COLUMBUS, Ohio (TCD) — A 46-year-old man is facing a murder charge after he allegedly choked and killed his girlfriend, then disposed of her body.
In a press briefing Thursday, March 9, Columbus Division of Police Cmdr. Mark Denner said Cleveland Police reached out Jan. 31 to inform them of the “possible homicide” of Renee Benedetti. Columbus Police said they could not confirm whether there was a homicide, but they did learn Benedetti was last seen Jan. 26. in Columbus.
Police sent out a missing persons alert, and officers arrested her boyfriend, Gene Scott, several days later in Kentucky. He was extradited back to Columbus, and detectives learned Benedetti’s body was likely at a location in southern Ohio.
Denner said investigators went to the Rumpke landfill in Georgetown, Ohio, on Feb. 20 and searched there for 2 1/2 weeks. On March 8, officials located human remains in the landfill and they were positively identified as Benedetti’s.
Columbus Police announced March 9 Scott has been charged with one count of murder.
According to the Columbus Dispatch, Scott faces federal charges relating to the firearm arrest because he is a convicted felon and not allowed to own guns. In 1997, he reportedly robbed and assaulted a man, which left the man in a coma for several weeks among other injuries.
Court documents cited by the Columbus Dispatch say Scott told investigators he and Benedetti got into a “heated argument” in the apartment they shared together, and he “choked her until she was motionless.”
The report alleges Scott “wrapped up Miss Benedetti’s body in a rug and later disposed of her body in southern Ohio.”
Franklin County Jail records show Scott is being held without bond.
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