Man sentenced for murder of victim found in plastic storage container
A man was sentenced Sept. 13 to 16 years to life in state prison for fatally stabbing an acquaintance whose body was found in a plastic storage box, according to the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office.
On Aug. 8, a jury found Kenneth Mullen Watkins, 29, guilty of one count of second-degree murder for killing Terry Nigale Benjamin, 52. The special allegation was also found true that he used a knife to commit the crime.
On Jan. 12, 2016, Benjamin’s sister reported him missing. Days before, residents at Benjamin’s apartment complex complained of a foul smell, according to prosecutors.
The apartment building owner entered Benjamin's unit on Jan. 23, 2016, and discovered his body stuffed into a 45-gallon storage container, prosecutors added.
According to evidence presented at trial, Watkins stabbed Benjamin several times on Jan. 4, 2016. He then cleaned up the crime scene, bagged the evidence and piled the bags on top Benjamin’s body after stuffing him in a container, prosecutors said.
Contact the Homicide Report. Follow @jeromercampbell and @latimeshomicide on Twitter.
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