Benassi returns to prison

Friday, February 11, 2011

GREENCASTLE -- A Greencastle woman who served prison time for reckless homicide has been convicted of violating her probation and sent back to prison.

Putnam County Circuit Court Judge Matthew Headley ordered Tonya M. Benassi, 37, back to the Indiana Department of Correction for one year. She will receive credit for 65 days.

Benassi was convicted on Dec. 4, 2008 in connection with the death of her husband Tracy, who died Oct. 15, 2007 as the result of an automobile accident. She was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison, which was to be followed by 18 months on probation.

Because she had spent so much time in jail prior to her sentencing and as a result of Indiana good time credit (one day for each day served without incident) she was released from the Indiana Department of Correction on July 21, 2009.

Sixteen months into her probation, court records said, Benassi tested positive for marijuana. On Nov. 18, Benassi's probation officer, Cody Tillison, asked the court to revoke Benassi's probation.

Benassi had also failed to adhere to other conditions of her probation, such as holding a job, performing community service and entering psychological and drug treatment programs.

When she was arrested in November, Benassi had served 910 days of her sentence. Headley could have reinstated as much as 500 days.

Tonya and Tracy Benassi were involved in an automobile accident on Oct. 12, 2007. The accident happened when the couple got into an argument.

The Benassis' vehicle left the raised roadway on which it was traveling and fell onto a set of railroad tracks below. Tonya and Tracy Benassi were both flown to an Indianapolis hospital. Tracy died three days later.

Tonya Benassi was also convicted of felony welfare fraud on Dec. 4, 2008 and was given a nine-month sentence to run concurrently with the sentence she received for the reckless homicide conviction.

Comments
View 3 comments
Note: The nature of the Internet makes it impractical for our staff to review every comment. Please note that those who post comments on this website may do so using a screen name, which may or may not reflect a website user's actual name. Readers should be careful not to assign comments to real people who may have names similar to screen names. Refrain from obscenity in your comments, and to keep discussions civil, don't say anything in a way your grandmother would be ashamed to read.
  • Some people just never learn thier lessons!

    -- Posted by obeone on Fri, Feb 11, 2011, at 9:33 AM
  • Not sayin she was wrong or right, but he was as big a piece of crap as she is.

    -- Posted by dcsaiht on Fri, Feb 11, 2011, at 10:48 AM
  • Who are you to judge a person? He was a man with a bad addiction. We all have our problems including you my friend!

    -- Posted by punkin01 on Sun, Feb 13, 2011, at 4:57 PM
Respond to this story

Posting a comment requires free registration: