THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, July 24, 1994 TAG: 9407240062
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JUDY PARKER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH LENGTH: Medium: 63 lines
They were inseparable from the first day they eyed each other in kindergarten. Two little girls who would grow through adolescence together, sharing their teen years and becoming best friends.
Often, though, the bonds of childhood friendships are unloosed by the tugging responsibilities of adulthood.
And it was no different for Angie Benton and Kelly Elliot, two 21-year-old Portsmouth women who lost track of one another after high school graduation as jobs and family responsibilities took priority in their lives.
Then, suddenly and dramatically, their friendship was rekindled by an act of violence that nearly claimed Benton's life.
On June 3, Benton was abducted outside her brother's Fort Nelson Towers apartment in Olde Towne. It was her 21st birthday, and she spent part of it threatened with rape, then brutally stabbed and slashed by a knife-wielding assailant.
Benton's attacker nearly severed her right ear, and more than 400 stitches were needed to close wounds on the back of her neck, throat, chin and scalp.
``When I heard about what happened to her, it tore me up and made me angry,'' Elliot said. ``What he put her through was torture. Nothing of Angie's was for him to take.''
Now Benton's medical expenses are reaching into the thousands of dollars, and her physician has recommended further surgery to correct nerve damage from the assault.
``I've lost my job, my car and my apartment,'' said Benton, who worked as an auto detailer.
``My doctor won't give permission for me to go back to work, and without a job I couldn't keep up my car payments.''
Elliot knew she had had to do something to help.
``Angie's my best friend and I know she needs money real bad right now,'' Elliot said.
Help came in the form of a marathon rock 'n' roll blowout by six bands who staged a 12-hour fund-raising benefit July 10 at Scully's in Virginia Beach.
``I know some of the guys in Powerhead, so I figured, what the heck, I'll just ask them if they'd be willing to play a benefit for Angie,'' Elliot said.
The half-day nonstop musical barrage raised about $700.
In addition, Moon Engineering in Portsmouth has donated $675 to Benton, and she's receiving assistance from the Virginia Crime Victims Compensation Program.
Since the assault, the two women have not spent a day apart. Even Benton's daughter, 3-year-old Stephanie, and Elliot's 1-year-old son, Stevie, have gotten new playmates out of the ordeal.
``Believe me, I'm not glad this happened,'' Elliot said. ``But I've got my friend Angie back, and this time I'm not going to lose her.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo
MARK MITCHELL/Staff
When Kelly Elliot, right, learned her childhood friend Angie Benton
was attacked in June, she sought her out. They'd drifted apart after
high school but have now rekindled their friendship.
by CNB