Authorities said two Washington brothers lured a 16-year-old boy to the woods under the guise of a camping trip but instead sexually assaulted and beat the teen to death.
According to The Olympian, Jonathan R. Adamson, 21, and Benito S. Marquez, 16, were charged Monday with first-degree murder, first-degree rape, tampering with physical evidence, and unlawful disposal of remains in connection with last week’s slaying of Ben Eastman III. Eastman’s father reported the teen missing on Wednesday, three days after he was last seen.
Court documents obtained by the newspaper stated that citizens and the family members located disturbed soil and a cross made out of sticks at a Randle property owned by the brothers’ grandparents. While Adamson reportedly claimed he and Marquez had buried an animal there, investigators spotted a human foot peeking out of a shallow grave.
An autopsy confirmed the body belonged to Eastman, according to The Daily News. The victim’s cause of death is listed as blunt force trauma to the head.
KOMO reported that Adamson estimated that he kicked Eastman 100 times. The brothers are believed to have also repeatedly bludgeoned Eastman with a rock.
Eastman’s cell phone records indicated that he and Marquez had contact during the wee hours of June 24. Text messages between the pair suggested that Eastman was heading to see Marquez. However, Marquez told investigators that they never met up, The Olympian reported.
Charging documents alleged that Adamson and Marquez lured Eastman to a wooded area by inviting him camping. Instead, they allegedly sexually assaulted Eastman with a stick before beating the teen to death and burying his body.
“The defendants realized the burial site would likely be discovered. So they dug up the body, wrapped Eastman in plastic from the barn of their grandparents, wrapped it with twine and buried the body on the [grandparents’] property,” documents stated.
According to The Daily News, the pair tried to conceal the crime by burning their and Eastman’s clothes in addition to the shovel head they used to bury Eastman. The shovel head was reportedly recovered from a fire pit.
Washington State Patrol troopers arrested the brothers Friday afternoon amid a traffic stop on Interstate 90 in Ellensburg.
Adamson and Marquez are each being held on $10 million bail. Records indicate that Marquez will be tried as an adult due to the severity of the crime.
“There is evil people out there. I don’t know what makes them tick. I don’t want to know,” the slain teen’s father said following a Monday court date.
“I’m loved, and my son was loved and that’s all I’m about.”
[Featured Image: Ben Eastman/Facebook]
