Should victim’s rights be expanded in Delaware?

In Part Two of this report, Emily Lampa spoke to a victim's rights advocate who knows the Nicole Bennett murder case quite well.

Abby Marsh, director of legal services at the Life Crisis Center in Wicomico County, tells 47 ABC that Nicole's family may have been deprived of a key service that all victims and their families are entitled to.

"Not everything can fall into place all of the time, but to the best of my ability, as a prosecutor I wanted to ensure the process was known to the family, that they were involved in it, that they had the loudest voice at the table," Marsh said. "Even if I couldn't do what they wanted to have done, they would feel as if they were part of the process. I think that's critical."

Abby Marsh has been following the Nicole Bennett murder case for the past five years–not just because it's been in the headlines–but because she was the former deputy state's attorney in Worcester County. She was set to prosecute Nicole's killer, Matthew Burton, before Delaware took over the case in August 2013.

Marsh, along with Sgt. Sabrina Metzger, the former lead investigator from the Maryland State Police Homicide Unit, made it out to Georgetown for the change of plea hearing on April 5th.

"If I could have been there for every hearing, I would have been there for every hearing," Marsh said. "From the day that I got the call and responded to the scene, I wanted to ensure, again, that I could do everything possible to see that justice was accomplished in this case for Nicole Bennett and her family."

"It was a very short, quick hearing," Sgt. Metzger said. "Having the judge make him admit in open court, 'Yes, I did rape Nicole Bennett, yes, I did murder Nicole Bennett,' that gives you a little bit of satisfaction. Because until that point in time, he's never said that. He's never claimed any responsibility."

Both Marsh and Sgt. Metzger admit they were as shocked as the family over the plea deal. But the victim's rights attorney says she was even more disappointed by how the Bennett family was treated through the pre-trial motions up until the plea hearing.

"That was difficult because based on my conversations with the Bennetts, it appeared that there had been less than sufficient contact with someone from the prosecutor's office throughout the process to help them understand what was happening in the case: the different motions, what was going to lead up to this potential plea."

According to Delaware Attorney General Matt Denn's website, there are victim service organizations that provide such things as "victim advocacy, crisis intervention, information about the case and court accompaniment."

47 ABC confirmed with Bob Bennett that the family did not have a dedicated victim's advocate in Delaware. He claims that most of the time the family dealt directly with prosecutors.

"My knowledge of the legal system is limited, so I don't know if they were doing all they could," Bob Bennett said.

Delaware attorney John Brady admits victim's rights in Delaware could use an upgrade. He believes what happened with the Bennetts could kick-start that change.

"It may be now that we break it out and bring special victim notification issues for serious class A, B and C felonies," Brady says.

Marsh says it should be the catalyst for a change, but it remains to be seen if it will be.

47 ABC spoke with Delaware State Representative Rich Collins, who says he plans to propose expanding the victim's rights legislation in the First State.

"While there is a requirement in state law that a victim be notified about plea bargaining and things like that, it looks to me like it could definitely be strengthened," Rep. Collins says. "In fact, I think I'm going to look into that, putting an amendment to that bill or that law so that possibly we could do that."

Brady says this is a policy year and it's the right time to get something in.

"The Bennett family can go up and testify on the bill and they could say this is what they tried to do so that other families are not similarly situated when a horrific type of thing happens to their family," Brady said.

The Bennett family admits they're still holding out hope that the federal court system will consider taking up the case. 47 ABC spoke to a representative from the U.S. Department of Justice who explained that in order to pursue charges in a case, they would need to take a look at all details first to see if they have jurisdiction.

Burton is currently serving his sentence at the Sussex Correctional Institution. After the plea hearing in April, Nicole Bennett's oldest daughter read a statement asking for Burton to serve his sentence at a different facility, the reasoning being that she and her sister must drive past SCI twice everyday on their way to and from school, a painful reminder of the man who murdered their mother.

A spokesperson for the Department of Correction says that while all requests are considered, it's not common for requests like this to be granted. Most transfers are typically done if there is an issue of security for an inmate or for correctional staff.

47 ABC requested an interview with Matthew Burton in prison. Responding by letter, Matthew Burton and Burton's defense attorneys declined.