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OREGON CITY, Or. -- Former Gladstone police officer Lynn Edward Benton was sentenced Wednesday to 20 years in prison bringing an end to a murder case that began more than 15 years ago.
Benton, 64, was convicted in Clackamas County Circuit Court in 2016 of the murder of his wife, Debbie Higbee, who was found dead in her Gladstone beauty parlor in 2011. Benton was sentenced to life in prison. His conviction was overturned by the Oregon Supreme Court in 2023 and remanded to Clackamas County for retrial.
The case was resolved in May 2026 when Benton pled guilty to Manslaughter in The First Degree with sentencing set over to July 1.
Prosecutors cited several considerations that led to a plea agreement to a lesser charge: Some evidence was no longer available due to an Oregon Supreme Court ruling; some witnesses may not be available or are deceased; the possibility of additional appeals; and the desire of the victim’s family for finality.
The plea agreement imposed a 20-year sentence on Benton, who has been in custody since his arrest in November 2012. The agreement allowed both sides to argue whether Benton would be eligible for any sentence reduction credits for good behavior.
Prosecutors argued that Benton was undeserving of a reduced sentence, noting the heinous nature of his crime; that he plotted and committed a murder while a police officer in a position of public trust; his manipulation of co-defendants Susan Campbell and Jason Jaynes; and the fact that a 20-year sentence is substantially lower than his original life sentence.
Circuit Judge Ulanda Watkins ruled, over the objections of prosecutors, that Benton is eligible for the sentence reduction for good behavior. Watkins offered no explanation for her decision.
“Today’s sentencing closes the final chapter on one of Clackamas County’s most infamous cases and brings this measure of justice to Debbie Higbee,” said District Attorney John Wentworth.
”Fifteen years ago, Lynn Benton, a police officer, conspired with others to kill his spouse. Although he staged an alibi, investigators’ diligence exposed Benton’s ruse resulting in this conviction and sentence. I am grateful to Ms. Higbee’s family members and our detectives who maintained faith that this day would come,” Wentworth said.
Benton married Debbie Higbee in October 2010. The marriage quickly fell apart, and Benton broke off his relationship with his wife in April 2011.
Higbee reported to friends and family members that she was the victim of domestic violence initiated by Benton. One of the attacks injured Higbee’s shoulder and left one of her arms in a sling.
A domestic violence conviction could have ended Benton’s career in law enforcement.
Benton enlisted two people, a long-time friend, Susan Campbell, and her son, Jason Jaynes, to assist in Higbee’s murder. Both Campbell and Jaynes were indebted to Benton.
Benton was a frequent visitor at Campbell’s Gladstone home. He knew Campbell used and sold illegal drugs and he controlled her personal finances.
Jaynes was accused of child sex abuse in 1999. Benton was the reviewing sergeant for the case, yet the case never made it to the District Attorney’s Office. The case came to light during the murder investigation and Jaynes was convicted of numerous sex crimes in 2014 and sentenced to nearly 15 years in prison.
In the months before the murder, Benton, Campbell and Jaynes discussed how they would kill Higbee.
On May 28, 2011, Campbell went to Higbee’s Gladstone beauty salon under the guise of helping her close the shop. Instead, Campbell shot Higbee in the back with .25 caliber handgun, paralyzing but not killing her. Campbell panicked and alerted Benton, who was on duty at the Gladstone Police Department, across the street from the salon.
Shortly afterward, Benton and Jaynes went to the salon and murdered Higbee.
“When the bullet failed to kill her, she was left alone on the ground, bleeding and in agony. Finally, her husband arrived, but instead of coming to her rescue, he and another man beat and strangled her to death. Short of torture, there are few deaths imaginable that would be so physically painful and so steeped in the betrayal of one spouse killing another in such a brutal and intimate fashion,” prosecutors said in their sentencing memorandum.
In 2017, Jaynes pled guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Murder and was sentenced to 140 months in prison and Campbell pled guilty to Aggravated Murder and was sentenced to 30 years in prison.
Senior Deputy District Attorney Matt Semritc and Deputy District Attorneys Rebecca Wareham Portlock and Brian Powell prosecuted the case.
Clackamas County Circuit Court case CR1201792