John Jefferson
Background: Adam Bennefield (WGRZ/YouTube). Inset: Ke’Aira Bennefield (Brown-Robinson Funeral Homes).
A judge in upstate New York cut off a convicted murderer in the middle of his statement during his sentencing because it sounded too “narcissistic” and lacked any kind of remorse for killing his wife in front of three children.
State Supreme Court Justice M. William Boller on Friday sentenced 47-year-old Adam R. Bennefield to 25 years to life in prison — the maximum prison sentence for second-degree murder. The jury convicted him of killing 30-year-old Ke’Aira Bennefield, also known as Ke’Aira S. Hudson. Adam Bennefield slammed his pickup truck into his estranged wife’s car around 8:30 a.m. Oct. 5, 2022, in the area of Richlawn and Shawnee avenues in Buffalo. After the crash, the suspect walked up to his wife’s car with three children inside and blasted her with a shotgun. She died on scene.
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Her 12-year-old daughter, the oldest of her children, testified during his three-day trial, the Buffalo News reported. The jury took just an hour to convict the estranged husband, the Erie County District Attorney’s Office said in a press release. Prosecutors asked for the maximum sentence.
“He deserves every minute of it,” said Erie County Assistant District Attorney Colleen Curtin Gable. “He did not learn his lesson from his conviction in 2000. He takes no responsibility for his actions whatsoever.”
Adam Bennefield had previously served a 15-year prison sentence for the armed kidnapping of two women, including an ex-girlfriend, according to local CBS affiliate WIVB.
When it was his time to speak, the convicted murderer showed no remorse which led to a verbal exchange between him and the judge. Local NBC affiliate WGRZ posted a video of it.
“I agree that we all lost someone special,” he lamented. “I loved my wife and she’s gone.”
Bennefield went through a litany of grievances, claiming prosecutors withheld evidence and that the all-white jury was biased against him.
“I don’t want to be here,” he stated.
Boller said he had heard enough and cut him off, shouting: “You’re here because a jury convicted you of brutally killing your wife.”
Bennefield whined, prompting Boller to go off again.
“You’re a narcissist,” the judge said. “I’ve heard enough from you.”
Bennefield continued to argue, insisting that Boller “hear” him out.
“Hear me out: Shut up!” the judge fired back.
Boller then kicked Bennefield out of the courtroom and apologized to the family. He said he wished he could sentence Bennefield to life in prison without the possibility of parole, but was bound by the law.
“I will give him the maximum because if anybody deserves it, he does,” Boller said.
The jury also convicted Bennefield of aggravated criminal contempt and three counts of endangering the welfare of a child.
“This was a callous, cold-blooded murder committed by a defendant who intentionally shot his estranged wife in the head in the presence of her three small children. I commend the victim’s daughter for having the strength and courage to testify against her mother’s killer,” Acting Erie County DA Mike Keane said in a statement after the conviction.
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