On June 8, 2017, Lynlee Renick drove home to the Renick family property in Montgomery County, Missouri, and found her husband, 29‑year‑old Ben Renick — a world‑renowned snake breeder — lying face down in a pool of blood inside the couple’s snake facility. First responders feared a snake had killed him, but coroner Dave Colbert soon discovered multiple gunshot wounds and a shell casing on a shelf above Ben’s head. Within hours investigators ruled the death a homicide.
Ben had built Renick Reptiles into an international business, breeding and selling reticulated pythons and other exotic serpents. He and his brother Sam lived with their families on a 70‑acre spread west of St. Louis. Ben and Lynlee had married in 2014 and had a child together; Lynlee also had a son from a previous relationship. The couple had recently taken a large downpayment — about $200,000 — from a prospective sale of part of Ben’s ball python collection that could have been worth roughly $1.2 million.
Police initially investigated whether a robbery or missing snakes were involved; none were. Detectives interviewed Sam and Lynlee; both were cooperative and submitted to gunshot‑residue tests (which later came back negative). Lynlee told detectives Sam might have been upset over Ben’s plans to sell property inherited after the brothers’ father, Frank Renick, killed himself in 2012 amid accusations of fraud. Investigators did not rule anyone out and tested alibis. Sam provided a full account, a polygraph and other evidence and was cleared.
In the days after Ben’s killing, the reptile community raised tens of thousands of dollars to help Lynlee and the children. But investigators continued probing her relationships and activities. Lynlee admitted to having extramarital affairs; a spa employee, Ashley Shaw, told police Lynlee had affairs and confided financial troubles. Text messages showed Ben had confronted Lynlee about money problems and lies. Eleven days after the murder, Lynlee admitted to infidelity and later took a polygraph — which police say she failed on the question “Did you shoot that man?” — though she continued to deny involvement.
Investigators also focused on men in Lynlee’s life. She had a relationship with Brandon Blackwell, whom she met online and with whom she later had a child. Blackwell claimed Lynlee confessed to trying to poison Ben with pills in a smoothie and, when that failed, to arranging Ben’s shooting. Lynlee also had contact with Michael Humphrey, an ex‑boyfriend recently out of prison; Humphrey was an ex‑con with a drug history who had texted and called Lynlee, including on the day of the murder.
For nearly three years the case remained cold. Then, in January 2020, a jailhouse tip and reporting by journalist Dave McKenna produced a breakthrough. Blackwell, then jailed on other charges and seeking a deal, told police a story implicating Lynlee: he alleged Lynlee first tried to poison Ben, and when that failed she enlisted Humphrey. Blackwell said Lynlee and others planned Ben’s killing; he told police that Lynlee had confessed details to him and that she had claimed to have shot Ben herself.
On January 16, 2020, police arrested Lynlee Renick and Michael Humphrey and charged them with Ben’s murder. Ashley Shaw was arrested and offered leniency in exchange for cooperation; she became a key prosecution witness, testifying that Lynlee had solicited pills to put in a protein drink and that, after the shooting, Lynlee asked Shaw to scrub her body and wash her hands. Ashley told jurors Lynlee initially blamed Humphrey for the shooting but later admitted to shooting Ben herself.
The state’s theory portrayed Lynlee as cold and calculating: she allegedly engineered the murder — first by attempted poisoning and then by arranging or committing the shooting — to gain financially from Ben’s life insurance, the sale of snakes, and inheriting the family farm. Prosecutors emphasized circumstantial evidence of motive, secret relationships, and patterns of lying to police.
Humphrey’s trial came first. Prosecutors argued Humphrey was involved in the plot and supplied the weapon. The jury convicted Humphrey of first‑degree murder. Facing that conviction, Humphrey later agreed to cooperate with prosecutors, admitted providing the gun, and told investigators where the murder weapon could be found — in the attic of his girlfriend’s mother. That discovery strengthened the state’s case against Lynlee and undercut defense arguments that Humphrey had acted alone.
At Lynlee’s trial, defense attorneys portrayed her as dishonest and unfaithful but argued that infidelity and lies do not equal murder. Lynlee testified she had been trying to escape an abusive marriage and that she had asked Humphrey to accompany her the day Ben died because she wanted protection when she planned to ask for a divorce. She denied planning or committing the killing. The defense pointed to Humphrey as the shooter, noting he had initially lied and had been convicted at his own trial. Lynlee admitted to lying to investigators multiple times — including falsely accusing Sam of the killing — and to having had relationships with other men. She claimed, however, that she never wanted Ben dead.
The prosecution countered with testimony from Humphrey (who had flipped) and Ashley Shaw. Humphrey testified that he provided the gun and that Lynlee took it and shot Ben after he hesitated — a version that implicated Lynlee directly. Ashley testified that she helped procure pills for Lynlee and later said Lynlee claimed to have shot Ben. Prosecutors also presented evidence of Lynlee’s attempts to conceal evidence and her rapid departure from the farm after Ben’s death, closing her spa and selling the property. They argued Lynlee had the motive and means, and that witnesses’ accounts, while partly inconsistent, painted a picture of her orchestration.
After deliberating, the jury found Lynlee Renick guilty of second‑degree murder and armed criminal action. Jurors acquitted or did not return first‑degree murder verdicts; the conviction was for second‑degree murder. The judge sentenced Lynlee to 13 years for second‑degree murder and 3 years for armed criminal action, to be served consecutively — a total of 16 years behind bars, though under Missouri law what she would ultimately serve depends on parole and other factors.
The case left lingering questions and divided reactions. Ben’s brother Sam, who had been initially questioned by police but later cleared, expressed outrage and called the sentence insufficient for the loss of his brother. Ben’s death also left his children fatherless and the reptile community mourning the loss of a respected breeder. In the years since, Ben’s work has been remembered by fellow breeders and a strain of snake has been named in his honor. The investigation and trials revealed a complex web of deceit, affairs, failed schemes, and violence that turned the outwardly tranquil world of snake breeding into the scene of a deadly betrayal.