Arline Lawless

Case record: Arline Lawless

Background

Arline Lawless, also known as Arline Seavey, was a 26-year-old Waldoboro woman who was involved in the July 2012 murder of her boyfriend, 34-year-old Norman Benner Jr., also of Waldoboro. She feared he would leave her for another woman.

The offence

In July 2012, Norman Benner Jr. was shot to death at a Friendship Road home in Waldoboro where he and Lawless were staying. Police described the shooting as occurring over the weekend of July 22, and also as occurring sometime over the weekend before Monday, July 23, when the couple was discovered. Lawless shot Benner in the back of the head while he was sleeping, and approximately five minutes later Lawless shot herself in the face; her wound was not fatal.

Benner and Lawless were discovered on Monday morning, July 23, by one of Benner’s family members. Dawn Benner and her daughter found Benner’s dead body and Lawless lying beside him in the same bedroom, injured and suffering from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Dawn Benner stated that “I saw her rise up and I said, ‘Run Kimmy.’ We had her children in the car and I didn’t want her to kill them too.” She also stated about her son: “I had to see my son lying there.”

Kimberly Simmons said her brother was “the sweetest, most compassionate man, and that’s what did him in … the last way I saw him laying there dead next to her — she didn’t even give him a blanket.”

Police and court proceedings included discussion that the murder involved domestic violence, and that Lawless had planned to kill Benner if she could not have him.

Investigation

Maine State Police detectives interviewed Lawless and reported that she provided consistent accounts. Detectives Abbe Chabot and Corey Pike separately interviewed her and were told the same story.

In a July 23 interview at Maine Medical Center, Lawless told Pike she shot Norman Benner one time because he was going to leave her. Chabot’s affidavit stated that Lawless told Pike she shot herself five times after shooting Benner. Chabot stated that Lawless repeated that narrative when Chabot interviewed her the following day.

Lawless allegedly told investigators she used a gun she found in the home that belonged to Jeremy McPhee. McPhee was described as the homeowner who also lived at the single-family home and was present at the time of the shooting.

Waldoboro Police Officer Jeffrey Fuller responded to a 911 call from Benner’s sister and found Benner deceased and Lawless “incoherent and injured next to Norman Benner,” according to the affidavit. As Fuller was leaving the dwelling, he observed McPhee walking toward the residence.

McPhee told Detective Adam Kelley that he heard snoring coming from Benner and Lawless’s bedroom at approximately 7:30 p.m. on July 21.

The affidavit described text messages sent by Lawless to Norman Benner, saying she was afraid of McPhee “because he was acting oddly.” The affidavit stated that the Benner family thought Lawless did this in an attempt to get him to come to the house at 2177 Friendship Rd. to see her. Dawn Benner and Kimberly Benner told Brockway that Norman Benner planned to tell Lawless on July 21 that he was leaving her and would return to his family’s home after that conversation.

Chabot also wrote that Lawless called Benner’s mother on July 25 and again said she had shot Benner because he was going to leave her. In addition, the state described Lawless’s failure to call 911 and reported that she made no efforts to call 911.

Arrest and custody

Lawless was arrested on Aug. 15 while she was leaving Spring Harbor Treatment Center in Westbrook. She was charged with intentional or knowing murder as she was leaving the treatment center.

After the arrest, she was held at Two Bridges Regional Jail in Wiscasset.

Trial and plea

Insanity-related plea

Lawless entered a plea of not criminally responsible by reason of insanity at her arraignment hearing in Lincoln County Superior Court on September 27, 2012. The plea was entered during an arraignment hearing described as addressing the murder charge and court documents showed an order for Lawless to undergo a mental evaluation with the State Forensic Service.

Evaluation and later guilty plea

Later, Lawless was evaluated and found capable of standing trial. In June, she pleaded guilty to fatally shooting Norman Benner.

At a plea hearing, Justice Jeffrey Hjelm asked her:

“Have you decided to enter a guilty plea to this charge because in your judgement, you are in fact actually guilty of this crime?”

Lawless responded:

“Yes,”

The guilty plea was for intentional or knowing murder. In exchange for the guilty plea, the Maine attorney general’s office and Lawless’s court-appointed defense attorneys jointly recommended a 35-year prison sentence to Justice Jeffrey Hjelm. The parties noted mental health issues and included that the murder was an act of domestic violence.

Lead defense attorney Philip Cohen said that there was no question in his mind of his client’s capacity, and Justice Hjelm said he was satisfied Lawless was of sound mind and “entirely lucid.”

Proceedings regarding assault and disorderly conduct

Lawless also faced an assault charge in a separate case. On Thursday, she pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct in that case and was sentenced to five days in jail. Her court-appointed attorney was Philip Cohen of Waldoboro.

Sentencing

On July 25, 2013, Lawless was sentenced in Lincoln County Superior Court to 35 years in prison for the July 2012 murder of her boyfriend, Norman Benner Jr.

Justice Jeffrey Hjelm imposed the 35-year sentence agreed to by defense attorneys and Assistant Attorney General Deborah Cashman in exchange for Lawless’s guilty plea. Assistant Attorney General Deborah Cashman said he considered circumstances, including that the murder was an act of domestic violence, which he said was “the overarching theme of this case.”

Justice Hjelm said evidence indicated Benner “was a good person, a good man,” and that he did nothing to provoke Lawless’s actions. Justice Hjelm also said Lawless planned the murder, shot Benner in the back of the head, “probably as he was sleeping,” and that it was “a profoundly cowardly act.” Justice Hjelm said Lawless “does have mental health issues,” likely due to a brain injury suffered as a child.

Before sentencing, Lawless was asked by Justice Jeffrey Hjelm if she had anything to say. Lawless uttered a quiet “no.”

Appeals

No appeals were described.

Outcome

Lawless received a 35-year prison sentence.

After sentencing, family members and friends walked from the courtroom, hugging and expressing dissatisfaction at the sentence. Dawn Benner said: “Thirty-five years. The sentence they give is 35 years.” She also said: “I don’t understand. You kill somebody as they sleep and you get 35 years. She needs to just get life. It’s crazy.”

Other details

Lawless was described as having a 7-year-old child and was identified as a tattoo artist in the Waldoboro area who recently had an address on Park Street in Rockland.

A statement by Benner’s father, Norman Benner Sr., was read because he was too emotional to deliver it in person. A slideshow of photos of Benner as an infant, a child, and a smiling adult fishing and camping with family members played in the background.

Dawn Benner said Benner planned to break up with Lawless: “I know he just wanted to get out of there.” She said, “He tried to leave,” and she said Lawless shot Benner after he told his mother he planned to break up with Lawless.

Kimberly Simmons said: “the last way I saw him laying there dead next to her — she didn’t even give him a blanket.” She also described Lawless’s actions as horrifying to the family.

Lawless was described in court as sitting silently in navy blue prison scrubs, rocking slightly in her chair between defense attorneys Philip Cohen and Jeremy Pratt, and frequently mouthing inaudible words to herself. She was asked by Justice Jeffrey Hjelm if she had anything to say before sentencing and replied “no.”