GLADSTONE, Ore., Feb. 2 (UPI) -- A transgendered Oregon police officer suspected of being involved in his wife's killing was fired because of fraud, documents show.
Sgt. Lynn Edward Benton was dismissed from the police department in Gladstone, a Portland suburb, in December. He had been on leave since his wife, Deborah Higbee Benton, was found shot and beaten in the beauty salon she operated in Gladstone.
Benton has not been charged with being involved in his wife's death. A memo from Gladstone Police Chief Jim Pryde says he was fired because investigators discovered that in 1993, when he was legally Lynne Irene Benton, he married a Brazilian immigrant so the man could become a citizen.
Pryde also said in the memo that Benton had violated department policy by using his police laptop to look at pornography.
Susan Campbell has been charged with killing Higbee Benton. Prosecutors say Campbell was paid $2,000 for the killing and that she called Benton after discovering Higbee Benton was still alive after being shot.
Higbee Benton's injuries were so extensive a medical examiner described them as "kill, kill and overkill."
