After getting divorced, Carla Lewis started online dating. During this time, Carla seemed to be reliving her younger years, which she had missed since marrying at age 21. However, the woman did not know that this was also the origin of her own tragedy.
The Online Romance
Carla Lewis was born on June 26, 1962, in Berrien County, Michigan, USA. She had a bachelor’s degree in accounting and worked for many years for large companies.
Carla married Steve Damico and had a child at age 21. In contrast to her prosperous career, Carla’s romantic life was not so smooth. Their marriage showed cracks and the couple decided to divorce in 2007, after two decades together.
After the divorce, Carla started online dating. Relatives said that during this time, Carla seemed to be reliving her younger years, which she had missed since marrying at 21.
A few months later, Carla met and got acquainted with John Benton Lewis. The two quickly started dating. Not long after, they married on June 30, 2012.
Daily, Carla liked to go shopping, text relatives, write in her journal and help others. From the outside, the life of this 55-year-old woman seemed quite happy. But then it all ended one day in August 2017.
The Berrien County police quickly arrived at the house numbered 1429 on Lawndale Avenue in Niles Township around 6 pm on August 13 after John’s call for help.
A Suspicious Story
At Carla’s house, the police found her body lying face down in a basement spare room, near a cannabis plant. The victim had multiple gunshot wounds.
The autopsy results showed that Carla was shot 5 times, including a fatal gunshot to the head. Her 2008 Mazda CX-9 car had also disappeared.
John was then taken to the police station for questioning. The man told police that his wife had gone to visit her mother over the weekend and had just returned that afternoon. The couple talked about what they had done before going down to the basement, where they grew cannabis.
According to John, while the couple was tending to the plants, he heard Carla scream. Quickly looking up, John saw at least two black men pointing guns at them and shooting. John believed the suspects had been hiding in the basement and attacked the couple.
However, the investigators were skeptical of these statements. They argued that if there really was a shootout, this small room was too small for John to have escaped unscathed. In addition, they also discovered suspicious details.
The Hired Hand’s Revelation
John said he was growing cannabis for medical purposes and speculated that the shooting was related to the nightclub he owned. However, John could not provide a clear answer about who he suspected of killing his wife. The detectives felt John’s story “did not make much sense.”
John insisted that he had never owned or purchased any kind of gun. John also claimed the couple had a happy and perfect marriage.
While the interrogation was ongoing, the detectives received information from Justin Hicks, an employee at John’s business.
Justin told the officers that John had texted him around 1:53 pm on the day of the incident, asking him to come over. John then gave Justin the keys to the nightclub and asked him to get ammunition from there and put it in his car.
The Car in the Cornfield
After hearing about the shooting, Justin gave police 8 boxes of 9mm ammunition and a 9mm pistol magazine. This particular steel-cased caliber matched the shell casings found at the crime scene. This was evidence linking John to the murder.
John continued speculating about intruders and denied owning any firearms or ammunition until confronted with Justin’s statement. At this point, he immediately stopped cooperating with investigators and requested a lawyer.
The autopsy report stated that the type of ammunition John possessed matched the shell casings found at the scene as well as the type used to shoot Carla.
Based on all the evidence gathered, police arrested John and charged him with first-degree murder in Carla’s death. 5 days after Carla was killed, police found her reportedly stolen car. It had been abandoned in a cornfield in Cass County.
Investigators continued interviewing witnesses and family members of the victim to uncover the truth about the couple’s marriage as well as the motive for the murder.
The husband’s revelation
Investigators continued to interview witnesses and family members of victim Carla Lewis to uncover the truth about the marriage that John Benton Lewis claimed was happy and “perfect”, as well as the motive for the murder.
Accordingly, John’s business was struggling as his nightclub was always losing money. Carla had to earn money to pay the family’s bills. She had also resolved John’s failed business dealings and demanded that he close the club.
Additionally, police learned that Carla had a $246,000 life insurance policy along with $70,000 in retirement funds for which John was the beneficiary. This amount made police suspicious of John’s motive.
Examining John’s phone and laptop, investigators discovered he had been texting with several women online.
One of these women later came forward to police, stating she had received cash and stimulants from John in exchange for sex with him. She claimed this relationship had been going on for 6 years. The two had even had sex on the day of the murder.
Notably, John had asked her if she would be willing to leave her ex-boyfriend and come to him if he became a widower. Additionally, the witness stated John had revealed to her that he would kill his wife by using some kind of drug.
The Marriage of Convenience
Reviewing John’s internet history, police found he had searched websites for purchasing handguns and silencers 10 days before the murder. All this evidence contradicted John’s claims of never owning or showing interest in purchasing guns.
John’s trial began on February 5, 2019. He pleaded not guilty and continued to claim two men had broken in, shot his wife, and stolen her car to escape. Meanwhile, the defense argued Carla was killed over a business dispute.
However, the prosecution presented strong evidence and built a case that John had been exploiting Carla for her money while having many other affairs. He had ultimately killed his wife in cold blood.
In addition, although he had a license to grow 12 marijuana plants, Carla’s presence in that area showed that other people could come here and this was a violation of regulations.
Ultimately, the jury found John Benton Lewis guilty of murder and possession with intent to manufacture cannabis.
In March 2019, John was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Court records show the 54-year-old man is currently incarcerated at the Carson City Correctional Facility.
