Caymanian in suspected Florida murder-suicide

| 11/08/2017 | 52 Comments
Cayman News Service

Ronald Bennette (courtesy of Cayman 27)

(CNS): Police in South Florida are investigating what appears to be a murder-suicide after Ronald Bennette (38), originally  from George Town, Grand Cayman, and his wife, Shani Bennette (39), were both found shot dead in a car near a Pembroke Pines home in the early hours of Thursday morning. The couple’s bodies were discovered in their silver Ford Explorer, according to reports in the US media, and police believe that Bennette shot his wife before turning the gun on himself in what officers suspect was a domestic dispute. 

Cayman News Service

Shani Bennette (courtesy of Cayman 27)

Sgt Darryl Curtiss said the police were called to the location following a 911 call, where they found the couple shot dead. “This is an ongoing investigation in its preliminary stages and at present appears to be domestic-related,” Curtiss said in a release to the Florida media.

Bennette is understood to have worked for Spirit Airlines and the couple have one small child.

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Category: Crime, USA, World News

Comments (52)

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  1. Anonymous says:

    I started watching her YouTube channel & I had subscribed to her channel I didn’t even know she was killed, until I saw RIP ,I was heartbroken ? she seems so nice I love watching her cause she explained everything so clear & she was always so sweet, what ashamed, now her sweet little girl is going to grow up without her loving mom. I don’t know why when couples fight why kill ? There is other options, I feel so bad for her family. 10 years ago my younger sister almost got killed by her husband, he had an affair & she was divorcing him & he didn’t want to, he waited for her, but luckily she had her cell & dial 911 the police came & he was charged with attempted of murder & other charges & he is serving 25 years to life . am so glad that my sister is alive today thank God. Killing is never the answer,now both families are suffering, not to mention the kids ,why he didn’t think about that ? I don’t know then personally , but is always sad ? to know that a woman gets killed by the man that she loves , & trust, my deepest condolences for her kids & rest of her family, May God Bless them ??????

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    • renee says:

      same here. i was watching her videos and wasnt reading her comments until one video i decided to scroll down and i saw rip 🙁 very sad. she was so beautiful and helpful.

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    • Felicia Brown-Hudson says:

      R.I.L Shani ?

  2. Anonymous says:

    Bottom line…. Ron was a coward an abuser and essentially a murderer who did not deserve Shani. He never thought about his kids or family he was leaving behind and certainly did not think about hers. In this day and time there are so many free resources available for anyone having issues of any sort. That’s just who he was. I wish she never met him.

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  3. Terry Williams says:

    I personally know he beats her many times before… and at one point he was also charge for attempting murder…She help him get off the case….
    Ronald is a terrible person.. shanni try with him but sometimes love is blind until it’s too late… her parents knows what Ronald is capable of… but it was still her choice to be with her daughter father… She hide the abuse… even her co workers see the marks on her and she keeps on protecting him… Domestic abuse relationship is not healthy… whether a man is being abusive or a woman is being abusive… first sign of abuse run from that individual… it can cause you your life….. shanni give Ronald chances upon chances til it cost her her life… Now her kids have to live with it for the rest of their lives….Sad sad sad!!

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  4. Terry Williams says:

    Ronald has a woman beating issue… so sorry to hear about what he did to Shanni…. but shanni know the type of man she married.. He brutally beat her in February 2015 and he ran away to jamaica and she took him back in august 2015 hire a lawyer and help him get off the domestic charges… He almost killed her… however she took him back and they got married in October same year. I beg him to behave himself and don’t lay a finger on her again…
    Now to be honest am not surprise he killed her… He has a bad temper that cannot be control and he only have the guts to beat women…
    She didn’t deserve this . May her family find the strength to pull tru this… He took a innocent life down… how sad .. and very devastating for her kids….
    Sleep in peace shanni….

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    • Anonymous says:

      And yet Terry, Kenneth Bryan and others are portraying him as some decent guy with a few problems. Well, as an ex teacher I can say Ronald was a vicious female student beater, never a male, a horrible guy. Thank you for confirming this. Kenneth Bryan was also a very horrible student at school but he did not beat girls like
      Ronald, he just caused utter chaos for teachers, totally out of control, disruptive, disrespectful and blaming everyone else for his problems. After I left teaching I heard he had gone to approved school in Jamaica, don’t know if that’s true but that’s where he and Ronald and several other little thugs should have been from the age of nine or ten. You couldn’t do a thing with them.

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    • Just me. says:

      Wow! Really? I wish she had the strength to just stay away from him!!! So sad. That bastard!

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    • Krista Anderson says:

      She is my cousin, I just thought about her and found this post.It was my grandmother funeral in Jamaica her got back with her.

  5. Subscriber says:

    Enough about him. Shani the victim was loved on YouTube and Instagram. She shared her medical journey and surgery information with hundreds of subscribers. She was honest, thoughtful,sweet and funny. She loved her daughter and helping people.She was supportive and understanding. We miss her our hearts are broken. No more Thursday nite chit chats. No more seeing her beautiful smile or the joy and pride in her face when her little girl popped in for a cameo. She is the victim. I’m sure Jeffrey Dahmer’s neighbors thought he was a nice guy too. HE MURDERED HER. THE MOTHER OF HIS CHILD.xxxxxxxxxx

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    • Louie says:

      She was always respectful of his feelings, even when doing videos- careful not too show much skin, and always careful with what she said.. in some vids you could see in her eyes she wanted to say so much more about how her husband started to become insecure after her surgery. Yet she always kept it short and sweet.. He didn’t deserve a woman like her. She prob was thinking of leaving him because his behavior was out of control!

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  6. Anonymous says:

    Teaching and discipline should start from home. If this wasn’t possible due to a difficult child which may have had mental issues, where was the Child Protection Team? Do not blame school teachers. The now Child Protection Team needs to up their game with a more experienced team leader in this field from the UK. They can lead this team in the right direction. Come on MLA issue the funding NOW!!!

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  7. Julie Hunter says:

    So many of these comments are mean and dont do anything for his grief stricken family and children! The picture described here is certainly not the Ronald that I experienced from 2003!! He was like a son to my family taking care of our sicknesses within our family in Miami, doing numerous favors,always sending anything we needed from Miami, providing accommodation , and even finding any apartment and getting our daughter settled in college.. what part of this bad? Admittedly he had anger and domestic issues and he took an innocent life, but don’t act like he did all wrong. He had a good heart and I just wish he had sought professional help for his problem! He will never be replaced! I grieve not only for me and my family but for the precious children and relatives he left behind to face to face this. I’m vex with him for what he did, angry at this senseless end to a great friend and his wife, but I also remember the other side of Ronald!

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    • Louie says:

      He was verbally, emotionally, and physically abusive to his wife. Controlled her too. Face the REALITY of who he really was.

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  8. Anonymous says:

    As a very close friend of Shani, the real victim here are the children left behind from a man who clearly has had issues from a young age. I grieve my friend whom I spoke with less than 6 hours before her life was so senselessly taken. Sleep in peace Shan. Love you endlessly!

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    • Louie says:

      Did she confide in you about his abusive ways? Seems she felt she had no one to turn to about the truth of her marriage…

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  9. Anonymous says:

    I wonder if the lady at the Education Department, known for her aggressiveness and lack of brain and very close friend of the grim racist in the Education Portfolio at the time, who accused a certain school principal of picking on Ronald because he was always being suspended from school, is reading his story and the comments here. One of the then problems and now problems is the covering up that goes on where student indiscipline is concerned. Much easier to blame it on allegedly poor, especially foreign, teachers.

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    • Anonymous says:

      You have nailed it 5:27. The Education Department was filled with ex primary school people, some of whom were failures in their roles so had to be promoted, and they had no idea about what educating kids at a later age was all about but they refused to acknowledge their lack of knowledge so covered it up with constant hostile attacks on the senior schools and claiming the primaries were models of superior education with no discipline problems. Kids who were superb model students in July in the primary system became, miraculously, horror stories one week into beginning secondary school in September!! Right LS LA JC DC?

  10. Anonymous says:

    Everyone is judging and arguing about him on his past and no one have anything decent to say! His children or family can be reading these comments. Even if any of you have no remorse of him atleast his children. It’s always one side to people these days. But people just fail to realize in every situation there is two sides to a story your side, my side or the truth. Stop judging people by their past like people can’t change or won’t change. It’s a Sad situation but no one has even talked about him to his present day before the tragic incident occured. It’s all about Primary School which was about Yearssssssss ago what high school, even after high school, what about after he left the Island. I don’t know why CNS even allowed comments to be on this anyway.

    Condolences to the family on each side and all children. I didn’t write this for people to like or dislike cause I know many will click the thumbs down already.

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    • Anonymous says:

      “Stop judging people by their past like people can’t change or won’t change. It’s a Sad situation but no one has even talked about him to his present day before the tragic incident occured. It’s all about Primary School which was about Yearssssssss ago what high school, even after high school, what about after he left the Island.”

      Judging him by his past? People can change? The man allegedly just killed his wife and turned the gun on himself.
      Is this a sign of change? Was his anger in control at that moment?
      Very little judgment going on here- people are pointing to a consistent pattern of his anger and rage tendencies.

      Do you really want to look past the anger and rage this man portrayed during his lifetime? Or is there a learning opportunity in this tragedy?

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  11. frangipani says:

    it is so sad that those closest to him, his parents, his family as a whole, his teachers, his peers, his co-workers didn’t see the need or opportunity to steer him in a direction where he would have come to grips with his anger and the need to seek help. Clearly, according to comments above it was obvious that he was a disturbed individual. So very very sad.

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  12. Anonymous says:

    A sad demise, but given the behaviors he displayed from an early age, hardly surprising. Nevertheless, I hope both their souls find peace.

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  13. Anonymous says:

    Stop being critical of Ronald who’s perfect? Evidently he changed. However let’s be more sympathic towards the situation. Maybe there were mental health issues which was not identified because of our poor educational system. I would bet that no teacher(s) picked up his behavioural problems and highlighted same to the relevant authority. It’s a shame that he had to leave Cayman to try and get help which resulted it being too late. HAVE A HEART AND COMPASSION! This should be an eye opener for family, teachers etc to highlight certain kind of behaviour and get early intrvention.

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    • Anonymous says:

      The schools made it very clear to “the relevant authority” that he was a horrendous behavior problem but in those days the blame was put on the schools for not disciplining him properly, i.e. not beating him enough.

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    • Anonymous says:

      Lol. “Stop being critical of Ronald who’s perfect?” Really. This LOSER killed another human being then killed himself, and you excuse it by saying “who’s perfect?”. Then, your twisted mind comes up with something even better – it’s not Ronald’s fault, it’s not his parents’ fault, it’s his teachers’ fault. I am sure that his teachers picked up on the fact that this LOSER was a LOSER and tried to do their best for him, with little support from Ronald’s parents and/or said LOSER who thought he knew better than everyone. Seems like his past caught up to him – unfortunately, it also killed a young lady.

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  14. Anonymous says:

    I feared once this awful news broke the disrespectful social media hounds would be trampling all over this mans grave providing useless commentary. It is even more hurtful knowing the family and how this tragic event will affect them forever. Sometimes if you don’t have anything good to say it’s best to say nothing at all. Who out there is without sin or regrets especially in modern day Cayman society ? Which family is perfect ? Let these people mourn in peace if it will be at all possible with such a sudden and tragic event. Leave the investigation and the analysis to the professionals.

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    • Anonymous says:

      Mourn in peace, yes, but a piece of advise for you while doing so; stay OFF social media. It will only upset you to read peoples’ opinions. Not everyone will have nice, fluffy things to say about this case, which is expected.

      Your emotions have you looking at things from a subjective perspective and not an objective one.

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    • Anonymous says:

      sounds like you should also seek professional help!

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  15. Me....... says:

    Ronald has been an issue since George Town Primary days. He has always had an infatuation in Middle School and John Gray for beating women and, if my memory serves me correct, ran from the island a few years back after brutalising a woman here. He also has a few children in Cayman with various women.

    I feel no sympathy for him and truly hope his children get absolutely none of his predispositions.

    I hope his surviving loved ones find peace.

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    • Anonymous says:

      Well said, 12:34. He was an awful student at school, violent disrespectful and disruptive.

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      • cayguy says:

        I remember this violent tyrant from school days, always had this evil look in his eye when he about to terrorize and play the ring leader. doesnt surprise his violent end – unfortunately took some innocent being with him

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  16. mikey says:

    why cant these people just shoot themselves instead of taking innocent victims with them?

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    • Anonymous says:

      There are lots of males out there today who suffer from mental issues, most have personality disorders and such. A lot of young males in Cayman show a lot of signs of having “Dissociated Identity Disorder”. Usually, they come from very neglectful up-bringing and physical and mental abuse at home. These types of people are not shown real love from their infantry right up.

      They lack a sense of belonging, they sometimes have to create an alternative reality to be able to “cope” with everyday life as the trauma experienced from such an early age can’t be processed properly when the brain is still developing.

      They then grow into broken, individuals who cannot control, much less understand, their own emotions. After-all, no-one ever taught them, loved them or disciplined them the correct way when wrong.

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  17. Gray matter says:

    Wow! Sure is a different picture than what Kenith Bryan had to say about this man.

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  18. Anonymous says:

    That was not Christian like at all.

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  19. Anonymous says:

    Thank God Ronald never had access to a gun in Cayman. He was a bad tempered short fused aggressive individual from his primary school days and sadly this woman who was his wife or partner found out the hard way how dreadful he was towards women from the time he was a little boy. XXXXX I gave up on him when he got in bad company when he were five”

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  20. Anonymous says:

    When he went through the school system here creating sheer bloody indisciplined madness for everyone especially the girls in the schools his name was Bennett without an e on the end.

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  21. Anonymous says:

    What a sad case to read. One can only speculate why this tragedy came to be. What goes on in people’s mind to act like this knowing they are leaving their dear child orphaned. I feel for the families of this young couple and more importantly for their darling child. This is one good reason why we don’t want all and sundry to have firearms in the home. One split second of madness can cause such devastation. Hopefully, Cayman will never allow this law to be passed.

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    • Jotnar says:

      First not sure she had any choice in the matter. Second what do you mean never allow this law to be passed? What law? Cayman already allows personal ownership of handguns for Caymanians and people resident more than five years.

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      • Anonymous says:

        Exactly what I said 9.05am “all and sundry” are not allowed firearms. There are stringent background checks and possible mental issues that don’t allow every Tom, Dick or Harry to be allowed to have licensed firearms. Unfortunately, there are more unlicensed firearms in circulation on this small island. We don’t want shops on every street corner where people can just pop in on their way to the local bar to buy the next .38 Smith & Wesson or AK47 like they are buying a candy bar!

    • Anonymous says:

      We don’t want mad people behind the wheel of a vehicle either.

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  22. Anonymous says:

    wow…he was around Cayman not too long ago …dang

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    • Devastated says:

      Very sad indeed. Having been a customer of his for many years, I am indeed heartbroken. He was a true business by all accounts and was dependable when you ordered a car part or an emergency needed item. Parts for your washing machine, stove etc. Although I heard bad stories about him I never experienced his dark side as our interactions were always professional. I can recall on one occasion he was heading to meet me and give me an item he had for my car. He was rushing and someone ran into his car. By the time he got to me he had a calm demeanor and was thankful it was not worse. He made mention that he was coming to see me and I always encouraged him to to live each day being thankful. My prayers for both families especially the kids left behind.

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