June 5, 2008
Gary Davidson
Public Information Officer

SHERIFF’S OFFICE INVESTIGATING SHOOTING DEATH IN DELTONA 

The Volusia County Sheriff’s Office is investigating an apparent shooting Thursday morning that claimed the life of a Deltona woman. Sheriff's investigators have begun searching the inside of a Deltona home where a 76-year-old woman was apparently shot to death Thursday morning. The victim’s husband, 82-year-old Robert Benjo, was still being questioned Thursday afternoon about the circumstances that led up to the shooting. Investigators plan to charge Robert Benjo with 2nd-degree murder with a firearm.

Deputies were dispatched to the home at 1691 Rim Avenue at 10:14 a.m. after receiving a call from a family member about a shooting at the residence. The family member wasn’t at the Deltona home at the time of the shooting, but a Sheriff’s Office telecommunicator was able to call the residence and convince Robert Benjo to walk outside. Deputies arrived at the house three minutes after the call came in, detained Benjo for questioning and then briefly went into the house to confirm that Benjo’s wife, Peggy Benjo, was dead. Deputies then exited the home and waited to obtain a search warrant so that crime scene technicians could go into the house and collect evidence from the shooting. Investigators began the search of the home shortly after 2:30 p.m.

The death is under investigation by the Sheriff’s Office’s Major Case Unit.

The Volusia County Medical Examiner’s Office will conduct an autopsy to confirm the cause of death.