Michael Benanti and Brian Witham appear in the April 10 episode of "Dateline". The couple was found guilty in 2017 of an elaborate and violent wave of kidnappings. The episode, "A Villain Plan," aired for the first time in May 2019.
After his arrest, Witham, 48, criticized Benanti, 46, and allowed authorities to enter the couple's scheme. As a result, Witham received 30 years in prison for his part in the crimes of Federal District Judge Tom Varlan. Prosecutors agreed to limit Witham's sentence to 42 years if he testified against his former partner. Witham is serving his sentence in Terre Haute, Indiana.
Benanti was sentenced to 155 years in prison, as well as four consecutive life terms for kidnapping. The sentence remains one of the harshest ever handed down in East Tennessee. Benanti is serving his sentence in Atwater, California.
His crimes spanned six states with the majority of crimes occurring in East Tennessee.
After his arrest, Witham, 48, criticized Benanti, 46, and allowed authorities to enter the couple's scheme. As a result, Witham received 30 years in prison for his part in the crimes of Federal District Judge Tom Varlan. Prosecutors agreed to limit Witham's sentence to 42 years if he testified against his former partner. Witham is serving his sentence in Terre Haute, Indiana.
Benanti was sentenced to 155 years in prison, as well as four consecutive life terms for kidnapping. The sentence remains one of the harshest ever handed down in East Tennessee. Benanti is serving his sentence in Atwater, California.
His crimes spanned six states with the majority of crimes occurring in East Tennessee.
In Maine, Witham Was Known as the ‘Polite Bandit’
Benanti and Witham met in prison in the early 1990s. Benanti was serving time after being convicted of opening fire on two Pennsylvania police officers in 1992 in an attempt to escape. Witham was in prison charged with robbery in Maine. In court after his arrest in 2015, the jury heard that Witham had been in and out of prison since he was 17 years old.
In January 1997, Witham, then 26, was sentenced to 26 years in prison after being convicted of stealing a Pizza Hut, a Friendly restaurant, and a movie theater in August, Georgia. The Bangor Daily News reported at the time that Witham was known as "the police bandit" because of his lordship while committing his crimes. Witham said at the time that his drug addiction had led him to commit his crimes.
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