Murder of Joshua Bennett by Irenia Cotner examined on Snapped

Oxygen is re-airing the Snapped investigation into the murder of Joshua Bennett, a US Army soldier who was stabbed to death by intruders Oscar Eck and David Lindner at his mother’s home in Claremont, Illinois.

The killing was planned and ordered by Irenia Cotner, the self-styled leader of a witches’ coven who had convinced the two men that murder was the only way to get rid of a curse.

In 2005, 20-year-old Joshua had just finished his training and was all set to be deployed to Iraq when his father died. He traveled home to Mattoon, IL, for the funeral.

Joshua also decided to visit his mother, Jacqueline Bennett, in nearby Claremont, where she stayed with her boyfriend Lee Jackson. That night, the house contained Jacqueline and Joshua, Lee’s 23-year-old son Jackie Jackson, and Jackie’s 17-year-old pregnant girlfriend, Lindsey Kasinger.

In the early hours of August 23, the Richland County Sheriff’s Office received a call of two stabbings and a gunshot wound at the home.

When the police arrived, they found Jacqueline suffering from a stab wound to the neck and her son, Joshua, suffering from a stab wound to the chest. The cops also found intruder David Lindner lying on the floor; he had been shot by Jackie.

Irenia Cotner claimed Lindsey Kasinger had cursed her witches’ coven

The cops later learned that Irenia Cotner, a local Walmart employee, had a problem with Kasinger. Cotner had previously dated Jackie Jackson, but it’s unclear if her motivation resulted from romantic jealousy.

Cotner and her two long-term friends, Misty Gangloff and Jenny Wolfe, considered themselves witches. Cotner was the leader of this coven, which then took Oscar Eck and Lindner into their satanic gang. The group would regularly perform seances.

At some point, Cotner managed to convince the others that teenager Kasinger had put a hex on all of them, and the only way to stop it was to kill her and her unborn baby. Cotner enlisted Lindner and Eck to perform the murder and told them to remove Kasinger’s bra so they could cast a spell on it.

Before their attack, the group performed a seance. Cotner lit a candle and told Eck and Lindner that Kasinger must be dead by the time the candle went out.

Eck and Lindner broke into the home and first encountered Jacqueline, who Lindner stabbed in the neck. Joshua came to his mother’s aid but was also stabbed by Lindner. Jackie then joined the brawl, and his rifle discharged, hitting Lindner. During the melee, Eck was also stabbed in the leg but managed to escape.

Irenia Cotner and her witches’ coven arrested for Joshua Bennett murder

Lindner was taken to a hospital but eventually died from his wounds. Eck came under police suspicion when he sought medical help for his stab wound. Eventually, the cops unraveled this complex case and pinned Cotner as the ring leader.

Irenia Cotner, Jenny Wolfe, Oscar Eck, and Misty Gangloff were all charged with first-degree murder.

Cotner was found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to 57 years in prison.

Oscar Eck pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and was sentenced to 20 years. Misty Gangloff pleaded guilty to conspiracy to murder and was sentenced to seven years.

Jenny Wolfe refused a plea and was found guilty of first-degree murder. She was sentenced to 32 years.

This episode of Snapped re-airs Tuesday at 8/7c on Snapped.