She was just 6 when her mother was strangled to death by her boyfriend; 32 years later, state officials paroled the murderer without giving her a chance to speak at his parole hearing.
One of the two surviving children of a woman who was murdered in her home in Burlington in July 1993 is sharing her story of how her mother’s murder affected her – partly as a catharsis, and partly to raise awareness about a parole process that she believes is deeply flawed after allowing her mother’s killer to walk out of prison a free man.
Jeffrey Maurice Willis black, male, was convicted of murdering Kathryn L. Benton at the couple’s home at 1710 Hilton Road in Burlington in July 1993. Willis, then 23, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in Alamance County superior court and was sentenced to life in prison on November 8, 1993.
But sentencing laws that were in place at the time meant that Willis could be eligible for parole within 10 or 20 years of his conviction; and after 32 years in state prison, Willis, 54, was paroled on March 3 by the state Post Release Supervision & Parole Commission and state Department of Adult Corrections.
“I was six and didn’t understand what was going on; I just remember going to her funeral and asking, ‘why isn’t she getting up?’”
– Kimberly Dick, daughter of woman murdered in 1993
Now, Benton’s adult daughter – 37-year-old Kimberly Dick, who was six when her mother was murdered by Willis – is raising concerns about what she says are flaws in the parole process that need to be addressed to safeguard the rights of survivors whose lives have been forever changed.
In an interview with The Alamance News, Dick recalled receiving a letter in late 2024 from the state Post Release Supervision & Parole Commission, informing her that Willis’ case would be reviewed for parole early this year.
The news left Benton’s surviving family members in disbelief. “Initially, I was very angry because I just felt like it reopened that wound all over again,” Dick told the newspaper Tuesday.
Though her biological father lived in the area, and she had a good relationship with him, Dick said she and her brother, Brandon, then four, went to live with their maternal grandparents, Mamie Lillie Benton (who passed away in September 2019) and Cleother Benton, in Burlington.
“I actually saw him this past weekend,” she said of her father, Kenneth Dick. “It was just a better situation for me and my brother to live with our grandparents.”
After graduating from Cummings High School in 2005, Dick went on to study nursing and now works as a licensed practical nurse, though she declined to specify where out of concern for her safety, as well as that of her two children and extended family.
‘Why isn’t she getting up?’
Though she wasn’t at home with her mother the night she was murdered, July 11, 1993, Dick can’t shake the memory of the last thing her mother told her before Willis strangled her to death at age 22.
“My mom and one of my aunts had just come back from visiting one of my uncles out of state,” Benton’s daughter said Tuesday, Before they left on their trip, “I remember her saying she wouldn’t be away long.”
The night her mother returned from her trip, Dick was at her grandparents’ house watching T.V. and complaining that she wanted to go home.
They tried calling her on the phone, didn’t get an answer, and went to the apartment on Hilton Road that Benton shared with Willis, Dick recalled. Her grandfather ended up kicking in the door and discovering Kathryn dead on the bathroom floor.
“I remember him dragging my grandmother out the back door,” said Dick. “I was six and didn’t understand what was going on; I just remember going to her funeral and asking, ‘why isn’t she getting up?’”
Thirty-two years later, Dick looks back on all of life’s milestones that she and brother Brandon missed with their mother.
“I feel like a lot of the stuff I did, going to school, working hard, trying to be the best person I could be, that my mom’s watching over me, she’s proud of what I’m doing.”
– Kimberly Dick
“I feel like a lot of the stuff I did, going to school, working hard, trying to be the best person I could be, that my mom’s watching over me, she’s proud of what I’m doing,” Dick said in the interview. “I have people who see me out in public and they’re, like, ‘you’re Kathy’s daughter.’ Going to middle school, high school, marching in the band – all of the big events in my life, I wonder how this would’ve turned out if my mom would’ve been here. She should be here…I have two children, and my brother has four.”
No expression of remorse
Maybe hoping for closure, Dick was in high school when she wrote to Willis in prison to tell him about the toll his actions had taken. She was stunned by his response.
“He wasn’t showing remorse for what caused him to be in jail. I really don’t feel like he’s sorry for what he did – he’s only sorry for what caused him to be in jail all those years.”
– Kimberly Dick
“His whole letter was, ‘woe is me,’” Benton’s daughter recalled in the interview. “He wasn’t showing remorse for what caused him to be in jail. I really don’t feel like he’s sorry for what he did – he’s only sorry for what caused him to be in jail all those years.”
At the same time, Dick said that neither she nor her family members are looking for hollow words from Willis. “Nobody wants his apology,” Dick said, adding that she struggles to forgive him.
“Being in the medical profession, knowing how long you have to hold somebody, it takes a really long time to choke a person to death,” Benton’s daughter explained. “It takes up to five minutes. I believe he was angry about her going out-of-state, and he started and argument once she got home. . . My understanding is he actually stayed in the house with her after the fact.
– Kimberly Dick
Though she was too young to know for certain whether her mother had suffered any previous acts of domestic violence at Willis’ hands, Dick remains unconvinced that her mother was murdered as a result of an argument that had gotten out of hand.
Investigators with the Burlington police department ultimately concluded that Benton and Willis had been arguing that Sunday night, leading to a struggle in which Willis strangled her before turning himself in at the police department the next morning, on July 12, 1993.
“Being in the medical profession, knowing how long you have to hold somebody, it takes a really long time to choke a person to death,” Benton’s daughter explained. “It takes up to five minutes. I believe he was angry about her going out-of-state, and he started and argument once she got home…My understanding is he actually stayed in the house with her after the fact. I think it took a day or so before he turned himself in.”
“I really felt like they didn’t care to hear what we had to say. Just trying to speak with the parole board, I felt like the whole system is one big mess.”
– Kimberly Dick, murdered woman’s daughter 32 years later
After learning of his parole eligibility in late 2024 – which followed several previous notices that Willis could be released, possibly even to his family in Burlington – Dick said she called the number on the notice from the parole commission, hoping to speak at his parole hearing.
Instead, she got brushed aside, Dick told the newspaper. “I was told, ‘you need to speak to somebody with victim services. I remember asking where he was going to be released. I was told they couldn’t say anything for his safety.
“I really felt like they didn’t care to hear what we had to say,” Dick said of her effort to share her concerns about Willis’ possible release with those in charge of making that decision. “Just trying to speak with the parole board, I felt like the whole system is one big mess.”
She never got a return call or an opportunity to speak.
Willis paroled via state reentry program
Earlier this month, Willis was granted parole through a special program called the Mutual Agreement Parole Program (MAPP).
Inmates must meet several criteria to be eligible to participate in the MAPP program, including: they must be confined in a medium or minimum-custody prison; not subject to a detainer or pending court action that could result in a subsequent prison sentence; have no infractions within 90 days of being recommended for the program; and/or were sentenced prior to the effective date of the state’s current sentencing laws (October 1, 1994).
“I know the state of North Carolina says he has served his time, but my mom is not coming back. . . Why should he get to live his life as a free man? I hope when he closes his eyes that that the last thing he sees is the last image of my mother.”
– Kimberly Dick
“I wish that a life sentence actually meant a life sentence and that somebody who takes a life never gets to see the light of a day as a free person. Many more people out there, who I know personally, have shared similar stories. There is a lot that needs to be [changed in] the system for people who commit any type of heinous crime.”
– Kimberly Dick
To be recommended for MAPP, “the inmate should express a desire to participate in improving educational achievements, learning skills, personal growth programs and modifying specific behavior,” according to the state Department of Public Safety, which oversees the program in conjunction with the parole commission. More than 20,000 inmates are released from North Carolina prisons each year, according to DPS, which describes the program as intended to help former inmates successfully reenter their home communities each year.
“I know the state of North Carolina says he has served his time, but my mom is not coming back,” Dick said. “Why should he get to live his life as a free man? I hope when he closes his eyes that that the last thing he sees is the last image of my mother.”
“I wish that a life sentence actually meant a life sentence and that somebody who takes a life never gets to see the light of a day as a free person,” Dick said. “Many more people out there, who I know personally, have shared similar stories. There is a lot that needs to be [changed in] the system for people who commit any type of heinous crime.”
Benton’s daughter struggles against the passage of time to hold on to what few memories she has of her mother, who would be about 53 years old now.
“It’s crazy that it’s a fond memory, but I remember we were living in Gibsonville and had gotten some gum from somebody,” Dick said with a chuckle, as a weight finally seemed to lift from her voice. “I got gum all in my hair and got in trouble; it’s a random memory, but it [blocks out] my last memories of her.
“My youngest daughter looks a lot like her; my oldest is somewhat named after her,” Dick added. “I actually have a picture of her on my living room wall; I have another of her and my dad at the prom; I have her diploma from high school and her senior memory book.
“I’ve had a very emotional, trying [time] since I found out he had been released,” Dick said of her mother’s killer. “He’s going back into society, and I want you to know, there’s all kinds of people who you think are nice but are actually monsters.”
