Uncle strangles 22-year-old niece to death, Ohio police say. ‘Life stolen’
An Ohio man is charged with murder after police say he killed his 22-year-old niece.
Raymond Scott is charged with aggravated murder, murder, felonious assault, aggravated burglary and strangulation, according to court records filed April 1 in Clark County.
Attorney information for Scott was not available.
Scott’s charges are in connection with the death of his 22-year-old niece, Kaleena Bentley, of Springfield.
“She was really funny, she had the prettiest smile, she loved to be around her family,” Jeanne Hood, Bentley’s mother, told McClatchy News.
Bentley was a mother of two, a 3-year-old girl and a son who is turning one year old on April 8. Hood said she was the life of the party and anytime someone was upset, she would make them feel better.
Hood said the most important thing to Bentley was being a mother.
“She just wanted to take care of her kids. She was coming home that night to put up the baby’s new bed, she just got new furniture. She was excited to put it together,” Hood said.
Hood said that on Feb. 15, the night Bentley died, Scott broke into her home and strangled her to death while her kids were there. She said she can’t believe that her own family is responsible for her daughter’s death.
“I’m disgusted. We’re learning all of these things as they come out,” she said.
Scott has a history of violence, according to court records. In a separate case filed in March, he is charged with menacing by stalking and violating a protection order. In February, he was indicted on charges of sexual battery, kidnapping, felonious assault, domestic violence and strangulation, court records show.
“My beautiful baby was taken from us her whole life stolen by a coward,” Hood said in a Facebook post.
Hood said their family is coping the best way they can after losing Bentley, and they want justice for their loved one.
“We don’t believe that victim in this case was the intended target, but we don’t know that for sure, only he knows that,” Sgt. James Byron with Springfield Police Division told WHIO.
Springfield is about a 50-mile drive west of Columbus.
