Abilene Mother's Ex Boyfriend Arrested on Murder Charges

ABILENE, TEXAS – Two weeks ago, family and friends reported Abilene mother Meagan Dearman missing after they had not heard from her in days; unfortunately she was found dead on T&P Lake property this past Friday afternoon. The Abilene Police Department has now officially charged Justin Bennett, Dearman’s ex-boyfriend, with murder. His bond is set at $200,000.

According to a local news station and court documents of the case, the cause of death was strangulation. Abilene’s police department have also heard several testimonies from various acquaintances and friends of Bennett that pointed towards him murdering Dearman.

Bennett is said to have confided in an acquaintance saying that he "hurt [Dearman] bad” after fighting. Another person reported to the police that Bennett had said, “[I] killed Dearman and buried her body at a lake.”  A third acquaintance, a woman, reported to police that she had let Bennett borrow her vehicle on January 17, the day Dearman went missing. Police proceeded to search the vehicle and found evidence of blood inside. Furthermore, the woman also told police that Bennett had told her about strangling Dearman.

Together with these three testimonies, police found another clue on T&P Lake’s property. In an affidavit, a shoe print was listed as evidence at the scene. When Bennett was taken into custody, police compared the print to Benentt’s shoe size and pattern; it was a match.  

Police have further requested to compare DNA evidence collected from Dearman and Bennett.

Below is a short video clip of Abilene Police Chief Stan Standridge and Sergeant Lynn Beard with APD, during a press conference Monday afternoon. Police Chief Stan Standridge spoke on the issue of domestic violence and Sergeant Lynn Beard spoke on specifics of the Megean Dearman case.

Click here for LIVE!’s previous story on Dearman’s case.