GUILTY OK - Braylee Henry, 16, beaten to death, Velma, 6 June 2012

Joe Friday

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Girl found dead in Stephens County is identified; arrest is made

A 16-year-old girl who went to buy a soda pop at a convenience store Wednesday night was found dead later in a pasture east of Velma.

A Stephens County Sheriff’s Department canine unit found the body of Braylee Rae Henry. The body had signs of trauma.

Myles Sterling Bench, 21, was arrested on a murder complaint after he was found driving Henry’s car. Deputies tracked the car using its GPS system.

Bench is a clerk at the Tee Pee Totem convenience store, where investigators found blood on the floor Wednesday night

Read more: http://newsok.com/girl-found-dead-i...-arrest-is-made/article/3682416#ixzz1xDMC3wYH

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This is actually the town I grew up in. Thanks to Onstar for helping the police track Braylee's car and then assisting state and local law enforcement in disabling the car!
 
http://www.okcfox.com/story/25720599/velma-man-to-stand-trial-in-first-degree-murder-case

A Velma man charged with first-degree murder has again been found mentally competent to stand trial.

Friday's ruling by Judge Joe Enos in Stephens County District Court is the fourth time that 23-year-old Miles Sterling Bench has been found competent for trial for the death of 16-year-old Braylee Rae Henry...

District Attorney Jason Hicks has said he is seeking the death penalty if Bench is convicted.
 
http://www.duncanbanner.com/news/ju...cle_2a2306f6-88c9-11e4-8f83-6335beb5af9e.html

Incriminating statements made by Miles Bench in the days following his arrest for the slaying of 16-year-old Braylee Henry are now the subject of a fierce courtroom battle between prosecutors and defense attorneys for the long-haired, bearded defendant.

Thus far, prosecutors are winning...

Russell already has ruled that Henry’s immediate family members will be allowed to wear ‘grief buttons’ bearing the teenager’s likeness. He also has said prosecutors can show jurors a photo of Henry, though he limited its size to 8-by-10 inches.
 
http://www.duncanbanner.com/news/mu...cle_716b49fe-9c5d-11e4-a002-d78ecd7487a5.html

A motion to require the doctor who performed the autopsy on Velma teenager Braylee Henry to attend the pretrial hearings for her alleged killer, Miles Bench, is set for a hearing at 10 a.m. today...

Prosecutors believe Dr. Inas Yacoub of the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, who performed Henry’s autopsy, will testify that Henry experienced intense pain and suffering before her death, to support the state’s contention the teenager’s death was “heinous, atrocious and cruel.” Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.

The submission of crime scene photos is also a subject of heated debate between the prosecution and defense.
 
http://www.duncanbanner.com/news/bench-trial-begins-today/article_430ba8a8-b650-11e4-adca-67c26a7095d4.html

"
The wrongful death suit against Miles Bench and the owners of the Tee Pee Totem convenience store filed after the death of Velma teenager Braylee Henry is halted until March.

Bench, 23, is charged with first-degree murder for allegedly murdering Henry in the back room of the convenience store in June, 2012.


Henry’s parents, Billy Ray Henry and Gina Renee Henson, filed a suit seeking more than $75,000 in compensation for damage caused from their child’s death."
 
http://www.kswo.com/story/28131975/opening-statements-heard-in-bench-trial

Once the final jury was chosen Tuesday morning, opening statements began quickly. In all, jurors heard from about eight witnesses. This is the moment that Braylee's family has been bracing for, the evidence presented in the courtroom right off the bat was very hard for the family to see. With Braylee's mother, Renee, taking the stand first, the trial began with a very emotional tone.

.....

From there, deputies and detectives were put on the stand to discuss the investigation. Despite numerous competency hearings in the past, Bench's defense is standing by the belief that Bench was not mentally stable during the attack on Braylee.

In their opening statements, they told jurors he hallucinated, didn't sleep and didn't plan on killing anyone. During cross-examination, they tried to discredit witnesses pertaining to the investigation.
 
http://www.texomashomepage.com/story/d/story/testimony-continues-in-miles-bench-trial-jury-sees/38972/gZxk8S-W60u5io9k_5O36Q


Powell said they found tracks leading to Braylee's body in a field at Bench's grandparents home, where he lived.

He said there was a large amount of blood on her hair, face and head.

Family members and friends looked away and some began to cry when prosecutors showed photos of the scene.

The detective testified her body was near a camper trailer about 75 yards from the road, and some dirt and vegetation had been pulled over it.

A garden hoe with fresh dirt on it was leaning against the trailer
 
http://www.kswo.com/story/28143137/body-discovery-discussed-at-bench-trial

The lead investigator said Braylee's body was found right next to a camper, about 100 yards away from Bench's grandparents' home. Tracks that led off of the long driveway to the home took investigators straight to the body. He said her legs were partially covered in vegetation and dirt that clearly was pulled from nearby. He also found a garden tool just feet away from her body leaning against the camper.

During cross examination, the defense attorney asked if the deputy thought it was odd that Bench didn't try to hide the body in a more densely wooded area nearby. The investigator said he believed it would have been more difficult to do that, because it had rained earlier in the day, making it harder to drive through muddy areas. Bench's lawyer continued to push the idea that Bench's actions were not those of a competent person.
 

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