that most people perceive as oh god, no, you know,
(27:28):
he's so caring towards these How could he possibly be
anything but that in his personal life, towards the people
that he cares about and loves the most. It's it's
hard to fathom that it is.
Speaker 2 (27:40):
And also in this NOVA advocacy training that I've been taking,
there have been courses about the link between people who
abuse animals and abuse people and how it starts. It
normally starts with animal abuse, and then it works his
way up to being violent against other people.
Speaker 1 (28:01):
Exactly when you hear somebody, you know, kicking dogs and
killing cats and stuff like, Okay, that is a lot
more believable that they're capable of inflicting harm on another
human being. But somebody that cares so deeply about snakes reptiles,
like they're not like most people are, not a fan. No,
(28:23):
it's not your cuddly cat or your loyal, faithful, lovable dog.
It's completely but he still showed that level of care
and compassion towards them.
Speaker 2 (28:33):
Yeah, it's it's gross as she only got that much time,
and I don't understand. I don't understand.
Speaker 1 (28:40):
The only thing. Only thing is that possibly the jury
was convinced there was possibly a possibility that Ben had
been abusive towards her. And it's hard not to feel
sympathy towards women in.
Speaker 2 (29:00):
That situation, of course, and that is the case.
Speaker 1 (29:03):
It does you, so I that that's the only thing.
But at the end of the day, she still took
somebody's life, and there was no at any point, there
was no time where she said it was self defense,
that she did it because she was scared for her life,
(29:25):
because of anything No, she was there to quote quote
ask him for a divorce and get some of her stuff,
so and anything else. She never said it was self defense.
It was cold blooded. So a cold blooded murder only
gets sixteen years.
Speaker 2 (29:42):
I just not to mention that that was the second time.
Speaker 1 (29:45):
She she tried to kill him.
Speaker 2 (29:47):
Yeah, And what was the bookkeeper in for, Like why
why was she so supportive of this, like her friend
from the spa.
Speaker 1 (29:57):
Like because she had been telling Ashley that Ben was
abusive and controlling and she was, you know, getting a
you know, getting her on her side. It's so it's
it's so hard to not slightly judge and be a
little biased, you know. It's those situations are hard. If
(30:20):
you are in a situation like that, it is it's
easier said than done to like, okay, just get a divorce.
But she never filed a police report. There were no records,
there was no evidence. And you know, we mentioned the
family farm. So the family farm that they lived on
was Ben and Sam's parents farm. Ben's their dad, you know,
(30:45):
committed suicide and their mom had passed away. She got sick,
and so Ben had a house on the farm and
Sam actually had a house on the property as well.
So they all lived right there together, like not necessarily
like on top of each other, but they're there. So
if there was some sort of physical abuse or anything,
(31:07):
they're not isolated there. Somebody would have seen something, would
have somebody exactly. That's my that's that's my two cents
about it.
Speaker 2 (31:15):
Yeah, it's it's hard. It's like, it's a delicate topic
because you can't just sit there and say it didn't happen,
because there are plenty of circumstances where women are in
that situation and they're not going to file charges or
call because the likelihood of that making the situation worse
is also very high, right, So it's but also, like
(31:38):
you said, it's not like she shot him in a
moment of self defense or in the middle of an altercation.
She chose to go to that shop and shoot him
point blank exactly. If you like what you heard today
or want to give your opinions on how you feel
about this episode, reach out to us DMS on Instagram
(32:00):
at Weird True Crime, email us at Weird true Crime
at gmail dot com. However you want to contact us,
we'd love to hear from you, and please consider leaving
us a five star rating and review so we can
continue giving voices to the victims and sharing their legacies.
Like I said, quote, see us on Instagram, follow us there,
send us an email, all the things.
Speaker 1 (32:24):
You know, this case did hit home for me because
I'm a reptile lover myself and have five ball pythons
of my own. I watch some of Ben's I don't
know if I'm going to be able to get this out.
Speaker 2 (32:41):
Hey them on.
Speaker 1 (32:44):
I actually watched some of Ben's YouTube videos of his facility.
The Rennick Reptiles has their own YouTube channel, and they
were just you know, short introductions to some of the
snakes he was hatching out, and some instructional videos, and
he was showing off the facility. You could just tell
that breeding these snakes and raising them and caring for them,
(33:06):
it just wasn't some flippant hobby. He was really truly
passionate about it and cared about what he did. You know,
snakes aren't the scary creatures that were led to believe.
I used to be terrified of them myself, and Ben
was doing all he could to bring out the best
of his snakes to let the world see as well.
(33:28):
So yeah, now let us know what you think about
Ben's story. We really would love to hear from you, and.
Speaker 2 (33:35):
Until next time, stay safe.
Speaker 1 (33:38):
And make good choices. Bye bye, Di.
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