A strange drink, a blow to the head, and an argument that made him very angry set the stage for Randal William Benton’s memory -- or lack thereof -- of the details of his wife’s murder.

Benton, on trial for the murder of his estranged wife, Treva Dawn Benton, testified Thursday as the only witness for his defense. He told the court he does not remember pulling the trigger of the gun that killed his wife, Treva Dawn Benton, nor does he remember driving nearly 400 miles to Alabama, where law enforcement officials there arrested him the next morning.

Despite his somewhat rambling and occasionally tearful testimony, it took the jury about an hour to convict Benton of the murder of his estranged wife, Treva Benton.

Despite an appeal for leniency from Benton’s mother and assertions from Benton’s attorneys that he is not a continuing danger to the public and was a law abiding and productive citizen, husband, and father, Judge Stephanie P. McDonald sentenced Benton to life without parole.

“I did not hear anything from the witness box that sounded much like remorse,” McDonald noted, referring to Benton’s testimony, before handing down the sentence.

A family member of Treva Benton’s had a much more blunt assessment of the defendant’s testimony.

“All of that was a lie,” he said. “The only thing said that was the truth was that they were married. It was obvious he had been coached; he was using words he would never use, and I’m glad the jury wasn’t fooled by it.”

The verdict and sentence brings some closure to a series of events that started the night of Oct. 30, 2010, when Benton appeared at Treva Benton’s apartment saying his truck broke down at a nearby bar and he needed a ride home. She agreed to do give him a ride, and they left the apartment together. They stopped in the parking lot of Perkins Restaurant on Trolley Road where they argued before Randal Benton pulled a pistol and shot her eight times.

He then fled the area, driving all night before being picked up at a gas station in Phoenix City, Ala., just across the state line from Columbus, Ga.

“It was horrible,” noted Scott Palmer, Treva Benton’s ex husband and father of her children. “He shot her eight times, from all angles – it was so bad we had to have a closed casket funeral. My children couldn’t even tell their mother goodbye.”

The verdict, family members say, does bring some closure and while they recognize that the situation is tragic for all involved, they are glad it’s over and justice has been served.

“I didn’t want my kids to have to look over their shoulder for the rest of their lives, and they don’t,” Palmer said.

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