Anna Benson Update: Ex-wife of former MLB player Kris Benson once implicated in 1996 murder, report says
(CBS) - Anna Benson, the ex- wife of major league baseball player Kris Benson, was once implicated in the 1996 murder of an 18-year-old man and was the subject of a national manhunt, according to a report in the New York Daily News.
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The paper reports Benson, then a 19-year-old known as Anna Warren, was charged along with her boyfriend, Paul Denjongh, in the murder of Michael Evans, an 18-year-old man who was fatally shot in the couple's Tennessee apartment.
According to the paper, after Evans was executed on Jan. 22, 1996, Warren and Dejongh fled town and were the subject of a nationwide manhunt which included a feature on "America's Most Wanted." It wasn't until five months later when Benson was captured and the murder charge against her was dropped.
The paper reports, three people, other than Benson and Dejongh were in the apartment at the time of Evans' murder, and they reportedly told investigators that Benson was responsible for urging Dejongh to "get rid of" Evans after he said something she didn't like.
Dejongh was convicted of first-degree murder in the death, but the verdict was overturned on appeal, the paper reports. He later pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 21 years in prison, where he died.
Warren was ultimately charged with accessory to murder, but that charge was also later dismissed.
"We have determined we don't have sufficient proof to show she is guilty of that charge," Knox County Deputy District Attorney Bill Crabtree said, according to the Knoxville News-Sentinel.
In 1998, the same year the charges against Warren were dropped, she met Benson at an Atlanta strip club where she worked, according to the New York Daily News. It is unclear if Benson had any knowledge of Warren's one-time implication in Evans' murder, but the couple married the following year. They had three children together before Benson filed for divorce in 2012.
Anna Benson, 37, most recently made headlines when she was arrested on charges of criminal trespassing, assault and gun-possession following a confrontation at her ex-husband's Georgia home on July 8.
According to a report by TMZ, Anna Benson was wearing a bulletproof vest and was wielding a handgun and expandable metal baton when she reportedly raided the 38-year-old former baseball player's apartment. According to police reports, Anna demanded money which Kris Benson said he would get for her. Instead, he left and called police.
Kris Benson pitched for the New York Mets and other major league baseball clubs from 1999-2010. Anna once graced the cover of FHM magazine next to the headline "Baseball's Hottest Wife" and previously starred in VH1's reality show "Baseball Wives." She became famous for threatening to sleep with the entire New York Mets team if Kris ever cheated on her on the show.
Complete coverage of Anna Benson on Crimesider
