Man allegedly killed by teen was convicted years ago in infamous Kansas City abuse case
A 45-year-old man who authorities say was killed last month by a 16-year-old in a Kansas City residence was previously convicted of child endangerment in an infamous abuse case from more than 10 years ago.
Marcus R. Benson, of Kansas City, was found shot to death Dec. 30 in a home in the East Blue Valley neighborhood.
A 16-year-old, identified in court documents only by his initials, is charged with second-degree murder by the Office of the Juvenile Officer, which acts as a prosecutor in juvenile cases. Available court documents establish no alleged motive for the killing.
In 2012, Benson ended up in the crosshairs of law enforcement after Kansas City police, acting on a tip from Missouri social services, entered an apartment in the 1300 block of Highland Avenue and found an emaciated 10-year-old girl in a closet. Authorities later concluded that she was kept locked away inside the small space off and on for years, never leaving to go outside and play or go to school.
The girl, identified as L.P. in court documents, weighed 32 pounds, roughly half the average for a girl of her age. Police officers found her locked inside the closet by shoestrings and noted an overwhelming stench of urine coming from the living space.
Her mother, Jacole Prince, was arrested and L.P. and her two other children were taken into custody. L.P. later required a heart transplant.
Neighbors at the time told authorities and The Star they never saw L.P. leave the apartment. They knew of Prince and her two younger daughters, who they always described as clean and neat when they were outside playing.
Benson was the father of Prince’s two younger daughters. He denied living at the apartment or knowing of the abuse, though authorities contended he regularly visited and was aware of the conditions L.P. was living in.
Prosecutors alleged at the time that Benson had regular contact with L.P. and knew of the abuse. He was also accused alongside Prince of “physically abusing (LP) by hitting her with their fists in her stomach, face, back and legs, which have left the marks, scars and bruises on (LP’s) body,” according to court records.
In 2013, Benson pleaded guilty to a single count of endangering the welfare of a child, a felony, and was sentenced to five years of probation. He was ordered to stay out of trouble or face as long as seven years in prison.
One of the conditions of Benson’s probation was to not have contact with children — a condition he was found to have violated six months after entering his guilty plea. In October 2013, Benson’s probation was revoked.
Prince, meanwhile, was sentenced to 34 years in Missouri prison. She remains incarcerated in Chillicothe, state corrections records show.
On Dec. 30, Kansas City police officers were called to the 6900 block of East 17th Street on a reported shooting. The 911 caller told police her teenage son had contacted her by phone saying he shot Benson inside the house before running away to a nearby park, according to court documents.
She directed officers to the bathroom, where Benson was found dead of multiple gunshot wounds. The teenager was taken into police custody that evening.
Because the alleged shooter is a juvenile, the case is being handled in Jackson County’s Family Court. The second-degree murder charge requires a mandatory certification hearing to determine whether the teenager will be tried as an adult.
This story was originally published January 9, 2023 at 8:20 PM.
