 In 1936 Benavente's name became associated with the assassination of the Spanish poet and dramatist Federico García Lorca.This happened when the Nationalist newspapers "Estampa", "El Correo de Andalucia," and "Ideal" circulated a fake news story that Lorca had been killed as a reprisal for the Republican murder of Benavente.Benavente died in Aldeaencabo de Escalona (Toledo) at the age of 87.