WAUKESHA — A Florida man charged with first-degree intentional homicide waived his preliminary hearing in court Wednesday. Prosecutors say he stabbed and killed a man on a bus in Pewaukee last month.
Drew Bennett, 22, is charged with first degree intentional homicide, use of a dangerous weapon. He faces life in prison if convicted.
Bennett appeared in court in custody before Court Commissioner Kevin Costello Wednesday morning. He’s represented by Attorneys Nicole Ostrowski and Amanda Nimmer, public defenders. The prosecutor on the case is Assistant District Attorney Kevin Michael Osborne.
Costello established on the record with Bennett Wednesday that Bennett is receiving mental health care and consequently taking nightly medication.
Bennett along with his attorneys waived his preliminary hearing and entered a not guilty plea. He’s scheduled to next appear in court Jan. 26 before Waukesha County Circuit Court Judge Jennifer Dorow.
In the meantime, Bennett remains in custody at the Waukesha County Courthouse with a bail of $1 million.
Case Background
According to the criminal complaint, deputies were dispatched to Pewaukee Nov. 18 at about 6:08 p.m. following an incident reported on a Greyhound Bus. The bus had been traveling westbound on Interstate-94 from Milwaukee to Madison, with 14 passengers in addition to the driver. “The driver called to report an injury to a passenger who had walked to the front of the bus and reported to the driver he had just been assaulted,” the complaint states.
Deputies arrived on scene to find a subject performing CPR outside the front door and steps of the bus. Law enforcement took over CPR until fire department officials arrived, but the victim was eventually declared deceased.
A search of the bus found “blood spattered in several areas” and deputies observed “a knife sheath on top of a blanket or sleeping bag on a seat in the back of the bus.” A detective located a bloody knife as well.
Passengers identified an individual in the back of the bus as possibly involved. The individual was identified as Bennett.
A person Bennett had been traveling with said they’d been coming from Florida to Wisconsin to stay with a relative. She said she was asleep and then woke up and saw the victim bleeding. Investigators determined Bennett and the person he was traveling with were sitting in seats near one another with Bennett sitting directly in front of the victim.
A passenger allegedly stated they heard a commotion and saw the victim bleeding, who stated “I have been stabbed.” The complaint states the passenger then observed Bennett “with a distressed look on his face.”
In video footage from the bus, the complaint says Bennett can be seen with a sheathed knife in his hand. In interviews with law enforcement, he allegedly admitted to stabbing the victim. At one point, he allegedly said he thought he “was saving a woman and a child” and “heard something about a secret mission.”
He allegedly said he thought the victim behind him had a gun, and that he, Bennett, was “being a hero.” He allegedly said he told the victim to get off the bus and put his knife to the victim’s chest.
“When asked how he saved the woman and child, Bennett replied, ‘it’s hard for me to say,’” the complaint states. The complaint also says Bennett spoke about voices from other passengers and the intercom telling him to “handle it” and “use the knife...” He allegedly told law enforcement he’d not heard voices before.
An autopsy of the victim found a stab wound at the base of his neck.
