PHOTOS: Man sentenced to life for burning homeless man to death
Ben Matthew Martin, 31, was sentenced to life in prison without parole for killing a homeless man in the Mid-Wilshire area in 2008. Prosecutors said Martin doused John McGraham, 55, with a bucket of gasoline, lighted a flare and burned him alive.
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Haley Paisley, 10, comforts her mother Susanne McGraham Paisely as she speaks to the media about her brother’s death. John McGraham had suffered from depression and lived on the streets for two decades, spurning efforts by his family and Mid-Wilshire-area residents to find housing for him.
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McGraham’s death shocked the densely populated Mid-Wilshire area where he was a beloved figure for many years. Prosecutors said Martin hated the homeless and lost his job at a barber shop after his boss found out he had been harassing and abusing McGraham and others who loitered on the sidewalk in front of the shop.
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