There was no way it was supposed to end like this. The former Church Deacon and his wife, who on earth would want them dead . It doesnt make sense. They were loved by everyone. Everyone, maybe, but their own daughter, who admitted to a bitter dispute she needed her stepfather and mother dead. Evidence pointed to her boyfriend as an accomplice. Youve got the victims blood on your shoe. He was there. Or, was he . A once loving family now gripped by suspicion. I had a lot of people saying that she did it. The terrible truth ripped them apart. This cannot be happening. Welcome to dateline. A daughter battling her demons and her mother and stepfather. After their double murder, police started to wonder how far Bambi Bennett would go to get what was hers. They followed a bloody trail of evidence deep inside the familys dispute, exposing ugly secrets and suspicions but unmasking a murderer would prove far more complicated. Here is Dennis Murphy with the deed. The old barn is a shambles now. The field, back in the day, so lush and productive, gone to seed. The farmhouse, empty. Time was the farmland was some of South Carolinas finest. Bambi bennetts granddad owned a Big Spreading Created A legacy for generations to come. That barn used to be a tobacco barn in my granddaddy built that. So it was a tobacco property. Yes, he did farming and tobacco. Bambis roots here are as deep as the old oak tree draped in spanish moss that still stands tall on the front lawn. They say land is worth dying for because it is the only thing that lasts and strew her truer words may never have been spoken. In this case, a beautiful piece of land turned out to be nothing but trouble. This is where Bambi Bennetts family was ripped apart by an active cruel, unspeakable violence. Bambi, her given name was a farm feisty good old girl, country through and through. I was at my grandparents a lot growing up and we gardened and we had a big yard. A huge yard. You are a country go . Yes. But, she had endured her share of heartache even at a tender age. Her parents divorced when she was just six. Mom remarried then a few years later, came the terrible day she will never forget. My daddy and my granddaddy passed away on the same day. I was 12 years old. So, all of a sudden, you would lost the two important men in your life . It was a bewildering and tragic day was so much sudden loss to absorb that young bambi, not yet a teenager, paid no mind to her grandfather and fathers wills, but it turned out she had been left the entire homestead, all 240 acres of it to be held in trust until she turned 18. Not long after bambi inherited the farm, her stepfather, charlie, moved the family onto the property. Her property. Most everybody called him big charlie. Bambi called him daddy. Dan daddy loved hunting and fishing and he always had fish fries. You call your stepfather daddy. Usually do that . Yes, i have always called him daddy. Big charlie was a deacon at church and started a Small Business selling and installing glass, converting the old tobacco barn into a shop. Bambis mom, diane, worked as a secretary in the public schools. They were respected, happy couple, salt of the earth. She was the backbone of that family. Bambis cousins, jessica and amy, loved their and diane. If your car literally stopped in front of their house or broke down, she would go and make sure you had a meal or you were warm and while she was doing that, big charlie would be like fixing the car. Good mom . Fabulous mom. Her biggest thing was she wanted to make sure her kids were protected and their hearts were protected. And, her daughter, bambi, would need a lot of protecting. The girl was married to her High School Sweetheart and divorced after a few months. By the time she was 24 years old, she had another failed marriage and was struggling as a single mom trying to raise two boys, cody and nathan. That had to be tough keeping your household going . Yes. Things went from bad to worse. Bambi started popping painkillers. Yes. I like the way it made me feel. Bambi was a single mom hooked on pills and sitting on a piece of land worth a small fortune. Diane decided it was time to intervene before another Whirlwind Husband that half the property. Mom said if you put it in my name it will be protected. And so, she signed the deed to her property over to her mom, and then, bambi signed over her heart, sending cody and nathan to be raised by their grandparents. She calls it her lowest point. I didnt want to do it but i knew it was the right thing. She wanted to take care of them. She loved those children. It was a crushing loss, no question, but bambi agreed at the time, the boys were better off. They loved diane and charlie. They were just very loving. They did a lot of outdoors stuff. They spoiled us to death. They were the most loving individuals ive ever met in my life. My grandma was a sweet woman, and everybody says so. With the boys living at the grandparents, bambi tried to get her own life back on track. That is when she met rick gagnon, a new hire at charlies Glass Company. There was an instant attraction. Ive always like the bad boy image, i guess, like he had the goatee and the shaved head. I dont know. We just had a good time together. It was a serious relationship . Yes, it was. Rick was serious, too. He confronted bambi about her demons. I told her if she wanted to be in a relationship, she had to do something about the pills. By the spring of 2005, bambi felt she had turned a corner. She and rick found the whole of their own in myrtle beach. After a long struggle, she was ready to be a mom to her boys again. I was getting on my feet and i wanted cody and nate there with us. Grandparents charlie and diane agreed, very reluctantly, to let the boys move in with bambi and rick, but no sooner had the boys moved than diane was making the case to get them back. Mama was very concerned. She said she would like for them to continue to stay with her. Boyfriend, rick, thought bambi can catch a break with her family. Everybody pretty much treated bambi like crap. It stemmed from issues that diane, charlie and bambi had. Those issues were simmering into an angry family drama. Then just a few weeks after the boys were turned over, it happened. It was april 12, a tuesday morning. Bambi called her mom, no answer. Charlie was late for work, one of his barn boys went up to the house to look for him. Moments later, he called 911. Shes laying on the floor and theres blood everywhere. Oh my god. Inside, things were chaotic, and appalling site. Big charlie and diane were dead , and the Old Farmhouse they loved so well was now a crime scene. At a grisly crime scene, some small stray drops of blood might just provide a huge clue. Coming up. It appeared that someone involved in the crime was a bleeder. Thats great evidence. It is if you can match it up. When dateline continues. Up. When dateline continues. With more confidence and lower your a1c. Try it for free at freestylelibre. Us. How long have you been tracking the value of our car . Try it for free at should we sell it . We hold. Our low mileage is paying off. You think we should. Hold. Hoooold hooold now im on it. Im, on it. Already sold to carvana. Go to carvana and track your cars value today. After advil lets dive in but. What about your back . Its fineeeeeeee [splash] before advil Advil Dual Action fights pain two ways. Advil targets pain at the source, acetaminophen blocks pain signals. Advil dual action. Youre the one that i want nexgard® plus helps you protect your dog from fleas, ticks, Heartworm Disease and more. All in one delicious, monthly soft chew. 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They were everybodys friends but we knew how good they were, how kind they were, and what good people they were. Down at her house in myrtle beach about 30 minutes from the crime scene, bambi was getting ready to go antiquing with her mom. She called her cell. One of charlies Glass Company workers answered. I said, can i speak to my mama, please . And he said bambi, your mom and daddy is dead. Just like that . Yes, and i said what . And he said bambi, somebody is broken in and killed them, shot them. And i just dropped the phone. And started crying. When bambi arrived at the house, yellow caution tape locked away. Police were everywhere. My mom was freaking out. Rick tried to comfort bambi. Young cody turned to him, too. I remember rick, he was near me and i was crying on his shoulder, and it was a madhouse that day. In those moments, it seemed the hall county had gone mad. The martyrs of diane and charlie came hard on the heels of two other vicious killings thereby. The suspect, a man all over the news, named Stephen Steiger stanko was involved. Vivian skipper was charlie and dianes neighbor. She runs a flower shop nearby. Told me about the fear. Was this the kind of thing you could feel in the air . You could feel it in the air. I didnt even want to go home. It was pretty bad in horry county that day. When i first arrived i wanted and opportunity to get oriented to the crime scene. The man responsible for making sense of the crime scene was prosecutor friend hump sees humphreys. This appeared to be a Home Invasion burglary. It was a gruesome crime scene, the bedroom awash in charlies blood. There was bad Blood Splatter in the bedroom where diane labored several feet from diane, there were notably a few small droplets. It appeared that someone involved in the crime, not the victims, was a bleeder. Why couldnt that be from one of your two victims . It was apparent big charlie never left the area of the bathroom and it was apparent that diane died where she lay. So, it looks like your shooter is bleeding, so thats great evidence . It is if you can match it up. While Crime Scene Techs processed the house, investigators started taking statements. Big charlie and diane had a large family and knew a lot of people. The list of people we talked to is exhaustive. A parade of friends, employees, and family was brought down to headquarters for interviews, including bambi and her boyfriend, rick. They did Gunshot Residue Tests on all of us. They had me remove my shirt, lift my pant legs up, and took my shoes, took pictures of my shoes tops, bottoms. Both bambi and rick told police they had spent the night at home, never left. With interviews complete, police drove rick and bambi back to the farmhouse. Everyone was gone. Bambi said she realized she had left her purse with her phone and car keys in the detectives cruiser. She decided she would take her mothers vehicle to get home. We didnt have any way to get in touch with anybody. We didnt have anything and i told rick, see if you can find moms purse or her cell phone, so he went in the house. Police had released the crime scene, but it still looked like one. Detectives told the family they would have to clean it up, so when rick says he went in to fetch dianes car keys, he found himself tiptoeing through a bloody mess. What were you seeing . All of the blood, and it was one of the most horrible things ive ever seen. Rick approached the bathroom where charlie had been killed. He said he noticed bambi through the Window Pacing in the backyard. She was calling out, mom, she was crying and screaming. I stepped into the bathroom and tried to step around the mess as best i could and i shut the blinds. And you close them because you dont want bambi to see the blood and gore . Thats right. I remember saying to bambi, i think i stepped in some blood in the bathroom and i was wiping my shoe off on the sand and she was telling me to wash my shoes so i did not get blood in her moms truck. It must have been eerie being in the house that night . Extremely. It was an eerie moment, one that would haunt bambi and rick for years to come. Coming up, bambi makes a stunning admission. Its been a long family feud. When dateline continues. Feud. When dateline continues. At n and visibly improve damage of the intestinal lining. Serious allergic reactions and an increased risk of infections or a lower ability to fight them may occur. Tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms, had a vaccine or plan to. Liver problems may occur in crohns disease. Control of crohns means everything to me. Ask your gastroenterologist about skyrizi. Control is everything to me learn how abbvie could help you save. Nothing brings us together like egglands best eggs. Always so fresh and delicious. 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Get the real deal with xfinity internet today, and get fast speeds and a reliable connection to all your devices in the home even when everyone is online. Dennis murphy the coldblooded killing of Big Charlie And Diane parker had a great many people in and around conway, South Carolina bolting their doors and locking their windows. Had you any trouble in that neighborhood out in the countryside with breakins . The coldblooded killing of Big Charlie And Diane parker had a great many people in and around conway, South Carolina bolting their doors and locking their windows. Have you had any trouble in that neighborhood in the countryside with the breakins . Not that i know of. It has always been a wonderful place. It just does not make any sense. Was this more of the murderous rampage of the notorious stephen stanko, who was all over the news . No, said prosecutor friend humphreys, who knew stanko had been cited in georgia at the time of the murders 200 miles away. Of the sample thing at the farmhouse you are not associated with stanko. We were not. At that time, Law Enforcement knew he was physically in augusta. Rather, humphreys focused on the evidence coming from the parker crime scene. He quickly came to believe this was more than just a bungled Home Invasion. It was apparent nothing had been taken, or at least nothing that you would suspect to be taken in a burglary. Humphreys talk back to some curious statements bambi had made in her interview with police. She said she had given willingly. You sure youre okay to sit down with me . Im not okay, but i want to help you. Soon after the interview started, bambi, he said, began describing in detail a feud with in her family. The issue was the land bambi owned and that her parents were living on. Thats been a long family feud. Right, over the land . According to humphreys, bambi and diane argued over who should control that property. Diane wanted to make sure that property was there for the kids. I think she had become convinced that bambi was not going to be in a position to manage that property. I love this girl, my daughter, but she has beyond hope, is that the feeling . Well, she cant be trusted with it. Bambi didnt agree. She wanted the property back. But, humphreys learned the land was not the only hot button between her mother and stepdad. They also argued over the raising of nadine and cody. Nathan and cody. Were there any issues . I understand my mother had kept them and it was hard for her to, you know, give them back. At first, we were angry at each other. Diane just was not comfortable with bambi having custody of those children. In fact, just four months before the murders, it mother daughter Shouting Match over care for the boys got so out of hand that diane called 911. The responding officer arrived with his Dash