Braylee Rae Henry: Girl, 16, 'killed by convenience store clerk and dumped in a field' after going t
Beauty queen, 16, 'beaten to death by convenience store clerk and dumped in field' after going into his store to buy a Coke
- Braylee Rae Henry had popped to the store for a soda but did not return
- Police arrived at store to find pool of blood and no sign of clerk Miles Bench
- Found him driving her car and covered in blood
- Has history of violence - he was arrested for beating his stepfather in 2011
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A 16-year-old beauty queen was allegedly brutally murdered by a convenience store clerk and dumped in a field after she went to his shop to buy a Coke.
Braylee Rae Henry, a school sports star and honors student, died of blunt force trauma to the head at the hands of the clerk, who had a history of violence, the sheriff in Stephens County, Oklahoma said.
Miles Bench, 21, had worked at the store for just three-and-a-half weeks before he allegedly killed the girl and dumped her body on his grandparent's property. Authorities have not revealed a motive.
Killed: Braylee Rae Henry, left, vanished after going to buy a soda from a convenience store in Velma, Oklahoma. Authorities later allegedly found Miles Bench, right, in her car covered in blood
Deputies were called to the Tepee Totum convenience store in Velma on Wednesday evening, where they found a pool of blood and blood smears throughout the store and out the front door.
As they searched the store, Braylee's father filed a report that his daughter and her car were missing, NewsOK reported. The girl had gone to buy a soda from the store, her mother said.
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ShareInvestigators swooped on Bench's grandparent's home. His grandfather said the man had just been there to grab some clothes.
Authorities found the girl's body in a field that belonged to the grandparents, according to an affidavit.
Stunning: Braylee, who had taken part in the town's beauty pageant in March (pictured), died of a blunt force trauma to the head. Her body was found in a field belonging to Bench's grandparents
Missed: Braylee, pictured left with a friend, had gone to the store for a soda, her mother said
Bench had allegedly stolen Braylee's car after the murder, and police were able to track the vehicle using its GPS system. He was stopped along Interstate 40 by a deputy and arrested.
The store clerk had blood on his clothes and there was blood in the car, according to the affidavit. As he was arrested, Bench told officials he thought he killed someone.
He was charged with first-degree murder in Stephens County District Court and denied bail.
Hundreds of friends and relatives are expected to attend services celebrating Braylee's life at 2 p.m. on Tuesday at Velma High School gymnasium, where she went to school.
In March, she had been a contestant in the 50th Miss Velma-Alma Pageant. She had taken part in 4-H youth groups since the age of five, and was active as a teen leader and camp counsellor.
Loss: Braylee was part of her school's sports teams and part of the National Honor Society
Mourning: Braylee (in red) leaves behind her parents, Billy and Gina, two brothers and a sister
Henry was also active in school, where she was on the Student Council and part of the National Honor Society. She was also on the basketball, track and cross country teams.
The owner of the convenience store has since expressed regret at hiring Bench.
'Our hearts are just aching for the family and if there was anything we could do to roll back time and make it not happen we would do it,' Kelly Michelle told KSWO.
'If there is anything I could have done, anything I could have known he wouldn't have been working here. It's just like a nightmare. It's so unreal that it could happen.'
But Velma Chief of Police Randy Whipple said the community would pull through the tragedy.
'We're going to get through this, we're going to get through this with the love we have for each other, the love we have for the family,' he said.
Arrest: Bench allegedly fled in her car. Authorities tracked it with GPS and arrested him on the interstate
Scene: Police found a pool of blood at the Tee Pee Totem store, where Bench had worked for three weeks
'I knew Braylee and that's what she would have wanted for us to do. We're not going to allow some outside individual to influence how we do things, how we're going to live, how we're going to get through this.'
Bench has a record of minor crimes in Illinois, where he was arrested in July 2008 for domestic battery of his stepfather, KFDX reported.
In 2011, he was reportedly arrested for possession of a stolen vehicle. At that time, he also had an AWOL charge from Great Lake Naval Base.
His preliminary hearing is scheduled for August 13.
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