Harry Bennett was found stabbed to death inside his Johns Island apartment on Aug. 20, 2017, after a neighbor noticed he wasn't answering his door. For nine years, the case sat unsolved, until Charleston police say new DNA testing linked a 69-year-old man who had been questioned early in the investigation to the crime scene, leading to his arrest this week.
Henry James Brisbane, of Charleston, was arrested Tuesday and charged with murder and possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime, according to People. He is being held at the Sheriff Al Cannon Detention Center, and per the seed reporting from Live 5 News, he waived his bond hearing earlier this week.
Bennett, who the seed reporting describes as a well-known socialite who talked to people around the apartment complex, was discovered inside his Johns Island rural housing apartment after the neighbor's call. Charleston Police Department detectives obtained a search warrant and processed the scene, and department spokesman Daniel Wilson said Bennett had been violently attacked in his apartment, according to Live 5 News.
A Familiar Face From the Start
Brisbane wasn't a stranger to investigators. He was described as an associate of Bennett's, and detectives interviewed numerous people, including Brisbane, during the initial investigation, but the case went cold, as People reports. Despite the limited leads, detectives kept the investigation open for years.
The break came earlier this year, when detectives revisited the case alongside the department's Forensic Services Division and its DNA technical leader, identifying additional evidence suitable for analysis, according to ABC News 4. The station notes that new forensic technology made that review possible, and the results tied directly back to Brisbane.
DNA Results Point to a Breakthrough
The station's report states that DNA results linked the 69-year-old Brisbane to the crime scene, providing the breakthrough that ultimately led to his arrest, according to police. Charleston Police Department maintains its own DNA lab, and the agency's Forensic Services Division has previously worked to expand its accreditation to cover DNA analysis, according to the City of Charleston.
Wilson said the resolution gave Bennett's loved ones closure, per Live 5 News. Omar Burch, one of Bennett's sons, told the outlet that his family had waited years for justice and answers about his father, and that the new DNA evidence finally brought that justice.
A Family Still Grappling With Grief
But Burch also made clear the arrest doesn't erase the loss. He said the arrest did not bring his father back, and instead brought more pain to the family, according to Live 5 News. It's a sentiment that underscores how a cold case cracking open can deliver answers without delivering peace.
Police are still asking anyone with additional information to come forward. Tipsters can call Charleston police at 843-720-2422 and ask for the on-duty central detective, or submit an anonymous tip online through the department.
