Ex-Gladstone police sgt. gets life in wife’s killing

OREGON CITY, Ore. (AP) — A former suburban Portland police sergeant has been sentenced to life in prison for his wife’s murder.

Lynn Benton was convicted last week of hiring his longtime friend and her son to kill Debbie Higbee Benton at her Gladstone beauty salon in May 2011.

The Oregonian/OregonLive reports (http://bit.ly/2erSYTH ) that Benton waived his right to a sentencing phase Tuesday and agreed to accept a true life sentence. The sentence keeps the 54-year-old Benton off death row.

The former Gladstone police sergeant spent most of his law enforcement career as a woman. He transitioned to male in 2010 before he wed Higbee Benton. The gender reassignment caused a rift between the couple and Benton moved out of their home a month before his wife’s death.

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Information from: The Oregonian/OregonLive, http://www.oregonlive.com