They were loved by everyone. Everyone maybe. But their own daughter, who admitted to a bitter simmering dispute. A family feud. She needed her stepfather and mother dead so she could get her property back. Evidence pointed to her boyfriend as an accomplice. Blood on the shoe. He was there. Or was he . No hair no, fingerprint no, dna . Nothing. A once loving family now gripped by suspicion. I had a lot of people in my ear saying that she did it. Would the terrible truth rip them apart . This cannot be happening. Welcome to dateline. A daughter battling her demons, and her mother and stepfather for control of a milliondollar property. After their double Murder Police started to wonder just how far Bambi Bennett would go to get what was hers. They followed a bloody trail of evidence deep inside the familys dispute, exposing ugly secrets and suspicions. But unmasking the murderer would prove far more complicated. Heres Dennis Murphy with the deed. The old barn is a shambles now. The fields back in the day so lush and productive, gone to seed. The farmhouse empty. Time was the farm land in horry county was some of South Carolinas finest. Bambi bennetts granddad owned a big spread and created a legacy for the generations to come. That barn used to be tobacco barn and my granddaddy built this. So it was tobacco property . Mmhmm. He did farming and tobacco. Bambis roots here are as deep as the old oak tree draped in spanish moss that still stands tall in the front yard. They say land is worth dying for because its the only thing that lasts. And truer words might never have been spoken. In this case, a beautiful piece of land turned out to be nothing but trouble. This is where Bambi Bennetts family was ripped apart by an act of cruel, unspeakable violence. Bambi, her given name, was a fun, feisty good old girl, country through and through. I was at my grandparents a lot growing up and we gardened and we had a big yard, you know, a huge yard. Youre a country girl . Mmhmm. But she endured her share of heartache even at a tender age. Her parents divorced when she was just 6. Mom remarried. Then a few years later came that terrible day shell never forget. My daddy and my granddaddy passed away on the same day. I was 12 years old. All of a sudden you lost the two important men in your life . Uhhuh. It was a bewildering and tragic day. There was so much sudden loss to absorb that young bambi, not yet a teenager, paid no mind to her grandfathers and fathers wills. But it turned out shed been left the entire homestead. All 240 acres of it to be held in trust until she turned 18. Not long after bambi inherited the farm, her stepfather charlie moved the family onto the property. Her property. Most everybody called him big charlie. Bambi called him daddy. Daddy loved hunting and fishing and he always had fish fries and oyster roasts. There was always people down at the barn. You call your stepfather daddy . Uhhuh. Easily do that, huh . Uhhuh. Ive always called him daddy. Big charlie was a deacon at church and he started a Small Business selling and installing glass. Converting the old tobacco barn into his shop. Bambis mom diane worked as a secretary in the public schools. They were a respected, happy couple. Salt of the earth. She was the backbone of that family. Bambis cousins jessica and amy loved their aunt diane. If your car literally stopped in front of their house or broke down, she would go and make sure you had a meal or you were warm, and while she was doing that big charlie would be like fixing the car. Good mom . Fabulous mom. Outstanding. I mean, her biggest thing was she wanted to make sure her kids were protected and their hearts were protected. And her daughter bambi would need a lot of protecting. The girl was growing up in a rush. Married to her High School Sweetheart and divorced after a few months. By the time she was just 24 years old, she had another failed marriage and was struggling as a single mom trying to raise two boys, cody and nathan. That had to be tough, keeping your household going, huh . Yes. And things went from bad to worse. Bambi started popping painkillers. The old story, huh . Yes. Just gobbled them down when you could get them, huh . I liked the way it made me feel. Bambi was a single mom hooked on pills and sitting on a piece of land worth a small fortune. Diane decided it was time to intervene before, say, another whirlwind husband du jour got half the property. Mama said if you put it in my name it will be protected. And so, she signed the deed to her property over to her mom. And then bambi signed over her heart. Sending cody and nathan to be raised by their grandparents. She calls it her lowest point. I didnt want to do it but i knew it was the right thing. She wanted to take care of them. She loved those children. It was a crushing loss, no question, but bambi agreed at the time the boys were better off. They loved diane and charlie. Theyre just very loving, like did a lot of outdoor stuff. I mean, they spoiled us to death. Nathan, how about you . Theyre the most loving individuals ive ever met in my life. My grandmas the most sweet woman and everybody says so. With the boys living at their grandparents, bambi tried to get her own life back on track. Thats when she met rick gagnon, a new hire at the charlie Glass Company. There was an instant attraction. Ive always liked the bad boy image, i guess, you know. Like he had the goatee and shaved head. I dont know. We just had a good time together. Was it a serious relationship . Yes. It was. Rick was serious, too. He confronted bambi about her demons. I told her, you know, if she wanted to be in a relationship then she had to, you know, do something about the pills. By the spring of 2005, bambi felt she had turned the corner. She and rick found a home of their own in myrtle beach. After a long struggle, she was ready to be a mom to her boys again. I was getting on my feet and i just i wanted cody and nate there with us. Grandparents charlie and diane agreed very reluctantly to let the boys move in with bambi and rick. But no sooner had the boys moved than diane was making the case to get them back. Mama was concerned. Did she want to hold on to the boys . She said that she would like for them to, you know, to continue to stay with her. Boyfriend rick thought bambi couldnt catch a break with her family. Everybody pretty much treated bambi like crap. It stemmed from, you know, issues that diane and charlie and bambi had. Those issues were simmering into an angry family drama. And then just a few weeks after the boys were turned over, it happened. It was april 12th, a tuesday morning. Bambi called her mom, no answer. Big charlie was late for work. One of his barn employees went up to the house to look for him. Moments later, he called 911. 911. She is laying on the floor, blood everywhere. Blood everywhere . Yes, maam. Oh, my god. Inside, things were chaotic, an appalling sight. Big charlie and diane were dead. And the Old Farmhouse they loved so well was now a crime scene. At a grisly crime scene some small stray drops of blood might just provide a huge clue. Coming up it appeared that someone involved in the crime was a bleeder. So thats great evidence. It is if you can match it up. When dateline continues. N s t. Kate works hard, and thought she had good insurance. But she still pays too much. Thats no good. So kate downloaded the goodrx app. Now she can compare prescription prices, to find the best discounts. She even beats her insurance price. Good for you kate, good for you. Goodrx, stop paying too much for your prescriptions. Download the free app today. Flexible hours. That work around your schedule. Jackson hewitt is here to fight for the biggest refund you deserve. Whether youre a 95er or 59er. These are real people, not actors, whove got their eczema under control. With less eczema, you can show more skin. So roll up those sleeves. And help heal your skin from within with dupixent. Dupixent is the first treatment of its kind that continuously treats moderatetosevere eczema, or atopic dermatitis, even between flare ups. Dupixent is a biologic, and not a cream or steroid. Many people taking dupixent saw clear or almost clear skin, and, had significantly less itch. Dont use if youre allergic to dupixent. Serious allergic reactions can occur, including anaphylaxis, which is severe. Tell your doctor about new or worsening eye problems, such as eye pain or vision changes, or a parasitic infection. If you take asthma medicines, dont change or stop them without talking to your doctor. So help heal your skin from within, and talk to your eczema specialist about dupixent. If your financial situation has changed, we may be able to help. vo we live in a world of fees. If your financial situation has changed, airlines, hotels, food delivery, and especially car dealers all charge excessive, lastminute fees. When you want something badly enough, it feels like your only choice is to pay up. But what if you had a choice to take a stand instead . At carvana, we believe in treating you better. With zero hidden fees, you can drive off without feeling ripped off. Thats what it means to live feelessly. Introducing a revolution in the world of pain relief new advil dual action. Advil targets pain at the source. Acetaminophen blocks pain signals. New advil dual action with acetaminophen. Hurry up hello. The horror discovered inside that farmhouse confused both the caller and the 911 operator. But what happened to charlie and diane was all too clear. She was found lying next to her bed. Big charlie, sprawled on the bathroom floor. Each had been shot multiple times, both by then dead for hours. Horry county sheriff phillip thompsons cell phone erupted with calls about the shooting, and he rushed to the scene. Not to investigate. Charlie and diane were his best friends. They werent just mine, they were everybodys friends. What we remember is how good they were. How kind they were. And what good people they were. Down at her house in myrtle beach about 30 minutes from the crime scene, bambi was getting ready to go antiquing with her mom. She called her cell. One of charlies Glass Company workers answered. I said, can i speak to my mama, please . And he said, bambi, your mama and daddys dead. Just like that . Yes. And i said, what . He said, bambi, somebodys broke in here and killed them, shot them. And i just dropped the phone. And then started crying. When bambi arrived at the house, yellow caution tape blocked her way. Police were everywhere. My mom was like freaking out. Rick tried to comfort bambi. Young cody turned to him, too. Then i remember rick, he was near me, and i was crying on his shoulder. And everybody was just kind of it was a madhouse that day. In those moments it seemed the whole county had gone mad. The murders of diane and charlie came hard on the heels of two other vicious killings nearby. The suspect, a man all over the news, named Steven Stanko, was still at large. They were looking for Steven Stanko when charlie and diane were discovered. Vivian skipper was charlie and dianes neighbor. She runs a flowershop nearby. So tell me about the fear, vivian. Is this the kind of thing you could feel in the air . You could feel it in the air. I was at the flower shop. Probably not too thrilled with the idea of getting in your car and driving away. I didnt even want to go home. It was pretty bad in horry county that day. When i first arrived, what im looking at is an opportunity to get oriented to the crime scene. The man responsible for making sense of the crime scene was prosecutor Fran Humphries, then deputy chief solicitor for horry county. Had the house been tossed, rifled . It had. This appeared to be a Home Invasion burglary. First take on it . First take, no question. It was a gruesome crime scene. The bathroom awash in charlies blood. There was blood spatter in the bedroom where diane lay. But several feet from diane, there were notably a few small droplets. It appeared that someone involved in the crime, not the victims, was a bleeder. Why couldnt that be from one of your two victims . It was apparent that big charlie never left the area of the bathroom. And it was apparent that diane died where she lay. So it looks like your shooter, your intruder is bleeding. Is bleeding. So thats great evidence. It is if you can match it up. While crime scene techs processed the house, investigators started taking statements. Big charlie and diane had a large family and knew a lot of people. We talked with everybody. The list of people that we talked to is exhaustive. A parade of friends, employees, and family was brought down to headquarters for interviews, including bambi and her boyfriend, rick. They did gunshot residue tests on all of us. Including you . Mmhmm. They had me remove my shirt, lift my pant legs up. They took my shoes, took pictures of my shoes, tops, bottoms. Both bambi and rick told police they had spent the night at home, never left. With the interviews complete, police drove rick and bambi back to the farmhouse. Everyone was gone. Bambi says she realized she had left her purse with her phone and car keys in the detectives cruiser. She decided she would take her mothers vehicle to get home. We didnt have any way to get in touch with anybody. We didnt have anything. And i told rick, i said, see if you can find mamas purse, her cell phone. And so he went in the house. Police had released the crime scene, but it still looked like one. Detectives told the family they would have to clean it up. So when rick says he went in to fetch dianes car keys, he found himself tiptoeing through a bloody mess. What were you seeing . All the blood. Just one of the most horrible things id ever seen. Rick approached the bathroom where charlie had been killed. He says he noticed bambi through the window pacing in the backyard. She was calling out, mama, mama, she was crying and screaming. I stepped into the bathroom, trying to step around the mess as best i could and i shut the blind. You closed them because you didnt want bambi to see the blood and gore . Thats right. I remember saying to bambi, i think i stepped in some blood in the bathroom and i was wiping my shoe off on sand. And she was telling me to wash my shoe so i didnt get blood in her moms truck. That must have been eerie to be in that house that night, huh . Yeah. Extremely. It was an eerie moment. One that would haunt bambi and rick for years to come. Coming up, bambi makes a stunning admission. Thats been a long like family feud. Over the land . A long time. When dateline continues. When dateline continues businesses today are looking to tomorrow. Adapting. Innovating. Setting the course. But new ways of working demand a new type of network. One thats more than just fast. You need flexibility to work from anywhere and manage from everywhere. Advanced technology. With serious security. And reliable coverage, nationwide. Forwardthinking enterprises deserve forwardthinking solutions. And thats what we deliver. So bounce forward, with comcast business. The coldblooded killing of big charlie and diane parker had a great many people in and a great many people in and around conway, South Carolina bolting their doors and locking their windows. Had you had any trouble in that neighborhood in the countryside with breakins . Not that i know of. I mean, its always been a wonderful place. It just doesnt make any sense. Was this more of the murderous rampage of the notorious Stephen Stanko who was all over the news . No, said prosecutor Fran Humphries, who knew stanko had been sighted in georgia at the time of the murders 200 miles away. So this awful thing at the farmhouse, you werent associating that with stanko . I was not. Even in the public mind . Oh, they did. But truly at that time, Law Enforcement knew that he was physically in augusta. Rather, humphries focused on the evidence coming from the parker crime scene. He quickly came to believe this was more than just a bungled Home Invasion. It was apparent that nothing had been taken, or at least nothing that you would suspect to be taken in a burglary. Humphries thought back to some curious statements bambi had made in her interview with police which she said she had given willingly. Youre sure youre okay to sit down im not okay but i want to help you. Soon after the interview started bambi, he said, began describing in detail a feud within her family. At issue was the land bambi owned and that her parents were living on. Theres been a long, like, family feud. Right. Over the land . A long time. According to humphries, bambi and diane argued over who should control that property. Diane wanted to make sure that that property was there for the kids. I think she had become convinced that, you know, bambi was not going to be in a position to manage that property. I love this girl, my daughter, but shes beyond hope, is that kind of the feeling . Well, she just cant be trusted with it. Bambi didnt agree. She wanted the property back. I had a lot of anger about that. But humphries learned the land wasnt the only hot button between bambi and her mother and stepdad. Bambi admitted they also argued over the raising of bambis boys, nathan and cody. Were there any issues that your parents didnt want the kids to go back to you guys or anything like that . Well, yeah. I understand my mama cared for them. And it was hard for her to give them back. At first we were angry at each other. Being ugly at each other. Diane just wasnt comfortable with bambi having custody of those children. In fact, just four months before the murders, a mother daughter shouting match over the care for the boys got so out of hand that diane called 911. The responding officer arrived with his dashcam rolling, just moments after bambi had stormed away. Im sorry to bother you. Youre not bothering me at all. Diane explained the argument to the officer. She usually just does what she wants to do. Picks them up when she wants to. She doesnt provide anything for them. Diane went on to say she felt threatened by her daughter. She scares me. She got in my face and jerked the phone out of my hand when i was calling. And then came this chilling pronouncement. If anything happens to me, youll know that shes the reason. Responsible person. How telling is that . She was in fear, grave fear. Humphries by now suspected bambi was somehow involved in her parents murders. But he was skeptical she could commit a double homicide on her own. So the prosecutor turned his attention to bambis boyfriend. Rick gagnon. Hes aligned with bambi. He was extremely faithful to bambi. And according to humphries, willing to do anything for her. Youve got the daughter and boyfriend who seem to be in some sort of conspiracy . The theory goes. An a