UPDATE on Yankeetown Oct. 9, stabbing death of Benton Clark Dyals - son Walter Dyals arrested
Mr. Dyals is being held at the Levy County Jail in Bronson, FL. His bond, initially set at none, was set at $1,000,000 at his first appearance in court.
According to Mr. Dyals' arrest report, about 8:35 pm on Friday night, LCSO Dispatch received two calls regarding the homicide.
A neighbor, Jackie Dodson, told dispatch that Walter Dyals came to her home and told her that he'd killed his father, then left her property. She then called 911 and reported the incident.
Teri Scoggins and her friend, Bryan Queen, also called LCSO Dispatch. They reported that they drove a golf cart to the Dyals residence, that Walter Dyals had allowed Teri Scoggins to enter the residence, and she observed that Benton Clark Dyals had an excessive amount of blood to his chest. Ms. Scoggins, a registered nurse according to the arrest report, explained that it was obvious that Benton Dyals was dead.
Deputy Prine was the first deputy on scene. He found Walter Dyals lying on the floor with a large laceration and a substantial amount of blood to his chest. Walter Dyals told Deputy Prine that he'd killed his father, his best friend, the arrest report stated..
Walter Dyals was taken into custody and transported to the Levy County Jail.
During an interview at the jail, Walter Dyals told Detective Scott Stancil that he and his father had gotten into a heated argument, during which his father had called him by the name of his (Walter's) deceased mother and had also punched him with a closed fist to his temple. Walter Dyals told Detective Stancil that he snapped, went into his room and armed himself with an 18-inch homemade Bowie knife, then walked up to his father and stabbed him in his heart. Walter Dyals said his father fell to the floor, and he stabbed his father an additional three to four times, in a fit of rage, and then threw the knife, which had broken during the stabbing, onto his bed. He said he looked back at his father and cursed him, and then walked outside of the residence.
Mr. Dyals told Detective Stancil that he returned, a short time later, and heard his father take his final breath. He said he held his father for about 20 to 25 minutes, then stood up and sent a text message to his sister, confessing that he'd killed their father, then washed his hands in the bathroom sink. He said he then called Teri Scoggins, using his father's cell phone, telling her she needed to come to his home. He said he then threw his father's cell phone onto the bed and went ouside, waiting for Teri to arrive.
Deputies obtained a search warrant prior to entering the home. They found the home as Walter Dyals had described it. Mr. Benton Dyals' body was found in a hallway at the entry, with a stab wound to his chest, in the area of his heart, and a deep laceration to his right forearm. Deputies found coagulated blood on the walls of the hallway where the incident had occurred. The knife, which had blood on it, was found on the bed, where Walter Dyals said he'd tossed it, with the handle broken off as Walter Dyals had described it in the interiew. The report stated that the blood stains on the floor had been moved (smeared), which is consistent with Mr Dyals holding his father.