Rocklin Murder Questions Remain Unanswered For Family After Arrest
ROCKLIN (CBS13) — An arrest was made in a Rocklin murder mystery that police say was not a random incident. A tip from a potential witness led them to the suspected killer.
The family of the victim, 48-year-old Cameron Gabriel, said this arrest leads them to more questions than answers.
"We're at a loss to understand," said Joseph Headley, Gabriel's uncle.
Headley said his nephew was a man who had no enemies.
"For the family, finding out that it was not completely random...how the hell do you make sense of that?" he said.
Police say they know the connection between Gabriel and his suspected killer, 29-year-old Damon Benson, and the motive but they're not releasing that information to the public or to Gabriel's family.
"How was he involved with this guy? What was the relationship?" Headley said.
Gabriel was found shot dead in his Midas Avenue apartment in late July. The family says he had returned home from an online date that night when he was shot to death. He was found by his roommate days later.
Neighbors say this kind of crime doesn't happen in Rocklin.
In early August, Rancho Cordova police led investigators to a witness who identified Benson as a shooting suspect. Benson was already in the Sacramento County Main Jail on six felony charges, including torture, dismemberment and battery.
Benson was arrested on August 2, just one week after Gabriel was killed.
Rocklin police say the cases spanning two counties are connected but are not saying how or whether Gabriel is the victim in the Sacramento County case.
Gabriel's family members call this arrest progress, but with no known connection between these two men, they are left with more questions about this murder mystery.
"It further makes less sense of the current senselessness," Headley said.
Benson has been transferred to the South Placer County jail where he was booked on murder charges
[EDITOR'S NOTE: A previous version of this story incorrectly reported that Benson was facing a dismemberment charge rather than a maiming charge.]