Hearing Friday in Shawn Bentler Murder Case

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By Becky Ogann

Story Created: Jan 12, 2007 at 3:39 PM CST

Story Updated: Jan 12, 2007 at 3:39 PM CST

AP - A hearing is set for Friday afternoon in Keosauqua in southeast Iowa in the case of Shawn Bentler, who's accused of killing his family last fall.

Bentler wants a judge, not a jury, to decide his fate.

Bentler is charged with five counts of first-degree murder. His parents and three sisters were shot to death in their home near Bonaparte in October.

Bentler was arrested in Quincy, Illinois, where he lived, hours after the shooting.

Investigators have offered no motive for the slayings, one of the worst mass killings in Iowa history.

Bentler's trial is set for February 20th in Van Buren County
District Court.

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