Extradition nears for ex-Marine

A former Marine sergeant accused of faking his own death in 1994 by using an unidentifiable corpse that was found inside a burned mobile home at Lake Mead could be extradited from Utah next month, according to the Clark County district attorney's office.

Arthur Bennett, now serving time in a Utah prison after pleading guilty in April to multiple charges of sexual abuse of a minor under the age of 14, has been indicted in Las Vegas on charges of first-degree murder, arson, insurance fraud, theft and sexual assault of a minor under age 14.

Bennett was living under the assumed name of Joe Benson in Hurricane, Utah, when he was arrested there in October on child sex abuse charges.

In March he entered a plea bargain with prosecutors in St. George, Utah, receiving a 45-year-prison sentence for three counts of second-degree felony charges of sexual abuse of a child under the age of 14.

After being indicted here, the district attorney's office began extradition proceedings.

Chief Deputy Prosecutor Chris Owens said Thursday Bennett is not fighting his extradition, which so far has taken five months.

"There is a uniform act that requires a series of steps for extradition," Owens said. "Both sides (Utah and Nevada authorities) have been complying."

Owens said the Utah prosecutor wants to make sure Bennett will serve out his sentence in their state and that he is secure when he's in Nevada.

U.S. Marine Corps investigators identified the charred remains of a body found in Bennett's trailer as Bennett. Life insurance was paid to members of Bennett's family and the remains were buried in the Southern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Boulder City.

Then in November, Utah authorities notified Metro Police in Las Vegas that the man they believed had died in a fire actually was alive and facing rape charges in Utah.

Investigators in Utah have said that Bennett was living with his ex-wife and three daughters in Hurricane, 150 miles northeast of Las Vegas.

The identity of the man interred as Bennett remains unknown.

At the time of the Feb. 3, 1994, fire, Bennett was facing a court-martial on child molestation charges.

He was a Marine staff sergeant stationed at the Yuma Marine Corps Air Station.

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