EDITOR NOTE: Journalist Terri Jo Neff was one of the last people to speak with the deceased.
Zachary “Zach” Bennett was a well-known photojournalist for Sierra Vista News Network based in Cochise County, where he posted almost daily on Facebook about traffic accidents, house fires, drug busts, police chases, and various other arrests.
It is alleged he also frequently committed criminal sexual offenses against teenaged girls and young women, according to two reports approved for release this week by the Sierra Vista Police Department.
And it was Bennett’s despondency at learning he was under investigation for such conduct which appears to have led to his decision to end his life June 7 as friends were enroute to Bennett’s residence to talk with him.
One of the public records released Monday was an extensive report by Det. Joshua Nicola into allegations of sexual abuse made against Bennett before and after his death. The report ends with the detective’s conclusion there would have been probable cause to arrest Bennett on multiple felonies had he not killed himself.
According to Nicola’s report, Bennett came under investigation based on a May 31 anonymous tip emailed to the police department’s tip line. The tip alleged Bennett had recently sexually assaulted at least two underage girls identified in the tip.
The case was assigned to Nicola, a veteran detective, and on June 6 he began to reach out to the possible victims to see if there was validity to the anonymous tip.
Nicola called one of the teens to arrange an interview about what he described as a police matter in which she may be a witness. What Nicola did not know was that Bennett was with the girl at the time of the call and recorded part of their conversation.
Later on June 6, Nicola interviewed one of the teens named in the tip. His report notes the girl, who was accompanied by her parents, said there was no truth to allegations she had been sexually assaulted. She also denied knowing why someone would make such a claim.
The report also documents that Bennett became increasingly despondent over the next several hours and appeared to understand he was the subject of the detective’s inquiries, even though one of the teens told Bennett that Nicola simply asked about a fight at school.
Bennett’s frantic behavior continued throughout the next day, according to the reports, which also note that this reporter received a call from Bennett shortly after 4 p.m. on June 7.
As noted in the report, Bennett was in a “distraught” emotional state about being under investigation by Nicola. After speaking for a few minutes, this reporter referred Bennett to a local attorney, then called Nicola and expressed concern for Bennett’s mental state.
During that conversation, the detective said Bennett was not a suspect. The report shows this was based on the girl’s denials the day before. The report also confirms the understanding that Nicola planned to contact Bennett given how emotional he was about the allegation.
However, the detective’s plan changed just a few minutes later when he received new information which drastically altered the direction of the sexual abuse investigation.
That information was a call from the father of the girl interviewed the day before. The family wanted to talk with the detective again, which prompted Nicola to put off contacting Bennett for the time being, according to his report.
The report also notes that at 5:02 p.m. a suicide call came into 911. Nicola was the on-duty after-hours detective who should have responded to the call but a supervisor assigned Det. Nathan Drake instead because Nicola was preparing to speak with the family.
The teen and her parents arrived at the police station shortly after 5 p.m. About 17 minutes into her second interview, Nicola was advised of Bennett’s suicide.
Drake noted in his report that one of Bennett’s friends received a call at 4:26 during which Bennett threatened to kill himself. The friend called another friend to go along to Bennett’s residence where they arrived around 4:55.
The friends had to break a window to access the residence. Despite various resuscitation efforts Bennett was declared deceased at the scene at 5:23 p.m.
On June 8 this reporter published the information from Nicola about Bennett being “cleared.” The fact the criminal investigation quickly went from cleared to reopened the day before was not made available by SVPD at the time, as Nicola continued his investigation and learned of more reported victims.
The police reports also show a forensic search was conducted of Bennett’s phones. The search revealed the June 6 recording he made of the conversation Nicola had with one of the reported victims.
Detectives also discovered a Facebook message Bennett sent to a Huachuca City police officer the same day seeking any information on why detectives called someone they both knew to the police station.
The Huachuca City officer believed Bennett was referring to a matter involving a Bisbee police officer which the two had previously discussed. The officer also expressed confusion to Bennett as to why Sierra Vista detectives would be involved with an issue dealing with a Bisbee cop.
Sierra Vista detectives were provided full access to records of the social media exchange between the officer and Bennett as well as a voicemail received from him on June 6. There is no indication the Huachuca City officer was aware at the time of the nature of SVPD’s investigation nor that Bennett was a suspect.
In his final report entry, Nicola noted there was sufficient probable cause to arrest Bennett for sexual abuse of one of the reported victims, sexual assault of another, and luring a minor for sex involving yet another.
The detective explained his conclusion was not based solely on the allegations, but was coupled with Bennett’s “erratic behavior when he discovered he was being investigated” as well as his stated fears “he was going to be arrested and sent back to jail” along with Bennett’s decision “to take his life rather than face the criminal investigation.”
Anyone with information or concerns about Bennett’s activities may still contact Det. Nicola at 520-452-7500.
