May 9, 2007
M
y
na
m
e
is
W
illi
a
m
D
avi
d
Di
ce
.
I am
the
prou
d
griev
ing
fathe
r of
Benj
ame
n
Hug
o
Dice
.
I was raised in
Dayton, Ohio
& I attended
Ruskin
Elementary
School &
Stivers High
School & I
served in The
United States
Navy for 4 ½
years during
the Vietnam
War.
Myself & Benji’s
mother Cathy Jo
Dice-Getter are
honorable law
biding tax paying
citizens of The
United States Of
America that were
unjustly victimized
by a vicious,
needless, senseless
& sadistic criminal
act of violence.
My son
Benjame
n was
born &
raised in
Bellbroo
k, Ohio
& was a
graduate
of
Bellbroo
k High
School.
He
learned
how
to do
carpent
er
work
&
frame
houses
at the
age of
15
years
old.
H
e
di
d
th
at
o
n
hi
s
o
w
n.
He
alw
ays
ha
d
a
str
on
g
wo
rk
ethi
c.
He
was
his
ow
n
ma
n
&
did
his
ow
n
thin
g.
He moved to Ft.
Collins Colorado
& started his own
business from
scratch called Dice
Custom Framing
& built many
beautiful homes &
structures with his
own two hands
high in the
mountains of
Colorado.
He
wa
s
ver
y
pro
ud
of
tha
t
&
just
ly
so.
He
started
a
remod
eling
busines
s &
went
to
work
for
long
hours
everyd
ay.
Th
e
to
ols
he
us
ed
for
his
tra
de
.
He
mo
ve
d
ba
ck
in
wit
h
me
for
aw
hile
.
I
went
into
the
VA
hospit
al for
30
days
& he
came
to see
me
everyd
ay.
When I
got out
of the
hospital
he
moved
into an
apartme
nt with
his
girlfriend
in
Miamisb
urg,
Ohio.
She
was
with
him
two
wee
ks
later
whe
n he
was
kille
d.
He took
me out
to
dinner
for
fathers
day &
when
we left
he gave
me a
hug &
told me
he loved
me.
I got
the
call
from
the
coro
ner
a
day
later
at
2a.m
. in
the
morn
ing.
The
y
told
me
my
son
had
bee
n
mur
der
ed.
Ove
r
500
peo
ple
sho
wed
up
at
his
fune
ral.
Th
ey
ca
me
fro
m
all
ov
er
A
me
ric
a.
I
coul
d
see
the
deep
hurt
&
sadn
ess
in
their
face
s.
Not
only
for
Benj
but
for
me
&
his
mot
her
&
our
famil
ies.
His
girlfrien
d
cared
about
him
deeply
& I
still
have
the
card
that
she
left in
his
coffin.
I
hugged
each
one of
them &
thanked
them
for
loving
&
caring
about
my son
Benji.
One person after
another shared how
my son Benji had
helped them out
when they were
down on their luck
or had performed
work for people
who had the
inability to pay
simply as an act of
kindness &
generosity.
How he
had
encourag
ed them
to be the
best they
could &
never
give up
on their
dreams
&
ambitions.
I
wa
s
so
pr
ou
d
of
my
so
n
tha
t
da
y.
Especial
ly so
by the
fact
that so
many
different
people
had
loved
&
cared
about
him.
That
in
itself
speak
s well
for
my
son
&
what
kind
of
perso
n he
was.
So
me
one
left
a
little
whit
e
car
d
that
sim
ply
said
;
“Be
n
was
a
grea
t
pers
on
&
he
will
be
miss
ed
a
lot”
His friends
from
Colorado
brought
pictures of
the
beautiful
homes &
structures
he had
built high in
the
mountains
of
Colorado.
They
planted a
tree for him
& put up a
monument
for him
high atop
Horse
Tooth
Mountain
where he
had seen
Haley’s
Comet.
He
wa
s
so
exc
ited
he
call
ed
his
mo
m.
He
al
wa
ys
ha
d
a
sm
ile
for
yo
u.
He
co
uld
ma
ke
an
yo
ne
sm
ile.
Benji
was
a
blessi
ng to
our
lives
& to
the
lives
of
many
other
s.
Th
ere
we
re
a
lot
of
tea
rs
she
d
that
day
.
I
stood
at my
son’s
coffin
& I
promi
sed
him
that
he
had
not
died
in
vain.
I
had
to
do
so
met
hin
g
to
hel
p
my
son
.
I promised
him that I
would use his
violent,
morbid,
gruesome,
needless &
senseless
death to help
others who
still suffer
from the
horrible
disease of
addiction.
I
lov
ed
my
so
n
&
he
lov
ed
me
.
I
k
ee
p
m
y
c
o
m
mi
t
m
en
ts.
In his
honor
&
memo
ry we
are
carryi
ng on
his
traditi
on of
helpin
g
others
.
That
was
his
histo
ry
&
lega
cy
&
who
he
reall
y
was.
The Benjamen Hugo Dice Foundation was started & it’s website www.flybenji.org is widely
acclaimed as a powerful addiction recovery resource & it has been seen by
over 15,000 people from all over America.
The
day
my
son
was
killed
he
compl
eted
his
work
&
got
paid.
All he had
to his
name was
an old
beat-up
pickup
truck
worth
$150.00,
A few
hand &
power
tools & a
few
clothes.
He
als
o
ha
d
a
do
g
na
me
d
Fly
.
Fly &
Benji
were
inseparab
le as he
had
brought
him back
from
Colorado
& had
raised
him from
a pup.
They
worke
d
togethe
r,
slept
togethe
r &
travele
d
togethe
r in
that
beat-u
p
truck.
T
h
e
y
w
e
r
e
a
te
a
m
.
We found
Fly a good
home in the
country but
he kept
running
away to try
& find
Benji & he
got hit by a
car &
killed in
October
2006.
He
sim
ply
did
not
wa
nt
to
live
wit
hou
t
Be
nji.
Ho
pef
ully
the
y
are
bac
k
tog
eth
er
agai
n.
This tragic
event has
totally
devastated
our whole
family &
Benji’s
mother
Cathy Jo
will never
ever be
the same
again.
There
is no
strong
er
love
than
the
love
that a
mothe
r has
for
her
son.
Sh
e
&
Be
nji
w
er
e
ve
ry
cl
os
e.
Sh
e
is
not
tak
ing
thi
s
ver
y
we
ll
at
all.
She
is
left
brok
en
heart
ed,
victi
mize
d &
dam
aged
for
life.
His
brother
Duke is
damage
d
forever
as the
two of
them
grew up
together
&
brothers
are one.
Our
families
will
never be
the same
again &
this
father
simply
feels
deeply
hurt &
devastate
d &
betrayed.
My
son
did
nothing
to
deserv
e
what
happe
ned to
him
on
that
fateful
day.
In
honor
of my
son I
need to
come
to his
defense
as he is
not
here to
speak
for
himself.
There are
a few
things that
our family
feels
needs to
be
considere
d when
the final
sentence
is decided
upon.
1. It is
our
understan
ding that
our son
Benji was
familiar
with,
knew &
trusted
the
person
that
robbed &
murdered
him.
It is our
underst
anding
that he
had
allegedl
y
purchas
ed
narcotic
s from
him in
the
past.
That
he
had
met
him
at
this
sam
e
locat
ion
in
the
past.
That
is
why
he
had
no
fear
of
mee
ting
him
ther
e.
My son went
to him to
purchase
narcotics for
himself or
someone else
& brought
cash with him
that he had
performed
work for to
pay for his
purchases.
He
did
not
go
ther
e
to
har
m
or
hurt
any
one
.
Darnell T.
Valentine has not
been charged
with illegal drug
trafficking which
means he is
simply getting
away with that
without penalty
for lack of
evidence in so
much as he killed
the key witness.
2. My son
Benji was shot
in the back
multiple times
& he
somehow
made it out of
the front door
which proves
that he was
trying to get
away or avoid
confrontation.
Shooting & killing an
unarmed human being
with an illegal weapon
is bad enough in itself
but shooting an
unarmed man in the
back that is trying to
get away from harm
is a total disgrace to
society, humanity,
mankind & the human
race.
A
coward
ly act
of
sadistic
cruelty
&
violenc
e that
simply
defies
all
logic &
reasoni
ng.
Esp
ecial
ly
whe
n
he
shot
him
mor
e
than
onc
e.
That act
in itself
proves
that
Darnell
T.
Valentine
is a
dangerou
s
psychopa
th & a
threat to
society
forever.
He
simpl
y
can
never
be
truste
d not
to
pull
the
trigge
r &
kill
again.
He
will
not
learn
anyt
hing
in
priso
n
that
will
chan
ge
that.
A minimum sentence of
15 years in prison for
committing such a
cowardly act is simply
not enough & in our
opinion a disgrace to
our judicial system &
our family as it is also
our understanding that
he had been busted for
carrying illegal firearms
in the past.
It is also our
understanding
that he has
refused to talk,
cooperate with
detectives or
reveal the
identity of
another person
that may have
been involved
in this crime.
A
perso
n that
was
seen
leavin
g the
premi
ses
after
the
shooti
ng.
The
murder
weapon
was
never
located
or
found
due to
his
refusal
to talk
or
co-oper
ate.
His refusal to
talk clearly
implies that
others may
have been
involved in this
robbery &
killing that are
still out there
on the streets
& could kill
again with the
very same
weapon.
It also
proves
that
he is
not an
honest
man
that
can
ever
be
trusted
again.
Everything he has
done since the day
he was arrested was
simply for the
purpose of saving
himself or other
people that may have
been involved in this
crime without regard
for his victim
Benjamen Hugo Dice
or his victim’s family.
He
reque
sted
a
new
free
public
defen
der at
tax
payer
expen
se.
A
new
lawyer
just
to
delay
the
trial
which
simply
benefit
ed
him &
no
one
else.
Our family
was very
generous &
lenient in
allowing him
to cop a plea
which
essentially
gave him a
second
chance at life
as he is a
very young
man.
A
seco
nd
chan
ce in
life
that
he
really
does
not
deser
ve.
By all
rights
& in
our
opinio
n he
shoul
d be
going
to the
electri
c
chair.
My
son
Ben
ji
got
no
sec
ond
cha
nce
at
life.
He is dead.
S
t
o
n
e
c
ol
d
d
e
a
d
.
His
ash
es
are
in
a
box
in
my
livin
g
roo
m.
There are
$39,429.
56 in
unpaid
medical
bills that
Darnell
T.
Valentine
should
rightfully
be held
responsibl
e for.
Th
ey
are
se
ndi
ng
the
bill
s
to
me
.
He
has
also
been
forgive
n all
fines
becaus
e he is
suppos
edly
indigen
t.
It is for these very reasons we hope
& pray that your honor will do the
right thing & not allow the
aggravated burglary charges to run
concurrently with the murder
charges & throw the book at him as
a just reward for shooting an
unarmed man in the back not once
but twice while he tried to get away
& for his failure to be honest &
cooperative with detectives that
represent the Great State Of Ohio.
A
Stat
e
that
he
has
no
res
pec
t
for
or
it’s
law
s.
Our
judicial
system has
given
Darnell T.
Valentine
much more
than he
deserves in
lieu of the
brutal &
violent
nature of
his crime.
That
may
have
saved
taxpayers
money
but it did
nothing
to take
away
our pain
or
restore
our loss.
No one has offered to pay
for our counseling or
therapy & we also paid all
the funeral expenses from
our own pocket as we are
told that we will not be
receiving any victim
financial assistance because
of the drug related nature of
this crime which simply
further magnifies our grief,
misery & victimization.
Th
at
w
as
ov
er
$4
,5
00
.0
0.
He
sho
uld
be
hel
d
res
pon
sibl
e
for
that
.
Noth
ing
on
this
earth
is
more
valua
ble
than
a
huma
n life.
Nothi
ng
on
this
earth
was
more
valua
ble
than
my
son’
s life.
It
w
a
s
n
o
s
m
al
l
th
in
g.
The
life
of
my
beau
tiful
son
Benj
ame
n
Hug
o
Dice
.
Now
it is
time
for
the
judicial
system
to
give
somet
hing
to the
familie
s of
the
victim.
Justice
to
protec
t the
public
from
a
vicious
killer
named
Darnel
l T.
Valenti
ne.