A Pennsylvania man drove his car at 100 mph into a guardrail in an attempt to kill his girlfriend, and when that failed he sat on her head and torso until she asphyxiated, prosecutors alleged yesterday. Benjamin Daniel Klinger, 19, was behind the wheel when the crash occurred around 2 a.m. on December 4th in south central Pennsylvania.
"At first glance, this appeared to be simply another tragic vehicle accident," Lancaster County DA Craig Stedman told the Intelligencer Journal/Lancaster New Era. "However, the police worked hand-in-hand with our forensic experts and saw this was far more complicated, sinister and certainly criminal." A truck driver who was the first on the scene says he heard Klinger's girlfriend, 17-year-old Sammi Heller, screaming. When police arrived, they said they saw Klinger sitting on Heller's head and torso.
(Sammi Heller)
According to the police report, "Klinger was observed by the officers to be what appeared as 'slipping in and out of consciousness,' because he would close his eyes for several seconds, moan, and then reopen his eyes while continuing to be positioned on top of the victim's head and torso while the victim was face down." But after studying medical records, investigators now allege that Klinger was faking his loss of consciousness.
A friend of Heller's has told investigators that Klinger had threatened to kill Heller and himself in a car crash, and that he had previously thrown her down a flight of stairs and into walls. Klinger also faces an assault charge for allegedly running over Heller's foot in May, and he's accused of "disseminating explicit sexual materials to a minor for allegedly sending out photos and video of Heller," the AP reports. In his vehicle's wreckage, police found marijuana, cash, a digital scale, a pipe, pills and a black air pistol.
There are unconfirmed reports that Heller, a senior at J.P. McCaskey High School, may have been pregnant, and there's speculation that Klinger was the father. What is known is that Heller, according to her obituary, "enjoyed softball, field hockey and being around her friends. She also loved horses and being around motorcycles and riding."
