Bentler Appeals to Iowa Supreme Court

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By Becky Ogann

Story Created: Jun 18, 2008 at 4:19 PM CST

Story Updated: Jun 18, 2008 at 4:19 PM CST

DES MOINES (AP) - An Illinois man convicted of fatally shooting his parents and three sisters in Iowa says the clothing he was wearing when he was arrested shouldn't have been allowed as evidence at his trial.

Prosecutors argued that Shawn Bentler drove from his home in Quincy in October 2006 and murdered his family in their home in rural Bonaparte, Iowa.

Bentler is appealing his case to the Iowa Supreme Court.

A key piece of the prosecution's evidence was a pair of socks Bentler was wearing when he was arrested. A drop of his mother's blood was found on them.

His attorney says the seizure of Bentler's clothing violated his constitutional rights.

She says that's because state investigators didn't have a warrant to take the clothes from the custody of the jail in Adams County, Illinois.

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