Tuesday, July 13, 1999 | 2:10 a.m.
A Marine accused of faking his own death in a trailer fire five years ago apparently committed suicide in his jail cell, where he was awaiting court-martial on sexual assault charges.
Arthur Gus Bennett, 45, was found dead in his cell at 10:58 p.m. Monday, police said today.
Bennett was scheduled to face a court-martial Wednesday on charges of sexually assaulting his young daughters and teen-agers of fellow Marines in Yuma, Ariz., and Okinawa, Japan.
Bennett also faced murder and other charges in Las Vegas on allegations he faked his own death in February 1994 to escape a court-martial on charges of assaulting the teen-agers.
Bennett was being held in military custody pending the outcome of the court-martial. He had been brought to Las Vegas from Yuma, Ariz., and was being detained in the Clark County Detention Center.
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Lt. Rick Alba said Bennett was not on a suicide watch at the time of his death.
Metro Lt. Wayne Petersen said Bennett was alone in his cell and his body was discovered by another inmate who notified detention personnel.
Resuscitation efforts were started by detention personnel and paramedics were called.
Bennett was pronounced dead at the scene.
Bennett gained national attention in October 1997 when he was arrested in the tiny town of Hurricane, Utah, after his two teen-age daughters told police he had been sexually molesting them.
At the time, Bennett was living in Hurricane with his ex-wife and third daughter under the name of Joseph Benson. He was known in the town as a braggart who boasted of stints as a Navy SEAL and had worked with drama students at the local high school.
Police ran fingerprint checks on Benson and found he was actually Bennett, the man authorities thought had died in the trailer fire near Lake Mead three years earlier.
In May 1998, Bennett pleaded no contest in St. George, Utah, to three second-degree felony charges of sexual abuse of a child under the age of 14. Each charged carried a sentence of one to 15 years in prison.
Authorities have never determined who burned to death in the trailer fire near Las Vegas.
As a result of the fire, Bennett faced a Feb. 7, 2000, trial here on charges including murder, arson, kidnapping, insurance fraud and theft. He had pleaded innocent to all counts.
This week's court-martial was ordered during an Article 32 hearing earlier this year. The military equivalent of a preliminary hearing, it featured testimony from two of Bennett's daughters, his ex-wife, Amelia, and fellow Marines whose daughters were allegedly assaulted by Bennett.
Bennett's 17-year-old daughter testified during the hearing that he sexually assaulted her "about every night" between 1995 and 1997, when the family lived in Hurricane.
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