Updated at 2:45 p.m.

A former Gladstone police sergeant who arranged the 2011 death of his wife in her beauty salon was sentenced Tuesday to life in prison without the possibility of parole.



Lynn Edward Benton made no statements before a Clackamas County judge imposed the sentence. The decision arrived four days after a jury found Benton guilty of aggravated murder, criminal conspiracy to commit aggravated murder and attempted murder in the death of Debbie Higbee Benton. The salon store owner was found shot, beaten and strangled in a storage room in her shop in May 2011.



Although Benton's sentencing brings some finality to the long-running murder case, Higbee Benton's death could be at the center of two more trials. Benton's longtime friend, Susan Campbell, and her son Jason Jaynes also are accused of aggravated murder in the case. Jaynes is scheduled for trial in March. No trial date is set yet for Campbell.



Benton, 54, and his wife of seven months were well known in Gladstone, the Clackamas County town of about 12,000. Benton was a police officer in the town for more than two decades and was once the face of the department as its public information officer. Higbee Benton was a beloved owner of the beauty salon on the town's main street for at least 20 years.



In an agreement signed Tuesday, Benton waived his right to a sentence decided by a jury and agreed to accept a prison term of life without parole. Jurors could have imposed the death penalty, life without parole or a life sentence with the possibility of parole after 30 years. He can still appeal his sentence.



Benton met Higbee Benton in 2008, and they married in October 2010. Born Lynne Irene Benton, the sergeant spent the majority of his law enforcement career as a female. He began to transition to male in 2010, before he wed Higbee Benton. He legally changed his name to Lynn Edward Benton.



The couple's relationship began to deteriorate after Benton's transition. He moved out of their Gladstone home a month before his wife's death.



According to witness testimony, Higbee Benton had disclosed that Benton once pinned her arm behind her back and slammed her into a wall, causing her to tear her rotator cuff. She also claimed Benton pinned her against a wall with his forearm against her throat on another occasion.



Prosecutors said Benton wanted his wife dead in part to prevent domestic violence allegations from affecting his job. Benton offered Campbell and Jaynes $2,000 to kill Higbee Benton, prosecutors said. He also made an earlier attempt on his wife's life by trying to give her an overdose of fentanyl, prosecutors said.



Benton, wearing a gray suit, appeared to show little emotion at his sentencing hearing. After the sentence was announced, he appeared to take a deep breath as he stood alongside his attorneys Patrick Sweeney and Deanna Gentry. Sweeney put his hand on Benton's shoulder, and Gentry stood on the other side of him and rubbed his back.



Higbee Benton's younger brother, Tony Stephens, and Stephens' girlfriend, Marcy Juntunen, said after the hearing that prosecutors had met with them Monday. The victim's family explained that Higbee Benton would have wanted a life sentence.



"My sister Debbie would never have wanted anybody to be put to death," Stephens said.



Stephens and Juntunen both read statements to Benton in court. Stephens said he'd always remember his sister's laugh and smile.



"I hope no one does to you in jail what was done to my sister in her salon," Stephens said in his statement. "The beating she took, no one deserves that. Not even you."



Stephens said he recalled happier times with his sister and brother-in-law, including spending holidays together and celebrating the couple's wedding. But he said Benton became more distant when he began transitioning to male. Higbee Benton swore their mom and sister to secrecy after telling them Benton was abusing her, he said. Stephens said he lives with guilt of not knowing and confronting Benton about it.



Benton's attorneys, prosecutors and Benton's family declined to comment after the hearing.



The sentencing means an ongoing civil case against Benton can move forward. A $900,000 wrongful death lawsuit filed by Higbee Benton's mother, Irene Berg, has been on hold since May 2016, pending the outcome of the murder trial.



Benton also faces separate charges in Multnomah County of unlawful possession of a controlled substance. The charges stemmed from the time of his arrest, when police found fentanyl prescribed to Higbee Benton. The case is currently on appeal as Benton's attorneys and prosecutors argue over the search warrants used in the case to obtain the drugs.



-- Everton Bailey Jr.

ebailey@oregonian.com

503-221-8343; @EvertonBailey