Man Beaten to Death; Wife, 2 Others Arrested

A Lucerne Valley man was bludgeoned to death with a baseball bat Friday morning as a result, authorities said, of a plot by his wife, stepdaughter and the stepdaughter’s boyfriend, who said the man was abusive.

Alberto Benitez, 47, was killed after he heard something bang against his bedroom window about 1 a.m. and went outside to check for a prowler, according the San Bernardino County sheriff’s officials.

His wife, April Benitez, 37, called 911 to report that a young, blond, male prowler had attacked her husband “with a large object” outside their home in the 32400 block of Lake Street.

After interviewing his wife, 17-year-old stepdaughter and the 17-year-old boyfriend, detectives determined that the three had conspired to kill Benitez. The boyfriend allegedly knocked on the window, waited outside with an aluminum bat and struck Benitez when he came out to the yard, sheriff’s spokesman Chip Patterson said.

“The boyfriend was there when [sheriff’s personnel] arrived, and through interviews he came to our attention as a possible suspect,” Patterson said. “Stories started changing. Then it started to become clear what had happened.”

In the interviews, the three allegedly told homicide investigators that Benitez was “abusive in a variety of ways,” and that a plan to kill him to end the abuse was devised some time ago, Patterson said.

April Benitez was booked into the West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga on suspicion of murder and conspiracy to commit murder.

The stepdaughter and boyfriend, minors who were not named by authorities, were taken to juvenile hall after being arrested on suspicion of the same charges.

Patterson said investigators learned Benitez was struck first with a blow to the back of his head, then struck several more times before dying of head injuries.

Investigators planned more interviews to determine if there were other motives for killing Benitez.