Benny Laible, who was serving a life sentence for the 1996 murder of his mother near Howard, has died in prison.

The South Dakota Department of Corrections says Laible, 66, died Tuesday, August 25th.. He had been serving a life sentence after being convicted of second-degree murder in the death of his mother, Kathleen Laible.

Kathleen Laible was a 67-year-old widow who lived on a farm near Howard. On September 26, 1996, a family member contacted the Miner County Sheriff’s Office after being unable to reach her for two days.

Benny Laible became an immediate suspect, and  was arrested the following day in Storm Lake, Iowa. During the investigation, Laible gave conflicting accounts of his mother’s death. He was eventually charged with first-degree murder, with second-degree murder as an alternative.

At trial, prosecutors presented evidence of a history of abusive behavior toward Kathleen, along with statements Laible had made about his mother and his desire to have the family farm. 

A jury ultimately found Laible guilty but mentally ill of second-degree murder and sentenced him to life in prison. Laible appealed, arguing there was not enough evidence to support the conviction and challenging the constitutionality of the state’s second-degree murder statute, among other issues.

In 1999, the South Dakota Supreme Court unanimously upheld the conviction, ruling the evidence was sufficient and finding no constitutional or trial errors that required a new trial.

Laible spent the remainder of his life in state custody. His death Tuesday ends nearly 30 years of imprisonment stemming from the killing of his mother.