An 18-year-old was charged with the murder of his 81-year-old group home roommate in Central Florida.
Polk County Sheriff’s Office homicide detectives arrested 18-year-old Moses Ojeda for the murder of his roommate on Blue Bird Avenue in Bartow this month.
The victim, 81-year-old Patrick Benway, was living in a group home managed by “ET Home Care, LLC” along with three other roommates. One of those roommates, Ojeda, had just moved in a day prior after being released from a local hospital. Ojeda told detectives that he did not have any problems with the victim and described him as a good person.
During the investigation, Ojeda confirmed that he entered the victim’s bedroom where he was lying in bed and stabbed him multiple times. The victim did not physically resist but did ask, according to Ojeda, “Why would you want to do this to me?” before succumbing to his injuries.
According to law enforcement, Ojeda stated he has no regrets and he wanted to kill him because he was “already dying.”
Following the attack, Ojeda told deputies that he cleaned the knife used and put it back in the kitchen, then removed his blood-stained clothing and placed it in his laundry basket.
All of the evidence gathered by detectives was consistent with the suspect’s statements regarding his stabbing the victim.
“This was a senseless and tragic act of violence,” said Sheriff Grady Judd. “Our detectives, forensic investigators, and Bartow Police Department officers worked diligently to take Ojeda into custody and gather evidence to hold him accountable.”
The suspect has no prior criminal record. According to local law enforcement, he was arrested and charged with first-degree murder and tampering with physical evidence.
