Inset: Raylin Benzie (Facebook). Background: The ilani Casino Hotel in Ridgefield, Wash., where Raylin Benzie allegedly drugged and killed a man (Google Maps).
A woman in Washington state looking for a wealthy man to seduce and rob found one at a casino hotel and tried to do just that, but wound up killing him after she forgot her “date rape drugs” at home and used fentanyl instead, cops say.
“I PANICKED AND DID SOMETHING DUMB,” Raylin Benzie, 34, texted a friend on the morning of Oct. 4 after allegedly murdering the 38-year-old victim, according to court documents obtained by local ABC affiliate KATU.
“I NEED OUT OF HERE PLEASE,” Benzie allegedly said. “I COULD GO AWAY FOR A VERY LONG TIME.”
Benzie and the victim, identified only as “Arslan,” were at the ilani Casino Hotel on the Cowlitz Reservation in Ridgefield when the fatal drugging occurred, according to a probable cause affidavit. Arslan allegedly offered to give her his casino winnings of $1,200 if she went up to a hotel room and had sex with him. The man was found on the afternoon of Oct. 5 in a room on the 10th floor.
Police were called and investigators looked at surveillance footage to see who came and went from the room, KATU reports. Benzie was allegedly caught on camera entering it with Arslan while wearing leopard print clothing. She was in the room for about an hour before cameras caught her leaving by herself, according to the affidavit.
About two hours later, Benzie allegedly went back to the room with another man and was inside for roughly seven minutes before they left. Cops say they made contact with both Benzie and the man during the investigation and questioned them about what happened.
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Benzie allegedly denied having anything to do with Arslan”s death, telling detectives, “No, no, no, he was f—ing snoring… that’s weird… that doesn’t make sense.” The man she was caught on video with, however, admitted to being told by Benzie that she “drugged” Arslan and that “he probably OD’d and he’s probably going to die,” according to the affidavit.
A trio of individuals spoke to police during the investigation and said Benzie was acting weird after being interviewed by cops.
“The way she was reacting, I think she did something to cause this man to lose his life,” one of them said, according to KATU and the affidavit.
A woman who recently met Benzie told cops she had voiced interest in wanting to meet up with wealthy men to seduce and rob them. A man who knows her said she usually uses gamma-hydroxybutyric acid, aka GHB, and other substances as “date rape drugs” on men, but for this victim she told the man that she forgot to bring them with her, according to the affidavit, so she allegedly used fentanyl instead.
Benzie was arrested on Oct. 31 and charged with first-degree murder, controlled substances homicide, placing poison in a drink, first-degree robbery and second-degree theft. Her bail was set at $10 million and she was still behind bars Wednesday with a trial date set for Jan. 26, 2026.
