Orange County District Attorney Press Release
For Immediate Release: September 12, 2014
Case # 09HF1629
SHOOTING-MURDER OF EX-WIFE OVER CHILD SUPPORT PAYMENTS
SANTA ANA – A graduate student at the University of California, Irvine (UCI) was sentenced today to life without the possibility of parole plus an additional 25 years to life in state prison for shooting and murdering his ex-wife outside of his campus apartment related to a dispute over child support payments. Brian Hughes Benedict, 40, was found guilty by a jury Aug. 7, 2014, of one felony count of special circumstances murder for financial gain and lying in wait with a sentencing enhancement for the personal discharge of a firearm causing death. In addition to his prison sentence, Benedict was ordered to pay $191,000 in restitution to the victim’s family. Continue reading