Bennie Starks

On January 18, 1986, a 69-year old woman had been grabbed and dragged to a nearby ravine where she was beaten, raped and bitten by a man she described as an ‘18-year old, clean-shaven black male.’ When police searched the area where the assault took place, police would find a number of items like a coat, a pair of gloves, a watch and a scarf. Inside the coat was a dry cleaning slip with Bennie Starks’ name on it. But when authorities would catch up to Starks, he didn’t match any of the descriptions given by the victim. Starks happened to be 26 at the time, with facial hair, plus he had been out to a few bars that night where witnesses claimed they saw him during the time that the attack was said to have happened. And to make matters even worse, Starks had been mugged that same night, his coat, gloves, scarf and watch all taken by the assailant.