Fill out this form to email this article to a friend
Man faces charges for Plant City slayings
By DONG-PHUONG NGUYEN
Published February 22, 2005
For more than a month, Plant City residents were a bit apprehensive. A couple who ran a car business from their Gordon Street home was shot and killed by an unknown assailant. This relatively small town hadn't had a murder in almost two years.
Tuesday, Plant City Police announced the arrest of a 25-year-old Fort Myers man in connection with the January slayings.
Benjamin James Wibben, a restaurant server, was being held in the Lee County Jail. He will be extradited to Hillsborough County on first-degree murder charges, said Plant City police Capt. Darrell Wilson.
Wilson would not say what led detectives to Wibben but wanted to take note of the arrest so that the city's residents could breathe easier.
"It put the town on edge," Wilson said of the murders, Plant City's only homicides this year. Last year, the city had none. "We got the person responsible and the public can kind of relax and take it easy."
According to Wilson, Wibben shot Darren Kaiser, 27, and Heather Kaiser, 26, on Jan. 15 at the Gordon Street home from which they ran their Internet-based auto brokerage company and two other businesses.
He stole a car belonging to the Kaisers, leading to a grand theft charge. He also faces two counts of armed robbery, Wilson said. He would not say what Wibben stole.
Wibben, who was arrested in recent years for traffic violations and burglarly, does not have a violent criminal history, Wilson said.
Plant City police dedicated eight investigators, a crime scene technician and two supervisors to the case.
The investigation centered on the Kaiser's businesses, Car Search 4 U, Kaiser Real Estate and Kaiser Business Consultants.
They moved to Hillsborough County in October from Pinellas County, transferring their company addresses from Palm Harbor and Clearwater.
Their Web site listed 40 vehicles for sale and included a map and directions to their home. Hours were listed as "by appointment only" except for Sundays, when their offices were closed.
A Miami couple who had planned to buy a car from them discovered their bodies.
-- Times researcher Cathy Wos contributed to this report.
[Last modified February 22, 2005, 19:39:01]
Share your thoughts on this story
|
News
Fifty years ago, they were screwed-up kids sent to the Florida School for Boys to be straightened out. But now they are screwed-up men, scarred by the whippings they endured. Read the story and see a video and portrait gallery.
Print
Email story
Comment
Email editor
