Summary of Offense:
Eric Wayne Bennett, a flooring contractor, was sentenced to death for raping and murdering a former customer, Maria Evans Powell, at her Laguna Hills home. Bennett had installed vinyl flooring for the woman before returning two weeks later when he robbed, raped and bludgeoned her on October 14, 1994. When he was sentenced, Bennett apologized to Judge Kathleen E. O'Leary for putting her in the position of deciding whether he lives or dies.
Bennett was sentenced to death in Orange County on January 9, 1997.
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