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TV ClubHouse: Archive: Deena Bennett: Archive through April 02, 2003

Amac

Friday, January 10, 2003 - 09:48 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Deena Bennett

Kaili

Saturday, January 11, 2003 - 06:15 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Of the women, she's the most "average" looking. This may help her in terms of being approachable. I bet she laughs a lot.

Webkitty

Saturday, January 11, 2003 - 09:33 am EditMoveDeleteIP
I'm not getting a feel for her yet.

Occupation: Deputy District Attorney
Hometown: Riverside, California
Age: 35

Hermione69

Saturday, January 11, 2003 - 10:21 am EditMoveDeleteIP
She might be a hard-player, a "don't discount me because I am a woman" type. I'm guessing this from the job.

Lycanthrope

Saturday, January 11, 2003 - 12:17 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
A lawyer. I don't have anything against lawyers, per se, but she's a D.A. You gotta have a mean streak to be a D.A. This may favor her or it may not, depending the others' perception of her.

Wiseolowl

Sunday, January 12, 2003 - 08:16 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Agree with Hermione and Lycanthrope

Ketchuplover

Monday, January 13, 2003 - 06:34 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
She's the winner :)

Pamy

Tuesday, January 14, 2003 - 07:44 am EditMoveDeleteIP
She lives by me!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Car54

Tuesday, January 14, 2003 - 10:36 am EditMoveDeleteIP
OK Pamy...get to work...STALK HER! We want weight loss info, employment status, big purchases...the whole 9 yards. Get your black outfit and your big sunglasses from Fruitbat and Squaredsc.

Fruitbat

Tuesday, January 14, 2003 - 11:24 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Pamy! I will come and we can do a stake out!

Twiggyish

Tuesday, February 04, 2003 - 04:01 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Watch this woman. I think she's another Sue. She's tough.

Car54

Thursday, February 13, 2003 - 01:16 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
From the North County Times:

Local prosecutor aims to be 'Survivor'
JOHN HALL
Staff Writer
When the reality show "Survivor: The Amazon" starts Thursday, one of those vying for the $1 million prize will be a veteran deputy district attorney assigned to the recently opened Southwest Justice Center in French Valley.


Deena Bennett, 35, will be among the 16 contestants trying to "outwit, outplay and outlast" all the rest and be the sole survivor not voted off the popular CBS show. The sixth in the series of "Survivor" shows begins with a 90-minute kickoff episode at 8 p.m. Thursday.

A twist in the new "Survivor" will be a battle of the sexes as the two "tribes" will be split into eight men and eight women.

While those who watch the show may be seeing Bennett for the first time, she is probably best known locally for her 1999 prosecution of Kerry Martin, a former Baptist pastor, for the rape and molestation of an underage girl at the Temecula church he once led.

The case was initially classified as a child molestation and Martin could have faced slightly more than five years in prison. However, the underage victim revealed at a court hearing that she had sex with Martin. More out-of-state victims were found and Martin was ultimately found guilty and sentenced to 205 years in prison.

Bennett spent several years assigned to the Riverside County district attorney's family violence unit and has sent numerous child molesters and spouse abusers to prison. With last month's opening of the Southwest Justice Center, Bennett now serves as the lead attorney in charge of preliminary hearings there and still has two homicide and two child sexual abuse cases pending, officials in her office confirmed.

Part of the process to make it on "Survivor" includes taping a video telling producers about yourself. Bennett taped a portion of hers in the courtroom of Judge Robert Taylor in which she explains her job. In it she says, "if you hurt, abuse or kill a child, then I am your worst nightmare."

Because Bennett is under contract with the producers of "Survivor," she is not allowed to talk to anyone about her experience on the show, or its outcome, until an episode airs showing either that she has been voted off the show or the winner is announced.

However, some of Bennett's friends and colleagues were more than happy to talk about her. None of those interviewed were too surprised when they found out that Bennett was a "Survivor" contestant.

Robert Spira, a Superior Court trial team leader with the DA's office, has known her for about 10 years and the two worked in the family violence unit together for about half that time.

"Deena is so out there that she'll take on anything," Spira said with a laugh. He described her as having a "larger-than-life personality."

"She's very extroverted," he said. "What you see is what you get with Deena. She never holds back her feelings on things."

While it is yet to be seen whether that will be a successful strategy on "Survivor," Spira said he expects that Bennett will do well on the show.

"The job we do as prosecutors requires knowing what people are like ... and it takes some ability to figure people out," he said, citing as examples the skills it takes to select a jury for a trial and "knowing the motivations behind a criminal mind."

"Deena does her job very well, which leads me to believe she'll do well here, too," Spira said.

Spira doesn't claim to have anywhere near the knowledge of "Survivor" that Bennett has, but he does say he understands the conflicts that can arise between "Survivor" contestants.

"There are the strategies of not only the players, but also the producers as far as what is shown," he said. "I would expect, given the very nature of the show, that there will be some conflicts.

"Deena is certainly capable of dealing with that. She'll handle them well," Spira said.

Physically, Bennett should be up the challenges of "Survivor." While attending Cal State Fullerton in the late 1980s, she was a member of that school's NCAA championship softball team.

She continues to spend a lot of time exercising and is very active in the outdoors, her friends say.

"It's more like she exercises for adventure," longtime friend and fellow prosecutor Karen Gorham said. Bennett prefers to run or bike in the middle of nowhere, Gorham said.

Bennett has been "an addict" of "Survivor" since the show started, Gorham said.

"She'd come to work and talk about the last episode and all the tactics of the people," Gorham said. "I think she'll do pretty well because she's watched the show for so long. She's smart and knows how to play the game."

Bennett was gone from Oct. 27 to Dec. 15 last year to tape the show, according to the district attorney's office, but only a handful of people knew why. Most thought she was merely on a sabbatical ---- possibly to one of the exotic, far-off places she has been known to go.

Being in the Amazon seems like a perfect fit for Bennett, whom Gorham said "has always taken rather unusual vacations," some of which have included sleeping in the jungle.

According to Bennett's biography on the official "Survivor" Web site, she has traveled to Brazil to see the rainforests, and to Australia to climb Ayers Rock and dive the Great Barrier Reef.

When "Survivor: The Amazon" debuts Thursday, there will be a show-watching party attended by Bennett and many of her friends and co-workers, Gorham said.

"It's going to give us the chance to make fun of her," a smiling Gorham said.

Spira said he also plans to be at the viewing party.

"I'm very proud of her," Spira said. "She has the courage to do things I can't even imagine myself doing." He added that he has "incredible admiration" for someone who takes on such a tremendous challenge of making it through a difficult screening process and then actually making it onto the show.

And if Bennett should be the sole survivor and come away from her latest adventure with $1 million?

"It wouldn't change her one bit," Gorham said.

"It would be the same Deena we all know and love," agreed Spira.

Bennett lives in the Riverside area with her husband Paul, who is a sheriff's deputy, and their sons, Zachary and Caleb.


Contact staff writer John Hall at (909) 676-4315, Ext. 2628, or jhall@californian.com.

2/11/03

Niceguy

Friday, March 07, 2003 - 05:44 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Well, Deena's first executive decision went off without a hitch. She has to be careful from now on because it will become more noticeable to the others how people are picked off.

Lycanthrope

Friday, March 07, 2003 - 10:01 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Yeah, I think Deena is now the ringleader of the alliance, a la Rich Hatch. How she aligns after the merge will be crucial.

Moondance

Friday, March 07, 2003 - 10:15 am EditMoveDeleteIP
I really like Deena! Her and Christy are my favorites.

Twiggyish

Friday, March 07, 2003 - 01:10 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Yeah, I like her no nonsense attitude. She's got a good head on her shoulders.

Denecee

Friday, March 07, 2003 - 01:23 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
I like Deena but I think she might have made a mistake by not alligning with the"strong women. When they merge, Heidi & Jenna, will have a much better chance of not getting the boot IMO because the men will want to get rid of the "strong" women first.

Moondance

Friday, March 07, 2003 - 01:24 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Twiggs... have you seen her audition tape on the CBS site, it is good. Toward the end of it she says she wants to have the Suvivor diet... LOL

She seems so real and down to earth!:)

Pamy

Friday, March 07, 2003 - 05:55 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
I am thinking that Deena is the one chillone talks about not being hot in the beginning but gets hotter at the end. She looked prettier last nite and that was only after 11 days. Gotta root for her since she is from my city. I still want Christy to win but Deena could be 2nd!

Webkitty

Sunday, March 09, 2003 - 06:09 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Did anyone else notice last on last Thursday's show that Deena is starting to look thinner? Especially her face.

Pamy, any Deena sightings yet?

Hermione69

Sunday, March 09, 2003 - 07:16 am EditMoveDeleteIP
I noticed that also, Ms. Kitty. They are still being very mean to her over at Sux, though!

Webkitty

Sunday, March 09, 2003 - 07:47 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Lol, the are mean to everyone over there, even the other posters. I can't believe how some people are still challenging ChillOne at this point, rather rude, imo. Can you image how thrilled WE would be to have him HERE?
Everyone with a spoiler, no matter how small, runs there. <sigh>

Pamy

Sunday, March 09, 2003 - 09:31 am EditMoveDeleteIP
No sightings yet! I wish the spoiler people would come here, we are so much nicer, why don't they? The people at sux suck!

Pamy

Sunday, March 09, 2003 - 09:32 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Yes, I noticed too. See my thoughts above about her being part of C1 spoiler

Catfat

Wednesday, April 02, 2003 - 02:40 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Deena's smirky bragging is beginning to remind me of Danielle from Big Brother last year. There is nothing more off-putting than a smart-aleck winner.