ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, January 29, 1997 TAG: 9701290052
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-5 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: MANASSAS
SOURCE: Associated Press
MEMO: NOTE: Shorter version ran in Metro edition.
A former FBI agent accused of trying to kill his wife was a desperate shell of a man tormented by inner demons and the humiliation of knowing his wife left him for a woman, his lawyer said Tuesday.
Years of undercover work shattered Eugene Bennett's mental health and left him incapable of the sort of devious scheme prosecutors say he wove to kill Marguerite Bennett, lawyer Reid Weingarten said.
``This is a cry of desperation of a very sick man,'' Weingarten said on the first day of Bennett's trial on attempted murder, abduction, bomb-making and other charges.
Authorities contend Bennett plotted for months to kill his wife, collect $1million in life insurance and leave the country with their two young daughters.
Police arrested Bennett on June 23 when he allegedly took his wife's minister hostage and used the man as bait to lure her into a darkened church.
The plot included a gun, shackles, handcuffs, a getaway car and duffel bags filled with bomb components, said James Willett, Prince William County assistant commonwealth's attorney.
He also said lesbian pornography and sexual aids were left at the church and attached to a bomb left at Bennett's wife's office.
Bennett, 42, has accused his wife of having a lesbian affair with crime novelist Patricia Cornwell five years ago. The affair led to the breakup of their marriage and the slow disintegration of Bennett's sanity, Weingarten said.
Cornwell has said she and Marguerite Bennett were close friends, but has not commented further on their relationship. Cornwell is not expected to testify.
Bennett pleaded innocent by reason of insanity. His lawyers say he suffers from a split personality and blackouts. Bennett wrestles with a separate criminal personality named ``Ed'' and hears inner voices, Weingarten said.
``The FBI has learned to its horror that undercover work is not only physically dangerous, it's dangerous to the mental health of its agents,'' Weingarten said. ``They identify too closely with their undercover identity.''
Bennett was stunningly successful as an undercover agent - he almost singlehandedly brought down a Georgia crime ring and helped win more than 200 convictions in his 12 years with the agency, Weingarten said.
Bennett was arrested hours after the confrontation at the church. He told police he could not leave his suburban home before quelling Ed. When he emerged, Bennett told officers he had locked Ed in the garage.
Bennett faces up to two life terms in prison.
LENGTH: Medium: 57 linesby CNB