A former Gladstone police officer who conspired to murder his wife while on duty will spend 20 years in prison, ending a case that spanned more than 14 years from crime to final sentencing.

64-year-old Lynn Edward Benton was sentenced July 1, in Clackamas County Circuit Court for the killing of Debbie Higbee, who was found dead in her Gladstone beauty salon on May 28, 2011. The Gladstone Police Department sat across the street from the salon.

"Fifteen years ago, Lynn Benton, a police officer, conspired with others to kill his spouse," District Attorney John Wentworth said. "Although he staged an alibi, investigators' diligence exposed Benton's ruse resulting in this conviction and sentence."

Benton married Higbee in October 2010. The marriage fell apart within months, and Benton ended the relationship in April 2011, according to the Clackamas County District Attorney's Office. Higbee reported domestic violence to friends and family.

One attack injured her shoulder and left her arm in a sling. A domestic violence conviction could have ended Benton's law enforcement career.

Benton enlisted longtime friend Susan Campbell and her son Jason Jaynes to carry out the killing. On May 28, 2011, Campbell went to Higbee's salon under the guise of helping her close up and shot Higbee in the back with a .25-caliber handgun, paralyzing but not killing her.

Campbell then alerted Benton, who was on duty at the police department across the street. Benton and Jaynes went to the salon and killed Higbee by beating and strangling her, according to the DA's office.

Benton was arrested in 2012 and convicted of murder in 2016, receiving a life sentence. The Oregon Supreme Court overturned that conviction in 2023 and sent the case back to Clackamas County for retrial.

In May 2026, Benton pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter under a plea agreement imposing a 20-year sentence. Prosecutors said they accepted the lesser charge for four reasons: some evidence was no longer available due to the Supreme Court ruling, some witnesses had died or were unavailable, additional appeals were possible, and the victim's family wanted finality.

Circuit Judge Ulanda Watkins ruled, over prosecutors' objections, that Benton is eligible for sentence-reduction credits for good behavior. The DA's office did not report the judge's reasoning for the decision.

Prosecutors argued Benton did not deserve a reduced sentence, citing the brutality of the crime, his abuse of public trust as a police officer, his manipulation of co-defendants, and the fact that 20 years is already far less than his original life sentence. Benton has been in custody since November 2012.

Campbell pleaded guilty to aggravated murder and was sentenced to 30 years in prison. Jaynes pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit murder in 2017 and received 140 months.

Jaynes was also convicted of numerous sex crimes in 2014, a case that came to light during the murder investigation. Benton had been the reviewing sergeant on a 1999 child sex abuse accusation against Jaynes that never reached the DA's office.

Residents experiencing domestic violence can reach Clackamas Women's Services at 888-654-2288 (24-hour crisis line), A Safe Place Family Justice Center in Oregon City at 503-655-8600, or the Clackamas County DA Victim Assistance line at 503-655-8616.