The Murder of Ben Renick

Written By Kiley Baumgartner

Warning, this case does discuss murder, suicide and sexual assault.

For this case, I watched an episode of American Monster. It’s season 9 episode 7, titled ‘Building is Full of Snakes!’

A popular snake breeder is killed at his snake facility and business.

Background

Ben Renick was born to parents Frank and Kim Renick, and had an older brother named Sam. Ben and Sam were only 2 years and 2 days apart, and had always been close growing up.

Ben became interested in snakes at a very young age. He cared about animals, and grew his business into a successful empire.

Ben Renick

So Much Heartbreak

In the 1980s, Frank and Kim built, decorated and designed a beautiful farm house. They moved into the house in the spring of 1989. Ben and Sam loved to play outside, and that’s where Ben’s fascination with snakes began.

In September 1992, while the Renick’s weren’t home, an explosion occurred at the house. The investigators determined that a storage tank had leaked 3,000 gallons of propane into the house.

The Renick’s moved to a trailer while they started the process of building a new house. Not too long after the explosion, Kim was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer.

The family moved into their new house in 2002. A reptile house was built for Ben, where he would later build his business. Kim passed away in 2009. It devastated everyone, especially Frank.

A New Business

Before she passed away, Kim had her sons promise her that they would look after the farm and pass it on to their families.

Ben founded Renick’s Reptiles, and sold designer snakes worldwide. He attended events to promote his snakes across the U.S. He was described as great breeder who cared more about the snakes than the money.

In 2010, Ben met a woman named Lynlee at a party. A few weeks later, Ben introduced her to Sam and his sister-in-law, Ali. They both really liked her and liked that she and Ben had a lot in common. Lynlee also had a son from a previous relationship.

Ben and Lynlee

About a year into their relationship, Lynlee became pregnant with their daughter, and gave birth in March 2012. She was Ben’s world, and he was a very doting father.

By this point, Frank’s business was in deep financial trouble. He had committed mail fraud, and had used the funds to pay for Kim’s medical bills and treatments. Frank committed suicide just 24 hours before the FBI and investigators were going to come investigate the farm and his assists.

It was another devastating moment in Ben and Sam’s life. Due to Frank’s suicide, the investigation stopped and his assets were taken. Ben inherited the house and farm. Sam was given a large amount of money, which he used to fix up the farm. Sam, Ali, and their kids lived with Ben, Lynlee, and their kids. At first, things were going well, but a rift started over the farms finances.

The 911 Call

After Frank’s death, Ben concentrated on his business. He and Lynlee got married on April 14, 2014. Lynlee started a spa business, and Ben helped her financially. However, Lynlee wasn’t making much money, even though she was working long hours. This caused a lot of issues between her and Ben.

Sam and his wife were also struggling finically. Ben let them sell some furniture and items around the house. Lynlee became angry about this, and sent a lot angry message to Sam. This caused a rift between Sam, Ben, and Ali. Sam and Ben were able to somewhat repair their once close bond, but Ali never had a good relationship with him again. Ali said she deeply regrets that.

By 2017, Ben was about to come into a large amount of money from a sale of one of his snakes. After the first payment came in, another tragedy struck the Renick family.

On June 8, 2017, Lynlee called 911. She reported that she found her husband on the ground, and that there was blood everywhere.

Sam had taken over speaking to the dispatcher after Lynlee had said she ran outside. Sam told the dispatcher that he believed a snake had escaped and attacked Ben. He confirmed that Ben was dead.

Attacked By a Snake?

By 6:31pm, the Missouri State Highway Patrol arrived at Ben’s breeding facility. On their body cam footage, they can be heard discussing snakes and that they’d kill the loose snake if they saw it.

The police were able to rule out a snake attack pretty quickly. Ben had blood pooling around his head and some disfigurement to his head. He had actually been shot in the back and the back of the head. The police found shell casings at the scene, but no murder weapon.

Sam and Lynlee were both transported to the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office for questioning.

Lynlee seemed to be open about their financial struggles, and said that she and Ben had issues with Sam. She described Sam as having a in your face and overly dramatic personality.

During Sam’s interview, he also spoke about their financial issues and admitted that he and Ben weren’t as close as before. He said Ben liked to brag about money and about his business.

The police tested Sam and Lynlee for gun shot residue. Sam also agreed to take a polygraph test, which he passed. Sam said he handed over his phone, and was willing to give the police the shirt off his back. Sam was cleared as a suspect, and the police didn’t have any probable cause to hold Lynlee. They were both released.

The Motive

After Ben’s funeral, Lynlee isolated herself. Sam, Ali and their kids were given notice to vacate the home. Lynlee inherited the home and the farm, but sold it for about $740,000. Sam said he didn’t suspect her until she sold the farm.

About a month after Ben’s death, Lynlee was again interviewed by the police. This time, Lynlee said she and Ben didn’t have the best relationship. The police also discovered that she had been having an affair with a man that had helped her market the spa.

Four months after the murder, Lynlee failed a polygraph test. There wasn’t any physical evidence or a murder weapon to point to her as a suspect. Ben’s case went unsolved for a few years.

On January 14, 2020, the police received a tip from an Boone County Jail inmate named Brandon Blackwell. Brandon had once dated Lynlee. The relationship started while she was still married to Ben, and ended in 2019. Lynlee had filed an order of protection against him and filed stalking charges.

Brandon told the police that Lynlee had confessed to him that she had killed Ben. Brandon said Lynlee had conspired with her co-worker, Ashley Shaw, and another of her ex-boyfriends named Michael Humphrey.

The Convictions

On January 16, 2020, arrest warrants were obtained for Lynlee, Michael and Ashley.

After his arrest, Michael told the police that he had agreed to go to the farm with Lynlee, but didn’t know someone would be killed. He said Lynlee had introduced him as someone who was interested in buying a snake.

While Ben wasn’t looking, he said Lynlee tried to hand him a gun. Michael said Lynlee carried on a normal conversation with Ben. While he was looking in the trays, he heard several gunshots, and saw Lynlee with the gun.

Lynlee was charged with first degree murder and armed criminal action. Michael and Ashley were also charged with first degree murder.

Ashley was offered immunity and cooperated with the police. She said Lynlee had told her that Ben had sexually assaulted her, and said she wanted him dead. Lynlee had also told her that she was afraid that Ben would get custody of the kids if she divorced him.

In October 2021, Michael was tried. His lawyers said that if the charges were dropped from first to second degree murder, Michael would reveal where the murder weapon was. Michael had the gun his possession the entire time. There was no conclusive DNA found on the gun. Michael was sentenced to life with the possibility of parole.

Lynlee’s trial began on December 6, 2021. Lynlee took the stand and said the shooter was Michael. In the episode, Sam said that Lynlee was never religious, but got up on the stand wearing a large cross necklace.

On December 9, Lynlee was found guilty of second degree murder and armed criminal action. She was sentenced to 13 years for murder and 3 years for armed criminal action.

The verdict really shocked and angered Ben’s loved ones, especially Sam. Sam believes Lynlee pulled the trigger.

The biggest snakes of all

Kiley Baumgartner
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