CALIFORNIA BRIEFING / LOS ANGELES
A onetime barber used a road flare to set a homeless man on fire after pouring gasoline on him, prosecutors said today in filing a capital murder case against the accused killer.
L.A. County Head Deputy Dist. Atty. William Hodgman said Ben Matthew Martin, 30, was charged with one count of murder with special circumstance allegations of murder by torture and murder by means of lying in wait in connection with the killing of John Robert McGraham.
The special circumstances allegations make Martin eligible for the death penalty if convicted. Martin also is charged with one count each of torture, arson causing great bodily injury and arson of property. Police arrested Martin in Riverside County last week. He allegedly was connected to the 2008 slaying by witnesses and DNA at the scene of the crime. The killer left a red plastic gasoline can behind at 3rd and Berendo streets.
More to Read
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
