The Crimes of Navy Master Chief Petty Officer, John Bench
For this case I watched an episode of Forbidden: Dying for Love on the new Discovery Plus! It’s season 1 episode 4, titled ‘An Officer, Not a Gentleman.’
As a former military wife, I like these cases because it’s interesting to see how the cases are investigated, tried and convicted. There are still SO many military cases that are either unsolved or not talked about! It irritates me, so for this case to be solved, it made me happy but I don’t think justice was served for the people killed.
Background
John Bench
John Bench was a very successful, his ranking was the highest ranking someone could get. A petty officer is equivalent to a corporal or sergeant.
At the time of his crimes, he was living in Sasebo, Japan, and was married and had two kids. However, John was not happy in his marriage and he soon found another woman to talk to online. He met 29 year old Lilibeth Eniceo, who lived in the Philippines and was a single mom of five.
John’s Double Life
John and Lilibeth were talking for several months online, until he told her one day that he was coming to the Philippines to see her.
They had an amazing time together, and soon were in love. John told Lilibeth that he was recently divorced and had two kids, but this was not the case because John was still married and living with his family in Japan.
John stayed in the Philippines for a few days, and told Lilibeth that he would help her and send her money for the kids. It wasn’t said if John’s wife found out about the affair, but it seemed like she didn’t know.
John’s Master Plan
John and Lilibeth continued to talk online and he would go back and fourth between Japan and the Philippines. One day while they were talking, John admitted that he couldn’t send anymore money to her and the kids. He said it was because he had to pay his “ex” alimony money.
The next thing he said to Lilibeth really shocked her, he said they should get rid of Agnus and his kids. Lilibeth was apparently really angry, but went along with it because she loved him.
Attempt #1
A few months after their first conversation about the murder, John and Lilibeth hired a hitman to do the killing. John’s wife was from the Philippines as well, so he made plans for her to go visit her family.
John was in constant contact with Lilibeth, who was with a hitman. John was also in contact with Agnus, asking where she was and when she would be leaving her hotel. Lilibeth and the hitman were outside the hotel, and were about to carry out the plan when Lilibeth stopped it because she didn’t want to kill Agnus and her daughter.
John was furious when he found out that Lilibeth stopped the plan, and that they had paid the hitman $700 for nothing.
Attempt #2
John forgave Lilibeth and they made another plan to kill his family in February of 2009.
John’s plan was to hire another hitman, and have him be the lone survivor in a robbery gone wrong. The plan was that John would take his family to a restaurant, and then on the way home the hitman would ambush them.
The Bench family got into a taxi when it was ambushed by a hitman nicknamed “Dimple.” John told the taxi driver to drive to an area outside Manila, Philippines.
When they arrived, Dimple killed the taxi driver, a man named Peter Turiano. He then called Lilibeth to tell her he was about to kill the family, when suddenly John’s wife tried to stop Diplo. She wrestled with him and attempted to take the gun away.
John didn’t want to be found out, so he helped his wife “scare” away Diplo, and Diplo fled.
A family member holding a picture of Peter Turiano, the cab driver who was killed
The Final Plan
John and his family returned home to Japan, after being interviewed at a police station in the Philippines. The case was closed, and the police thought it was just a local crime because there is a lot of crime that occurs in the Philippines.
John knew after two failed attempts that he needed to take matters into his own hands. On August 30, 2009, he did just that. He called Lilibeth one last time, after they hadn’t talked for months and apparently had broken up.
John then killed his son, and attempted to kill Agnus, and his daughter. They would end up surviving this. John fled on his motorcycle and drove into oncoming traffic where he died instantly.
Investigation into John Bench
The NCIS took over the investigation. They discovered John’s wife and daughter alive, but found his son’s body in their home.
They also looked into the reports from the Philippines and into the murder of the cab driver, Peter Turiano. They found it suspicious that John’s family was involved, and then several months later there was a murder and attempted murder at the Bench home.
Arrest and Conviction
The hitman, a man named Dindo Esplana “Dimple” Santos was arrested for the murder of Peter Turiano. He pleaded guilty to the murder, and John Bench’s crimes were also found out. Dimple said Lilibeth paid him $5,000 pesos ($123 dollars in U.S. money).
Unfortunately, John Bench wasn’t alive to face the punishment.
Lilibeth was also not charged with any crimes. Lilibeth said at the end of this episode:
“I made a mistake. If I have to pay for it, I will pay for it…I was in love with a monster. ”
FINAL THOUGHTS
It’s just a tragic case. This awful man didn’t want to lose his pension over getting a divorce, so instead he killed his son and attempted to kill his wife and daughter. It’s sickening, and he took the easy way out and doesn’t have to face any consequences for what he did.
I also don’t agree with Lilibeth not being charged with anything. She basically was an accessory to murder. She was there when John and Dimple planned to kill his family AND she knew John was evil and was probably to kill on his own since the hitman idea didn't work. She does seem remorseful, but still she had a hand in the crimes.
Sources
https://militaryjusticeforall.com/2009/08/30/master-chief-john-bench-us-navy-2009/
https://www.stripes.com/news/hit-man-in-bench-murder-plot-pleads-guilty-in-philippines-1.206431
