CHESTER -- Chester County Sheriff Robby
Benson says he did not push his wife to the ground during a March
incident that led to a state investigation.
Benson's account, which contradicts his wife's version of events, was
included in a State Law Enforcement Division report obtained by The
Herald through a S.C. Freedom of Information Act request. Benson was not
charged with any criminal wrongdoing in the case after a magistrate
found no probable cause to issue an arrest warrant.
Benson, 45, told investigators his wife fell to the ground when he
forced open a car door that she was pushing against in an attempt to
keep him from leaving. The incident occurred March 7 at a Wendy's
restaurant on J.A. Cochran By-Pass, where his wife worked.
Benson's wife, Marcy, 34, reported that Benson grabbed her, threw her
out of the way and caused her to fall and injure herself, according to
an incident report filed with the Chester County Sheriff's Office.
The investigation is complete, and the state Attorney General's
Office and SLED have closed the case.
Neither of the Bensons could be reached for comment Monday.
In the SLED report, Benson told investigators his wife called him at
work on the morning of the incident and asked him to come to her job
because she wanted to talk with him.
When Benson arrived, he and his wife initially talked in the dining
area of the restaurant, he said. He decided to leave, and his wife
followed him outside and tried to block him from getting into his car,
he said. She tried to close his fingers between the car door, according
to the SLED report.
Benson told investigators that during the confrontation he rang the
back doorbell of Wendy's three times, but each time an employee came to
the door his wife said everything was OK.
Dianne Moore, Chester County's chief magistrate, decided in June not
to approve an arrest warrant against Benson to charge him with criminal
domestic violence.
Benson's wife had cuts on the palm of her left hand and right knee,
the incident report stated.
She told a sheriff's deputy she and her husband met behind the
restaurant to talk about their marriage problems, the conversation
became heated and turned into an argument. She didn't want her husband
to leave and blocked him from getting into his vehicle, she told the
deputy.
Denyse Clark • 329-4069
dclark@heraldonline.com
