Kathy Pinna
John Branden (1945 - 2007) Find A Grave article
April 3, 2007
The man involved in a murder-suicide in Gig Harbor last week wasn't named John Williams, and it wasn't the first time he violently abused a romantic partner. Police have determined Williams' true identity was John Branden, 62, a man wanted for raping, kidnapping and trying to kill a girlfriend eight years ago in Oregon. Investigators believe Branden shot to death his current partner, critically wounded a friend who tried to intervene, and then committed suicide Thursday.
It's unlikely that his latest girlfriend, 66-year-old Turid Bentley, knew about his past. In fact, Bentley might not have even known that she and Branden weren't legally married. "He was obviously trying to establish a new legitimate identity, but we know who he really was," said Pierce County Sheriff's Detective Ed Troyer.
When searching Bentley's house, investigators discovered a backpack containing fake identification cards hidden in the attic, Troyer said. Some of the cards identified Branden as a doctor and a pastor; others were blank -- a clean slate in case he needed to reinvent himself again. That's what Branden apparently did when he fled to Washington from Curry County in the southwest corner of Oregon.
In 1999, an arrest warrant was issued for Branden after his girlfriend showed up nude and begging for help at a neighbor's house in the Cape Sebastian area. She told investigators that Branden kidnapped, stripped, bound, raped and assaulted her. "Sheriff's Detective Dave Gardiner learned that Branden, who had displayed a knife, had threatened and planned to kill the female victim, cut her up and place the body in the ocean," Lt. Dennis Dinsmore of the Curry County Sheriff's Office said in a statement. The Sheriff's Office contacted the "America's Most Wanted" television show, hoping the publicity would lead to news of his whereabouts, but the show declined to feature Branden. The Oregon woman Branden assaulted changed her name and moved out of state, Dinsmore said.
Meanwhile, Branden settled down with Bentley in Gig Harbor. Photos confiscated from Bentley's home show that the couple had a wedding ceremony, and their friends believed they were married. Investigators believe Branden might have been trying to scam Bentley out of her life savings, Troyer said. She owned some property, including two plots of land in Idaho where an acquaintance said the couple planned to eventually live. Branden told people he was a retired naturopath. Becky Minton, a friend of the couple, said he helped her young son overcome an illness by recommending natural substances.
Minton added that he was concerned about germs and liked everything to be clean.
"John was kind of on and off," she said. "But Turi always saw the best in people. She was very positive, very enthusiastic." The night of the murder-suicide, police believe, Branden shot and critically injured the couple's friend and yoga instructor, Randall Nozawa. Friends said Nozawa was concerned about the couple and went to the home to help. Last weekend, Nozawa underwent eight-hour reconstructive surgery to repair head injuries, Minton said. He is expected to survive.
The man involved in a murder-suicide in Gig Harbor last week wasn't named John Williams, and it wasn't the first time he violently abused a romantic partner. Police have determined Williams' true identity was John Branden, 62, a man wanted for raping, kidnapping and trying to kill a girlfriend eight years ago in Oregon. Investigators believe Branden shot to death his current partner, critically wounded a friend who tried to intervene, and then committed suicide Thursday.
It's unlikely that his latest girlfriend, 66-year-old Turid Bentley, knew about his past. In fact, Bentley might not have even known that she and Branden weren't legally married. "He was obviously trying to establish a new legitimate identity, but we know who he really was," said Pierce County Sheriff's Detective Ed Troyer.
When searching Bentley's house, investigators discovered a backpack containing fake identification cards hidden in the attic, Troyer said. Some of the cards identified Branden as a doctor and a pastor; others were blank -- a clean slate in case he needed to reinvent himself again. That's what Branden apparently did when he fled to Washington from Curry County in the southwest corner of Oregon.
In 1999, an arrest warrant was issued for Branden after his girlfriend showed up nude and begging for help at a neighbor's house in the Cape Sebastian area. She told investigators that Branden kidnapped, stripped, bound, raped and assaulted her. "Sheriff's Detective Dave Gardiner learned that Branden, who had displayed a knife, had threatened and planned to kill the female victim, cut her up and place the body in the ocean," Lt. Dennis Dinsmore of the Curry County Sheriff's Office said in a statement. The Sheriff's Office contacted the "America's Most Wanted" television show, hoping the publicity would lead to news of his whereabouts, but the show declined to feature Branden. The Oregon woman Branden assaulted changed her name and moved out of state, Dinsmore said.
Meanwhile, Branden settled down with Bentley in Gig Harbor. Photos confiscated from Bentley's home show that the couple had a wedding ceremony, and their friends believed they were married. Investigators believe Branden might have been trying to scam Bentley out of her life savings, Troyer said. She owned some property, including two plots of land in Idaho where an acquaintance said the couple planned to eventually live. Branden told people he was a retired naturopath. Becky Minton, a friend of the couple, said he helped her young son overcome an illness by recommending natural substances.
Minton added that he was concerned about germs and liked everything to be clean.
"John was kind of on and off," she said. "But Turi always saw the best in people. She was very positive, very enthusiastic." The night of the murder-suicide, police believe, Branden shot and critically injured the couple's friend and yoga instructor, Randall Nozawa. Friends said Nozawa was concerned about the couple and went to the home to help. Last weekend, Nozawa underwent eight-hour reconstructive surgery to repair head injuries, Minton said. He is expected to survive.
