Found Deceased CA - Katie Wilkins, 25, dies of heroin OD, Los Angeles County, 28 April 2012

The matter of fact approach means i'm looking for answers and honest takes and help/support. When I was in the early moments horror (first 12 hours) I heard sounds come out of me I hope I never do again.

A few folks noted my fathers matter of fact demeanor to speaking about Katie on TV. Yes, I can see how that may come across oddly devoid of expected emotion and I have heard this from other folks as well. The TV interviews are a small and distant look into what our family has gone through since Katie's death. Public vs private response to this is important to consider when gauging demeanor.

I'm Steve Wilkins, Katie's brother. I found Katie dead in my parent’s garage during the afternoon/evening of April 28th. She died sometime between the late evening hours of April 27th and the morning hours of April 28th.

At this time I believe Katie died of a heroin overdose, the investigation revealed strong indications of this. Included in the toxicology report is testing for date rape drug, specifically rohypnol. I believe the heroin or heroin/rup was administered by another person. The investigation revealed strong indications that the injection was not self administered.

Somone was there at the home with her before she died; her car keys are missing from the home, her car is missing from the home, if OD then drug paraphernalia was taken from the home. Investigation revealed the house was clean of drugs/drug paraphernalia. Her car remains missing and no one has come forward with any information about it. No one has come forward about her whereabouts on the evening of April 27th.

After successfully unlocking her cell phone, I looked at Katie’s phone log to check her txt messages for indications of her contacts and plans leading up to her death.

Chris Benton, son of Pepperdine University President Andy Benton, is the last known person to have been with Katie Wilkins before her death. I have text messages showing a planned meeting between Katie Wilkins and Chris Benton on April 27th at 8:30PM. At 8:33PM video surveillance from the Malibu Mc Donald’s restaurant shows Katie, in her 1998 BMW Silver Z3, pulling into the McDonalds parking lot, Chris entering the car as a passenger, and just the two of them driving away. This is her last known whereabouts before she was found dead at our family home on April 28th.

When Chris Benton was contacted for questioning about his involvement with Katie on the night of April the 27th an attorney was hired for him.

I have indication that Chris Benton was entered into a drug treatment facility on April 28th. He has not been questioned; he has not made himself available for questioning.

Here is Chris Benton's Pictures. 1st picture confirmed, 2nd unconfirmed. Ears do not appear to match to me.
ChrisBenton.jpg




Steve,
My heart goes out to you. I live in Westlake/Agoura area and the scourge of hard drugs has hit this area very hard. It is devastating.I am so sorry that you and your family are going through this tragedy.
[ As to your dad's demeanor, please do not take any offense. We were just discussing what we saw, as a way to sleuth the circumstances. I have the utmost sympathy for him.]

As for the pix you linked, those pictures do not even look like the same person to me. wow. It must be very frustrating for your family to know this information and for nothing to be happening, apparently, at this time. But I do think the cops will keep looking at it, because as you say, SOME BODY was there because her car is gone. And you saw the videos showing who it was that was with her, so they cannot ignore that info-- I hope.

The recent heroin overdose that occurred in Agoura, of a 17 yr old boy, was also a 'crime.' His friends SAW HIM having convulsions and passing out, and they just took him to a friends to 'sleep it off.' Of course he was dead the next morning. And the cops did not ignore the texts and phone records on his phone. They arrested several kids. We will see if they follow through or not. :rose:
 
Steve, welcome to Websleuths & please accept my condolences in the loss of your beautiful sister. Your family is in my prayers.

It has become apparent who must have been with Katie when whatever happened occurred. The text messages & McDonald's video will be difficult to refute. Hopefully, Benton will be questioned soon. Did you see the link to his arrest on Halloween last year?

Our forum requires family members & others involved in cases be verified. Click on the alert button & speak to a moderator; it is a quick process. Please come back & participate in the discussion.

edited to add, I believe the photos are the same person.
 
I'm very sorry for your loss Steve, I hope you will find answers to all your questions. Very sad to loose your sister, she seems like a beautiful person.
 
I am so very sorry for your loss.Losing a loved one is never easy your family has been in my thoughts and prayers since I first read what happened to your sister.What a coward he is running and hiding away.Eventually he will have to account for his actions that night,as hard as it might be don't give up.
 
I ask for your continued support. Answers won't come immediately, though moving forward will happen. Case is made more frustrating/difficult because with foul play ruled out, it makes investigators jobs more difficult.

I have email in for my person to be verified, I expect that will resolve tomorrow.

I'll update with facts vs speculation when I can.

Notable speculation is that Benton has history of using rohypnol on girl/s in his past.

lovejac said:

New to me. Gets all the right questions in.

The young man in Agoura was Eric Kramer's son. Very sad, all it takes responsiblity/character and a phone call to likely save a life. A phone was 4 feet from where Katie was found....

I'll add that Katie's clothing was disheveled when I found her. Pants down to above her knees, shirt up to under breasts. Indicating she may have been dragged to the garage from the car or within the house or other.

Looking forward, the tox and fingerprint report are not in yet.
 
Essense,

You do have a tough road ahead. Not only because of the ruling out of foul play. But also, as you obviously realize, Benton's father has a lot of political clout. Pepperdine is a major prestigious force locally, financially and in many other ways. I bet this kid has been protected for a long time. :mad:
 
Steve, I am very sorry for your loss.

I am also from the distant area and heroin has become a BIG problem, sadly.

Were you able to get into her computer and find any info that way?
 
It is pretty obvious, for anyone reading this thread, exactly what happened. It is a tradjedy that happens in the the US and around the world far to often. What is noteworthey about this case is that it involves Rich People. The daughter of one Rich man is dead and the son of another Rich man , after his high priced, big time attorney works out a deal, will probably receive some sort of legal sanction.


Among the middle class and poor, this sort of thing happens all too often and no one pays a whole lot of attention to it except the families involve. My heart goes out for this family exactly as it does for any other family that suffers this type of experience. I do not dispute that the Rich feel the same pain any or the rest of us might feel. I do question the media representation that a tragedy of this sort among the Rich is "news worthy" while an identical tragedy among "the rest of us" of no interest.
 
Essence,
I thank you for coming here and sharing what you know about your sister. My deepest condolences to you and your family. Your sister had so much to share with this world, she left so very early. I'm very sorry.

I have a few questions, if that is okay. Did your family commission a private autopsy to be able to document that it was/could be foul play? A second opinion? It would seem that Malibu wants to keep it's record of no homicides and therefore that can taint results. They probably would like to close the case and just say OD. But you know differently as everyone does that looks at the facts of the situation.

Was there any other cameras between McDonalds and your parents home that could have captured a view of her car?

Also was the washer or dryer still in cycle? Meaning that the person with her had done some laundry or was "staging" things?

Was this person someone who she has been friends with for a long time? A new friend? Did she ever date him?

Had your sister had a drug issue in her past or was it a social thing?

Anyway I have lots of questions, but I understand if you don't want to answer them. Thank you again for sharing, I can't imagine the pain that you are going through. I can imagine your sister is proud of you and thankful that you are giving her a voice.
 
The SOP (Student Operated Press) is for students learning to become journalists.

The article seemed to me to be just one long opinion and speculation piece.
 
If one of the photos is for sure 'the' Chris Benton, then I think its safe to say both are pictures of him. The eyes are the same. At least, that's what I see.

I was thinking today about how Guy Fieri's $200,000 Lamborghini was stolen from an auto showroom in San Francisco, and how it was found one year later in a storage locker across the bay.

Here is a short bit about that, in case people don't know about it. It turns out it was stolen by a 17 yr old kid, who also pulled another couple of capers.

"The yellow 2008 Lambo Gallardo was last seen on closed-circuit cameras as the thief drove over bridges from San Francisco. It was stolen from a dealer where Fieri had taken it for some work. The future of his beloved car, which TMZ estimates as being worth $200,000, looked pretty dreary.

The break came over the weekend when Marin County, Calif., sheriff's detectives issued a statement saying they searched a storage locker belonging to 17-year-old wanted as a suspect in a shooting case. Besides finding the motorcycle believed to have been used in the Mill Valley, Calif., shooting, they found the stolen car.

Since no one was hit in the April 13 shooting, the juvenile was charged with attempted murder, along with possession of stolen property, a stolen car and a loaded weapon. Deputies also threw in a resisting arrest charge. He was being held without bail."
From a USAToday article.

So, now I am wondering where this Chris Benton lives or lived. He wasn't driving his own car because he had apparently crashed it last year. Does he live with mommy and daddy? Do they live on the Pepperdine campus? I am going to look on a map but I am wondering how close the Malibu McDonald's is to Pepperdine, and I am wondering if there are any storage locker places in that area. I will look. Others who might be more familiar with the area than myself can certainly look too. I don't really 'get' that this Chris Benton is used to walking much.

If the car hasn't turned up, it has to be in a storage locker, or someone's garage, imo.
 
The matter of fact approach means i'm looking for answers and honest takes and help/support. When I was in the early moments horror (first 12 hours) I heard sounds come out of me I hope I never do again.

A few folks noted my fathers matter of fact demeanor to speaking about Katie on TV. Yes, I can see how that may come across oddly devoid of expected emotion and I have heard this from other folks as well. The TV interviews are a small and distant look into what our family has gone through since Katie's death. Public vs private response to this is important to consider when gauging demeanor.

I'm Steve Wilkins, Katie's brother. I found Katie dead in my parent’s garage during the afternoon/evening of April 28th. She died sometime between the late evening hours of April 27th and the morning hours of April 28th.

At this time I believe Katie died of a heroin overdose, the investigation revealed strong indications of this. Included in the toxicology report is testing for date rape drug, specifically rohypnol. I believe the heroin or heroin/rup was administered by another person. The investigation revealed strong indications that the injection was not self administered.

Somone was there at the home with her before she died; her car keys are missing from the home, her car is missing from the home, if OD then drug paraphernalia was taken from the home. Investigation revealed the house was clean of drugs/drug paraphernalia. Her car remains missing and no one has come forward with any information about it. No one has come forward about her whereabouts on the evening of April 27th.

After successfully unlocking her cell phone, I looked at Katie’s phone log to check her txt messages for indications of her contacts and plans leading up to her death.

Chris Benton, son of Pepperdine University President Andy Benton, is the last known person to have been with Katie Wilkins before her death. I have text messages showing a planned meeting between Katie Wilkins and Chris Benton on April 27th at 8:30PM. At 8:33PM video surveillance from the Malibu Mc Donald’s restaurant shows Katie, in her 1998 BMW Silver Z3, pulling into the McDonalds parking lot, Chris entering the car as a passenger, and just the two of them driving away. This is her last known whereabouts before she was found dead at our family home on April 28th.

When Chris Benton was contacted for questioning about his involvement with Katie on the night of April the 27th an attorney was hired for him.

I have indication that Chris Benton was entered into a drug treatment facility on April 28th. He has not been questioned; he has not made himself available for questioning.

Here is Chris Benton's Pictures. 1st picture confirmed, 2nd unconfirmed. Ears do not appear to match to me.
ChrisBenton.jpg

Steve, I am so sorry about what happened to your sister. I can't imagine the pain you are going through. I have prayed for your family several times and will continue to do so.

I am glad you are so pro-active about getting to the truth. This stinks to high Heaven and Benton has answers. We will do whatever we can to help you in anyway we can. This is an awesome group of members!

I think both pictures are the same person, Chris Benton. Those creepy eyes are the same.

Welcome to Websleuths! :seeya:
 
Please take down the picture of Chris Benton, dressed in a blue base ball cap, eating shrimp and oysters. This is my son and his name is Chris Benton, but you have incorrectly identified him as being involved in the story about the death of a 25 year old Malibu women.
You have the wrong Chris Benton. I don't know how this site checks their facts, but you all have made a big mistake. The story about this girl ran again last night on KCBS and showed the picture of my son as "the" Chris Benton. That's his name and that's his picture, but everything else is incorrect. Its a BIG mistake.
Please respond.
 
Please take down the picture of Chris Benton, dressed in a blue base ball cap, eating shrimp and oysters. This is my son and his name is Chris Benton, but you have incorrectly identified him as being involved in the story about the death of a 25 year old Malibu women.
You have the wrong Chris Benton.Please respond.

Is the picture on top the same person?
 

So are there TWO Chris Bentons then? Because the girls family seemed to think the person who climbed into her car was named Chris Benton. They saw the video from the McDonalds. And they looked at her cell records too. And found his number as the last one to call her.

Is it another Chris Benton?
 

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