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Loretta Bowersock, a 69-year-old businesswoman and TV commercial star from Arizona, went missing in December 2014. Her live-in partner Taw Benderly claimed that he dropped Loretta off at a local mall before heading to Tucson for a business presentation, but she was nowhere to be found.
An investigation soon produced incriminating evidence against Taw, including surveillance footage from the mall, phone records, and financial shortcomings, which linked him to Bowersock's disappearance. He also had a criminal record and had been embezzling money from the victim, whom he likely murdered after she found out.
With authorities closing in, Taw being the primary suspect, ended his life and was found hanging from an electrical cord during a welfare check. Loretta's skeletal remains were discovered in a desert in January 2006, and it was reported that she died of asphyxiation.
Oxygen's Buried in the Backyard is slated to revisit Loretta Bowersock's slaying in an episode titled Death in Blue. The official synopsis states:
"When a successful Arizona businesswoman disappears on a holiday shopping trip, investigators hunt for a kidnapper; when the killer takes his secrets to the grave, however, the only chance of finding her is a psychic's mysterious vision."
The upcoming episode will air this Monday, July 17, at 10:00 pm ET on Oxygen.
Surveillance footage from the mall where Loretta Bowersock's partner claimed to have dropped her off proved to be crucial to the case
According to Oxygen, Loretta Bowersock had been living with Taw Benderly since the summer of 1987. The latter, claiming to be a successful entrepreneur from Scotland, started living in her Tempe, Arizona, home as a tenant. The two soon began dating and were in a live-in relationship for 17 years.
On December 14, 2004, Taw claimed that Loretta wanted to shop for Christmas, so he dropped her off at the local mall and headed to Tucson for a business presentation at the University of Arizona. Taw was meant to pick her up from the mall at 4:00 pm that same day, but the 69-year-old was nowhere to be found. He called Loretta's daughter Terri and reported her missing.
Surprisingly, there were no signs of Loretta in the mall's surveillance footage, and back at her house, officials found a foreclosure notice, as per the New York Post. This prompted investigators to look at the disappearance from a financial angle.
Authorities found incriminating evidence that linked Loretta Bowersock's live-in partner to her disappearance
As the investigation unfurled, authorities learned about the "dire financial issue" in Loretta Bowersock and Taw Benderly's household, according to Oxygen. They even found boxes filled with unpaid bills and late notices in the garage. Adding to this was a $40,000 bill on eight of Loretta's credit cards.
Authorities also found a pickaxe and a shovel inside the trunk of Taw's car, which he claimed he always carried to dig fossils. Officials then traced his phone records and found out that he had spent hours in the Casa Grande area.
These findings contradicted Taw's previous accounts and the timeline he had given authorities. Later, they found Loretta's bag wrapped in a towel in the house. Inside the bag was "everything that she would need to go shopping." There were several inconsistencies in Taw's statements, which did not help his case.
As authorities started closing in, they discovered that Taw wasn't originally from Scotland. In fact, he had a criminal background and had just been released from prison when he started living at Loretta's house as a tenant. He was soon declared a suspect in the case.
Taw Benderly ended his life amidst rising suspicion about his involvement in Loretta's disappearance
On December 23, 2004, Taw Benderly was found hanging from an electrical cord in the garage during a welfare check. After he ended his life, authorities found financial records which proved that he had been embezzling from Loretta Bowersock for many years.
Taw reportedly had a history of defrauding women and would "use his charm to get away with it." Authorities believed that Loretta likely found out that Taw had been defrauding her for years and that he killed her during a confrontation.
Loretta's skeletal remains were unearthed on January 10, 2006, in an area southwest of Casa Grande. An autopsy confirmed that she died of asphyxiation.
Learn more about the case on Oxygen's Buried in the Backyard this Monday at 10 pm ET.
