the news for Jack's i-team has uncovered
chilling new information about the
shooting death last weekend of this
popular realtor in her knockety home a
woman who had obtained a restraining
order against her killer six months
earlier the i-team has learned Simon
Hanley bought the gun illegally a month
on a half before detectives say he shot
and killed Lynn bender before turning
the gun on himself
this was after prosecutors dropped a
criminal charge against Hanley but while
an injunction bender obtained against
him was in effect these four jacks
i-team investigator Vick McAlary is
unraveling the man's past and asking the
tough questions about what could have
been done to prevent this Vick we found
a startling history Tom and Mary in
these documents that we have been going
through for the past couple of days
prosecutors said that Hanley passed a
psychological evaluation before they
dropped the stalking charge against him
and he had practically no criminal
record but benders family members tell
us there were red flags long before he
went on to kill long before this scene
over the weekend where deputies say
Simon Hanley killed his former
girlfriend Lynn bender than himself
there was a history of problems the news
for Jack's i-team obtaining this list of
Sheriff's Office responses at his gated
Ponte Vedra condo including a call this
past August when deputies say he tried
to kill himself in the garage with
carbon monoxide coming from his car days
later according to an injunction for
protection against stalking that bender
filed against him she officially broke
up with him but she claimed he continued
to contact her even after she told him
not to and blocked him in October he
approached her and tried to kiss her at
the beach got angry and stormed off he
also sent her packages cards gifts even
a golf cart in November then a cryptic
note karma is in my cards in December
bender filed that injunction and got it
the judge said he would have to stay
away from her home and business plus
wear a GPS ankle monitor deputies
arrested him shortly after because they
said they had previously warned him to
leave vendor alone but months later in
March
after he got a private attorney
prosecutors agreed to drop the
misdemeanor stocking charge telling us
he successfully completed psychological
and mental evaluations they also noted
he had no criminal history besides a DUI
17 years ago the restraining order
stayed but with that his GPS monitor was
removed whatever evaluation that was
done there was a determination that he
either was not a danger to her or to
somebody else
attorney G Nichols is not involved but
analyzed the case with us this is a guy
who had a documented history of stalking
and then months before that he had been
involved in an attempted suicide would
those be red flags well they're gonna be
red flags at least to the psychiatrist
I'm presuming the State Attorney's
Office knew them as well but when it's
all said and done the State Attorney's
Office does have to rely upon the
experts but the same month the charge
was dropped at the end of March
detectives confirm that Handley bought a
handgun from an online listing while
buying a gun from a private citizen is
legal he wasn't allowed to legally
because of the ongoing injunction a
month and a half later Handley used that
gun to kill bender and then himself did
the system fail here everything failed
because this woman is dead and shouldn't
be dead I would tell you that the real
failure comes in with the man who killed
her prosecutors have not interviewed
with us on camera we have made that
request a couple of times a spoke person
did tell us in an e-mailed statement
these cases are very difficult and we
try every day to put things in place
that will protect the victims of
domestic violence sometimes despite all
of our efforts they have tragic endings
I have also reached out to Malcolm
Anthony he is Hanley's attorney for the
injunction I've been trying to reach him
for two days so far he has not returned
any of my messages they could had
deputies been called out to benders home
before the killing they did and I've had
several conversations with people with
the st. Johns County Sheriff's Office
and it appears that you know they did
everything that they could within the
law but once those criminal charges were
dropped there was only so much they
could but
I did request this sheet and this shows
the calls for service the times that
deputies responded to her home you can
see there's seven of them there a lot of
times it was routine patrol but a couple
of times you can see a welfare check and
then also contact the last time would be
on the morning of Saturday
this past Saturday and that's when they
found her dead such a loss
yes it's terrible but we're gonna keep
going for questions we're gonna keep
looking for the truth and we're gonna
keep working Thank You Vic