Gregory Bender, a prominent hedge fund manager who lives close to Orlando, Florida, was dating Jessica Devnani in 2016. Devnani was unaware that Bender had been hiding something from her at the time. He would learn the truth while recuperating at a nearby hospital following treatment. The events that began in the room would have a lasting impact on people’s lives.
Gregory Bender and her Fiancé
Devnani and Bender met online in 2009. Devnani, who was 42 years old, was nearly 20 years younger than him. According to Devnani, he was very intelligent and had an endearing demeanor. He evolved into her closest pal.
According to the news released by CBS News, Devnani encountered a startling turn in their relationship a few years after they were engaged. Devnani decided to pay Bender a surprise visit when he was recovering in the ICU after an operation. There was another woman in his room when she walked in. His then-wife Daymara Sanchez was that woman. Devnani recalled the incident when she entered the recovery room and approached a woman, asking her what she was doing there. In response, the woman inquired as to Devnani’s presence in the space. She responded, identifying herself as Bender’s fiancée and displaying the engagement ring she was wearing. In her response, the woman also identified herself as Gregory Bender’s wife and displayed the ring she wore. According to Devnani, the information shattered her. She said that what she just witnessed had stunned and broken her.
Before Bender finally got in touch with Devnani to explain the situation, several days had gone. He explained to her that the union was solely for financial reasons so he could pay for the woman’s son to attend a superior school system. According to Devnani, she took him back but gave him a deadline to get rid of his wife.
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Devnani and De La Cerda Dating
Devnani claims that after months of Bender stalling, she finally dumped him. In June 2017, a month later, she connected with Patrick De La Cerda through a dating app. Devnani remarked, “I was worried that he would learn about our relationship. According to Devnani, Bender found out about her fresh romance with De La Cerda on Facebook. She claimed that’s when Bender sent threatening messages to De La Cerda. Devnani claims that within months, Bender would send them both ominous warnings. Bender left Devnani a message in which he stated, “I’m giving instructions. And I’m going to have my plan put into action.”
When Devnani and De La Cerda finally had enough, Devnani requested a restraining order against Bender from a judge. The December 2017 injunction stipulated that Bender had to surrender his weapons and was not allowed to speak to Devnani. Devnani claims that the couple was now enthusiastic about the future because Bender was no longer a potential threat. De La Cerda proposed to Devnani by the year’s conclusion. While he awaited the arrival of a ring he had made, De La Cerda gave Devnani a temporary engagement ring.
However, Devnani was never given that ring on the day De La Cerda had planned. On February 27, 2018, Bender called Jessica unexpectedly twice. She tried to call De La Cerda out of concern for his safety, but he didn’t pick up. At that point, she hurried over to De La Cerda’s house where she discovered him lying dead in a pool of blood.
Devnani informed the sheriff’s deputies about Bender as soon as they arrived. Another breakthrough in the investigation occurred when a detective received information from Daymara Sanchez, a woman who was once married to Bender and whom Devnani claims she first met when visiting him in the hospital years earlier.
Daymara, who had been following the news coverage of De La Cerda’s murder, told police about a “murder plan” she had discovered, which she claimed Bender had written outlining a scheme to kill De La Cerda. According to lead detective Chad Weaver of the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office, “Once she told us about the murder plan, that gave us what we needed to get into the house to see, you know, what else was in there.”
When they arrived, they were shocked to discover a murder scheme that resembled the one Sanchez had described, crumpled up in Bender’s home office’s trash. A round casing that matched the rounds found at the crime scene was also discovered. Weaver claimed that these findings provided them with sufficient justification to issue a warrant for Bender’s arrest for the murder of De La Cerda.
Devnani and Gregory Bender’s wife, Sanchez, the two women who were previously the center of Bender’s existence, would reappear when his trial began in May 2021, but this time to testify against him.
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