"The woman who was left for dead after a brutal beating in Lansdowne last month has finally been able to talk to authorities, but Loudoun investigators are still seeking a motive in the case.
Cynthia Bennett, who was attacked along with her husband William during the early morning hours of Sunday, March 22, has memories of the incident and investigators have been speaking with her in short time periods as she recovers from multiple surgeries.
Meeting with reporters Tuesday, Sheriff Stephen O. Simpson said he is confident that Bennett will eventually be able to give the sheriff's office more details about the attack and potentially even lead them to a suspect or suspects.
"We've got to hone down exactly what it is she remembers happened and what is reality," Simpson said. "She is frustrated with trying to get it communicated to us."
The fact that Bennett remembers the incident is the first break the sheriff's office has gotten in the more than two weeks since William Bennett's body was found on a gravel path along Riverside Parkway near the Goose Creek. Cynthia Bennett was found on the other side of Riverside Parkway in a wooded area. Since the incident she has been listed in critical condition.
Deputies have been stationed outside Bennett's hospital room for protection Simpson said, and will remain there. Where she is being treated has not been released for her own protection." Leesburg Today
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Colonel William Bennett (USA-Ret.) is not someone I knew, but the story of his death just outside Leesburg, Virginia in March is of interest.
He and his wife were having a morning walk for exercise on a well known path when they apparently were set upon by several assailants reportedly armed with clubs. Bennett was beaten to death and his wife left nearby in such a condition that the attackers must have anticipated her death. As is recounted in this story, the sherriff of Loudon County is inclined to think this is the handiwork of gang members, perhaps in some bizarre initiation ritual. There a lot of Central American immigrants in Virginia now and there have been incidents of violent criminality, usually among rival gang members. Incidents against "gringos" have been few. To be fair, most latino immigrants in Northern Virginia are hard working family people who contribute to the community. To assume that immigrants are the killers seems a bit "hasty" in the absence of evidence.
Bennett is reported to have been a "technical intelligence" type who worked for the CIA after retirement from the army. He is said to have continued to "consult" for CIA afer he stopped working for them full time. That would be a normal pattern of employment.
He is reported to have worked on the analytic problem of the reverse engineering of "Patriot" missile technology by foreign companies. The goal would have been for the country or company doing the reverse engineering to include that technology in missile systems or anti-missile defense system intended for export and sale on the international market. He is reported to have had a good deal of success in this work.
Let's hear what you know and think about this crime. pl
http://www.leesburg2day.com/articles/2009/04/07/news/public_safety/9780update040709.txt
Reputation of the WMR is zip.
Posted by: euclidcreek | 20 April 2009 at 02:12 PM
From War & Piece by Laura Rozen:
Posted by: confusedponderer | 26 April 2009 at 08:54 AM