{"id":262344,"date":"2026-05-07T18:22:08","date_gmt":"2026-05-07T18:22:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/262344\/"},"modified":"2026-05-07T18:22:08","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T18:22:08","slug":"jury-sees-video-of-victim-being-shot-set-on-fire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/262344\/","title":{"rendered":"Jury sees video of victim being shot, set on fire"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>FORT PIERCE, Fla. (CBS12) \u2014 Closing arguments are underway Thursday in the<a href=\"https:\/\/cbs12.com\/news\/local\/former-police-officer-on-trial-for-murder-in-ft-pierce-a-significant-murder-trial-is-underway-on-the-treasure-coast-the-case-dates-back-to-2021-when-a-former-police-officer-and-firefighter-allegedly-shot-another-man-and-set-him-on-fire-our-society-g\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"> murder trial of a former police officer and firefighter <\/a>accused of carrying out a brutal killing inside a Fort Pierce business.<\/p>\n<p>Otto Lenke, 50, of Sebastian, is charged with first-degree murder and arson in the February 2021 death of Richard Benson, 57, at Benson\u2019s motorcycle repair shop, Fast Frank\u2019s.<\/p>\n<p>During testimony this week, jurors were shown disturbing surveillance video from inside the shop. Prosecutors say the footage shows a man shooting Benson in the back, then dousing his body with a flammable liquid and setting him on fire.<\/p>\n<p>The video was played again as attorneys prepared to wrap up the case.<\/p>\n<p>Prosecutors allege Lenke used denatured alcohol to ignite the fire and described the killing as especially brutal. The crime happened just blocks from the Fort Pierce Police Department headquarters.<\/p>\n<p><p>Jurors were shown graphic surveillance video of a Fort Pierce shop owner being shot and set on fire as closing arguments begin in Otto Lenke\u2019s murder trial. (WPEC)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>Investigators say the motive stemmed from a personal relationship. According to prosecutors, Benson had been dating a woman who previously had a relationship with Lenke.<\/p>\n<p>Lenke, a former Melbourne police officer and Treasure Coast firefighter-medic, has pleaded not guilty. He told police he was not in Fort Pierce the day of the murder, did not know Benson, and had nothing to do with the crime.<\/p>\n<p>See Also: <a href=\"https:\/\/cbs12.com\/news\/florida\/rapper-kodak-black-lands-in-florida-jail-on-drug-trafficking-charge-bill-kapri-mdma-arrest-florida-news-orange-county-sheriffs-office-jail-no-bond-crime\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Rapper Kodak Black lands in Florida jail on drug trafficking charge<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Lenke has also told the judge he does not plan to testify in his own defense.<\/p>\n<p>Defense attorneys argue the state has not proven premeditated murder beyond a reasonable doubt.<\/p>\n<p>Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty if Lenke is convicted.<\/p>\n<p>Comment with Bubbles<\/p>\n<p>BE THE FIRST TO COMMENT<\/p>\n<p>Once closing arguments conclude, the jury is expected to begin deliberations. If found guilty, a separate penalty phase would determine whether Lenke receives the death penalty or life in prison.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"FORT PIERCE, Fla. (CBS12) \u2014 Closing arguments are underway Thursday in the murder trial of a former police&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":262345,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[171,173,172],"class_list":["post-262344","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-port-st-lucie","tag-port-st-lucie","tag-port-st-lucie-headlines","tag-port-st-lucie-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/262344","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=262344"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/262344\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/262345"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=262344"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=262344"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=262344"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}