Murder of Ella Bennett

2007 child murder in Abilene, Texas

Murder of Ella Bennett

Location| Abilene, Texas, U.S.
Date| February 4, 2007; 18 years ago (2007-02-04)
c. 11:30 p.m. (CST)

Attack type

| Child-on-child murder by stabbing, strangulation, sororicide, child rape
Weapon| Knife
Victim| Ella Bennett, aged 4
Perpetrator| Paris Lee Bennett
Motive| Revenge against his mother
Verdict| Pleaded guilty
Convictions| Capital murder
Sentence| 40 years in prison (parole possible after 20 years)

On February 4, 2007, Paris Lee Bennett, a 13-year-old American, murdered his 4-year-old sister, Ella Bennett, in Abilene, Texas. Paris stabbed Ella 17 times.

The motive for the murder was Paris' resentment towards his mother, Charity Bennett, as he believed the best way to emotionally damage her was to take away one of her children.

Paris pleaded guilty in juvenile court to capital murder, and was given the maximum sentence of 40 years in prison, with the possibility of parole after 20 years. Following the murder, Paris was evaluated and met criteria for Antisocial Personality Disorder traits consistent with what is sometimes called sociopathy.[1]

The murder has gained extensive attention due to its circumstances, as well as the ages of both the perpetrator and the victim.

## Background

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Charity Bennett, the mother of Paris and Ella Bennett, is the daughter of Kyla Claar Bennett. Kyla Bennett was charged with conspiring to murder her husband and Charity's father, James Robert Bennett Jr. She was controversially found not guilty, and Charity believes her mother was actually guilty. Kyla later joked in a documentary about "manipulat[ing]" the jury. During her childhood, Charity intentionally became addicted to drugs in an attempt to gain attention from her mother, but Kyla never showed any interest.[2][3][4]

## Murder

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Shortly before the murder, Charity had relapsed into drug addiction. This was believed to be Paris's breaking point, making him decide to murder Ella. However, Paris displayed warning signs of violence before the murder and has since admitted to feeling homicidal tendencies since he was a young child.

On February 4, 2007, Charity hired a babysitter, as she had to work late at her job at the restaurant Buffalo Wild Wings as it was the night of the 2007 Super Bowl. Around 10:00 PM, Paris was able to manipulate the babysitter and convinced her to leave the house. Later that night sometime before 11:30 PM, Paris entered Ella's room; sexually assaulted her and stabbed her 17 times. Following the murder, he called a school friend for about six minutes before deciding to call 9-1-1 at 11:42 PM. On the call, Paris appeared to fake insanity, telling the dispatcher that he thought Ella was an inflamed pumpkin-headed demon and stabbed her. Once the dispatcher instructed Paris to perform CPR, he instead pretended he was by counting with the dispatcher as he paced around the room. Paris was later arrested sometime before 12:30 AM.[4][5][6][7]

## Legal proceedings

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Following his arrest, Paris was charged with the capital murder of Ella. Paris was not charged as an adult, since the minimum age a juvenile can be tried as an adult in Texas is 14.[8] He was instead charged in juvenile court and pleaded guilty to capital murder. He was sentenced to 40 years in prison with the possibility of parole after 20 years, which is the maximum sentence for a defendant convicted of capital murder in juvenile court in Texas. When he was 19, Paris was transferred to adult prison.[9] During proceedings, further assessment using standardized measures documented significant psychopathic traits. He has said he has had homicidal ideation since he was a child.[1] Paris will first be eligible for parole in February 2027. If he is never granted parole, he will be released in February 2047.[10]

## Aftermath

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Charity initially maintained contact with Paris after the murder, which Paris said astounded him. Charity has been told that she and her new son are at risk once Paris is released, which she accepts. She has acknowledged that she will most likely need to move to a new location once Paris is released. Experts have said that it is unlikely that Paris could ever be rehabilitated.[1] In 2021, Charity stated that she had ceased all communication with Paris after learning he was involved with a woman who was on bond two hours away from where she lived for planning a mass shooting. She stated, "I finally accepted it is okay to love him as my son but really dislike the man he has become."[11]

In 2017, a documentary titled The Family I Had was released about the case; it focused on Charity's life of being the daughter of a murder suspect (Kyla), and the mother of both a murderer (Paris) and a murder victim (Ella).[4]

Paris Bennett made headlines in 2019 when he gave an interview to broadcaster Piers Morgan.[5]

## References

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1. ^ a b c "Paris Bennett: The Horrific Story Of The Psychopath Who Killed His Four-Year-Old Sister". March 8, 2021. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
2. ^ "Kyla Bennett Freed on $100,000 Bond - May 15, 1980". The Atlanta Constitution. May 15, 1980. p. 144. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
3. ^ "Jurors Clear Kyla Bennett in Cobb Trial". The Atlanta Constitution. July 9, 1980. p. 1. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
4. ^ a b c "'The Family I Had' Is One Of The Saddest, Most Unnerving Documentaries You'll Ever See". Ranker. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
5. ^ a b "Boy murdered his 4yo sister just to make his mother suffer". NZ Herald. June 6, 2023. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
6. ^ Clarendon, Dan (January 6, 2018). "Who Is Paris Bennett? Convict Killed Sister When He Was 13 and She Was 4". In Touch Weekly. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
7. ^ "Mum reveals moment she heard her four-year-old daughter was murdered by her son". Yahoo News. December 22, 2017. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
8. ^ "Age Boundaries in Juvenile Justice Systems". National Governors Association. August 12, 2021. Retrieved May 26, 2024.
9. ^ Garza, Ariana (September 5, 2012). "Abilene teen to serve remainder of his 40-year sentence in an adult prison". KTXS. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
10. ^ "Texas Department of Criminal Justice Inmate Search". inmate.tdcj.texas.gov. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
11. ^ "Charity Lee on Facebook". Facebook.

*[c.]: circa