A Time to Kill on ID: How did Bruce Firman die?

More than 20 years ago, Bruce Firman, a renowned St. Catherines, Ontario, real estate agent, was beaten to death in the garage of the house he shared with his estranged wife Margaret Benesch. An investigation revealed that Firman was going through a contentious divorce with Margaret and that he feared his step-daughter Elizabeth Gatenby.

Using surveillance footage and a slip-up made by Elizabeth, investigators reached the bottom of a twisted plot orchestrated by the 41-year-old who manipulated her teenage son and one of his friends into committing the crime in exchange for money.

An upcoming episode of A Time to Kill on ID will revisit Bruce Firman's case. The all-new episode, Death of a Lady's Man, is scheduled to air on Thursday, March 23, at 9:00 pm ET. Its official syopsis reads as:

"Niagara Falls detectives find 72-year-old real estate agent Bruce Firman bludgeoned to death with a pipe wrench in the home he shares with his estranged soon-to-be ex-wife; Bruce was also a serial monogamist with a long list of jilted ex-lovers."

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The murder weapon used to bludgeon retired real estate agent Bruce Firman was found next to his dead body

Bruce Firman, a real estate agent who resided in a bungalow on Northend Tecumseh Street in St. Catherines, Ontario, with his estranged wife, Margaret Benesch, was found dead in the garage on November 27, 2001. The latter and her daughter Elizabeth Gatenby had returned from dinner sometime around 8:45 pm when they found the 72-year-old's body in a pool of blood.

The mother-daughter duo then called 911, who upon arrival found that Bruce was hit in the head with a pipe wrench, which was found next to the body covered in hair and blood. An autopsy later determined that the evident cause of death was blunt-force trauma to the head.

Reports state that although the murder weapon was wiped clean of all prints and there were no signs of a break-in in any part of the house other than the garage, authorities found a fresh showprint in the mud outside. It was clear that the case was not as simple as a burglary-gone-wrong and that there was more to it than what was on the surface.

While investigating Bruce's death, authorities learned that his step-daughter Elizabeth lived in Trail, British Columbia, but had been visiting her mother for the past five days. The victim's son then informed authorities about the couple's broken marriage and legal battle over the property. He told cops that the couple had been estranged for a few years and Bruce feared Margaret.

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Bruce Firman's step-daughter made a slip-up, providing authorities with a crucial lead in the murder investigation

Authorities initially suspected Margaret Benesch in Bruce Firman's killing until Elizabeth Gatenby accidentally provided them with their first lead by mentioning a 19-year-old guy named Dell, whom she met during her bus ride to St. Catharines. Surveillance footage from the bus terminal showed Elizabeth getting into her rental car with Dell, the former also claimed she drove him to a hotel and paid for his stay.

While searching the hotel room, authorities found food containers similar to those in Bruce and Margaret’s home. They also learned about a second male who had recently checked out of the hotel. Furthermore, fingerprints found in Elizabeth's rental car pointed towards 17-year-old Tommy Nicol, who confessed to the murder after being confronted with fingerprint evidence.

According to reports, the latter also revealed that Dell was Elizabeth's son Byron Gatenby, who was his accomplice in the murder. The latter eventually confessed that his mother offered to pay them $400 in return and orchestrated the hit on Bruce Firman. Both boys pleaded guilty and were sentenced to six years each, respectively.

Meanwhile, Elizabeth Gatenby was found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison with a minimum of 25 years without the possibility of parole.