Viswa Vanapalli
In June 2018, utility workers found young mother Bianca Rainer dead in some brush outside a home. The details uncovered left the authorities in Blytheville, Arkansas, stunned. Investigation Discovery’s ‘The Murder Tapes: The Puzzle Piece’ chronicles this very case. As they worked to uncover the truth, they made a quick arrest, thanks to some excellent investigative work. In the end, a combination of physical evidence and a confession led to the conviction of Bianca’s killer. So, if you’re curious about what happened to her, we’ve got you covered.
How Did Bianca Rainer Die?
Bianca Patrice Rainer was born in August 1988 in Blytheville. Growing up, she was raised by her grandparents. Bianca graduated from Blytheville High School and later worked towards getting her Certified Nursing Assistant License. The 29-year-old was a hardworking mother of two daughters. But tragedy struck Bianca in June 2018. Utility workers who came to her home found her dead body outside.
At around 10 AM on June 20 that year, a 911 call brought the authorities to the location. Bianca’s body was found wrapped in a blanket and with a cord around her neck. She had been shot in the head at least three times and had suffered multiple lacerations to her face and scalp. The body had been decomposing, and curiously, the authorities found pieces of a puzzle stuck to her body, a clue that became instrumental later.
Who Killed Bianca Rainer?
As part of the investigators’ canvassing, they came across Harold Bennett. At the time, the 43-year-old lived right across the street from where Bianca’s body was found. The police learned that Harold was a level 4 sex offender convicted of sex crimes in Jonesboro, Arkansas. Furthermore, he had not registered himself as a sex offender after moving to Blytheville. Soon, he caught the attention of the detectives.
During Harold’s initial interview, he claimed to have nothing to do with Bianca’s murder. But further questioning changed his stance, with Harold providing multiple different statements. Harold stated in an interview that Bianca had been at his home and that he paid her for sexual acts. A disagreement, he said, eventually led to an altercation where she attacked him with a knife. Harold claimed that whatever he did next was in self-defense.
According to one of Harold’s versions of events, he hit Bianca with a metal bar to protect himself. But then, he beat her several times until she was rendered unconscious. After the attack, Harold rolled her up in a blanket, placed her in a trashcan, and disposed of her body where it was eventually found. At Harold’s home, the police also found puzzle pieces on the floor and blood spatter in various rooms.
Harold was incriminated further when there was a bleach bottle with a brush located within the hallway of his residence. He also led the police to the metal bar he used to beat Bianca and a .32 caliber revolver. A forensic examination confirmed that the bullets found in Bianca’s body were fired from the same gun. With a mountain of evidence against Harold, he was charged with murder and other charges on July 10, 2018.
Where is Harold Bennett Now?
In August 2019, a Mississippi County jury in Arkansas found Harold guilty of first-degree murder. He was then sentenced to life in prison. Harold was also handed down an additional fifteen years because of a sentence enhancement for the use of a firearm during the commission of a murder. The prosecuting attorney was grateful for the result, later saying, “I appreciate the hard work put in by the Blytheville Police Department, as well as the jury’s time in listening to the case, considering the facts, and delivering this just verdict.” Today, Harold seems to be serving his sentence out at a correctional facility in Arkansas.
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