CROWN POINT | Bobbi Marksberry collapsed Tuesday night, shaking with sobs, as the man accused of raping and murdering her 22-year-old sister was escorted into the Lake County Jail.
Mark Erler was extradited Tuesday from California to face charges of murder, murder in the perpetration of rape and murder in the perpetration of criminal deviate conduct in Linda Bennitt's 1984 death, Lake Criminal Court records show.
"I thought he looked like a wild animal," Marksberry said after medics treated her. "There was no emotion on his face. It looked like he didn't care at all. Seeing him took 24 years, and I am not sure I wanted to see him at all."
Bennitt's family members already have waited 24 years for justice.
Lake County police reopened the cold case in December and used DNA and other evidence to connect Erler to the 1984 murder.
Bennitt's family drove four hours from their home in Vevay, Ind., to see the man accused of killing her.
They clustered together as flashing blue and red lights signified Erler's arrival just after 9 p.m. He was flown into O'Hare International Airport.
Erler was emotionless, staring straight forward as officers led him into the county building.
He fought extradition to Lake County, officials said. Erler was in a maximum-security prison in California for an unrelated conviction on 11 charges, including two counts of rape and one count each of attempted murder and burglary.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger approved the extradition after a Fresno County judge ruled Erler was the same person who was wanted in connection with Bennitt's death.
Bennitt's body was found May 5, 1984, at Gary's Riley Elementary School, 1301 E. 43rd Ave. Her throat had been slashed and her body battered and raped, police said.
Lake County sifted through 13 suspects' files scattered throughout the country before finding a match to DNA evidence left at the scene and on Bennitt's body, court records state.
The DNA evidence and a fingerprint link Erler to the slaying, court records state.
"He looks like an animal," Bennitt's mother, Joan King, said after she saw him led out of the back of the police car. "Linda was giving me strength. I saw her face, giving me strength. She's smiling down."
Lake County police Detectives Robert Bridgeman and Tom Huber escorted Erler from O'Hare. They, with Cmdr. Shaw Spurlock, led the cold case investigation.
The officers hugged Bennitt's family after the extradition.
"It's been very emotional for all of us once we got to know the family and know what type of person Linda was," Huber said. "It's been a rush of emotion through the whole case. We've all become pretty close friends with the family. It's satisfying to me and my partners here at the department to be able to bring some peace of mind and closure when loved one was taken so tragically."
Erler faces up to 60 years in prison if convicted of all of the charges.
