Kriti Mehrotra
It was June 8, 2017, when the world turned upside down for not only the Renick family but also the entire reptile community as snake breeder Ben Renick was found dead inside his facility. As explored in CBS’ ’48 Hours: The Poisonous Wife,’ the initial hypothesis was that either his lucrative business or his late father’s Ponzi scheme had attracted an enemy directly to him. However, it eventually came to light that his once seemingly loving wife of 3 years, Lynlee Gallatin Renick, as well as her ex-boyfriend, Michael Humphrey, were the brutal perpetrators.
Lynlee Renick’s Union With Ben Renick Was Far From Sunshine and Roses
Lynlee Gallatin was admittedly just a teenager when she first came across Ben Renick in their hometown in Montgomery County, Missouri, only to soon go their separate ways in life. Little did they know they’d find themselves reconnecting around the age of 23/24 in 2011 when the latter was rising up as a snake breeder, not long after which they began their romance. They reportedly became serious quickly, with her and her young son from a previous relationship moving in with him for good within a year – he willingly took on the role of a father figure.
Ben knew that Lynlee’s son was her priority, and since he wanted a family too, he didn’t hesitate to form a bond with him once he realized they could have a future together as a unit. The couple actually ended up tying the knot in a beautiful, intimate ceremony in 2014, following which they settled on a part of his family’s 70-acre land and welcomed a baby of their own. That’s when the mother of two herself began taking an interest in her husband’s business, Renick Reptiles, going as far as to help him clean, handle, and sort his ever-growing collection.
Yet, by the time 2016 rolled around, Ben and Lynlee had launched another business, Ascensia Spa, which was solely for the latter as owning and operating such an establishment was her dream. The former massage therapist hoped to thrive, but things changed for the worse within a year because not only was the spa losing money, but the owner was also lying to her husband about it. Ben had reportedly taken out a loan for this business despite being rather successful in his own right, so he was angry when he discovered she was keeping their finances a secret. As if that’s not enough, much later, she admitted to being unfaithful on more than one occasion with more than one man – she had allegedly been involved in a few physical affairs over the years, but she had kept them all hidden.
Lynlee Renick Was Identified as a Suspect in Ben’s Murder Early On
It was around the late afternoon/early evening of June 8, 2017, when Lynlee contacted her brother-in-law, Sam Renick, and stated that she had found Ben lying face down in a pool of his blood. He arrived at the scene not long after from his own home on the family land. Sam knew from just one glance at his brother that he was dead, leading him to dial 911. That’s when officials arrived at the scene under the assumption he’d been attacked by one of his 3,000 snakes, just for it to be cleared once the coroner discovered several shell casings scattered around his cold remains – he had actually been shot a total of 8 times, one of which was at close range.
Lynlee appeared hysterical by this point, so detectives understood the situation and chose to schedule an interview with her and Sam at the station for the very next day. They were both incredibly cooperative, with the brother even agreeing to give a detailed alibi, submit to a gunshot residue test, do a polygraph, and give up his personal devices for a search. He understood that because none of Ben’s snakes were missing, the theory of a robbery gone wrong had been cleared, so investigators needed to now look at those closest to the victim. However, he did assert that he believed there was no way his sister-in-law could have been responsible.
Nevertheless, when it came time for Lynlee to be questioned, who also willingly agreed to a gunshot residue test, she pointed the finger at Sam despite having relied on him the day before. She actually stated that her husband had been looking into the possibility of selling the family property, which her brother-in-law was upset about, but this claim was quickly dispelled. There was even an indication of Ben having been killed as a form of revenge over his late father’s ponzi scheme, but this also went nowhere, and then, officials learned of the mother of 2’s lies about her spa, contention with her husband, and many affairs, resulting in her being deemed a suspect.
Lynlee Renick Was Incriminated For Murder in 2020
According to records, Lynlee admitted to an affair with a man named Aric days after her initial interview, only for a close friend and employee, Ashley Shaw, to reveal much, much more. Once Aric’s alibi was confirmed, those close to the widow were called in, and Ascensia Spa’s manager admitted that her boss had actually had a couple of affairs in the time leading up to the fateful day. She told them about Brandon Blackwell, whom Lynlee had met on a dating website relatively recently, driving detectives to zero in on her and even ask her to take a polygraph. Lynlee unequivocally failed the polygraph test, but she vehemently maintained she had no idea how it happened – she kept on asserting her innocence before finally being allowed to leave.
Shortly thereafter, though, the investigators’ suspicions only heightened as they learned that she had recently been in contact with an old ex-boyfriend of hers named Michael Humphrey. The latter was a felon who was fresh out of prison on drug possession charges, yet the widow had called/texted him multiple times in the days leading up to and on the fateful June 8, 2017. All this, combined with the fact Lynlee stood to gain from Ben’s death – he had a $1 million life insurance policy, his snakes were worth millions, and he had his family property – made her the prime suspect. However, owing to a lack of clear physical evidence, no arrests were made, and the case eventually went cold, with those close to the victim being unaware that she was a suspect.
Things changed in early 2020 when Brandon contacted the police, testifying that his now ex-girlfriend had told him herself that she had tried to kill Ben not once but twice in the summer of 2017. Per records, Lynlee sold her husband’s home, closed their businesses, and left town within weeks of his death to get into a full-fledged relationship with Brandon. They even welcomed a child together around a year and a half following Ben’s death before their union soured to such an extent that she got a restraining order against him. He was in prison in January 2020 for allegedly violating this order, which he denied doing, but in the hopes of leniency, he told officials that Lynlee had detailed her actions to him during their time together. He claimed she’d given her husband a toxic, narcotic-laced protein drink one night in the hopes of killing him, and when it failed, she turned to her ex-boyfriend Michael Humphrey to help her, all of which Ashley Shaw later confirmed.
Lynlee Renick is Currently Serving Her Time Behind Bars
Lynlee and Michael were both arrested on the charge of first-degree murder on January 16, 2020, with the latter being the one who subsequently stood for a jury trial first in late 2021. Despite the defense arguing that he’d been lured to the scene by Lynlee under the assumption of her needing protection as she asked Ben for a divorce, the jury found him guilty. The defense had tried to maintain that his ex-girlfriend had surprised him by pulling out a gun to shoot her husband, yet once he was convicted, he admitted he had provided her with the weapon she had allegedly asked for. It’s imperative to note that the gunshot residue test done on both Sam Renick and Lynlee came out as negative.
Michael was sentenced to life in prison, but according to reports, in the hopes of one day getting parole, he soon agreed to reveal the murder weapon’s location as well as testify against Lynlee. In the end, that’s precisely what he did, so even though she contended that he had shot Ben after she had told him she was asking for a divorce because he was allegedly abusive, the jury didn’t believe her. After 12 years of deliberations, she was found guilty of one count each of second-degree murder and armed criminal action, for which she was later sentenced to 13 years plus 3 years behind bars. She appealed her conviction as well as sentence in early 2022, but decided to dismiss it in January 2023 voluntarily. So, today, at the age of 37, she remains incarcerated at the Women’s Eastern Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center, where she is expected to remain until at least she becomes eligible for release in 2036.
Read More: Michael Humphrey: Where is Lynlee Renick’s Ex-Boyfriend Now?
