Benito “Benny” S. Marquez awaits his turn to go before a judge in Lewis County Superior Court for bail hearing
By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – Prosecutors say 16-year-old Benjamin Eastman III was sexually violated with a stick during a fatal assault by his friend and the friend’s brother in which he was hit and kicked to death before being buried in a shallow grave the suspects marked with a cross made of sticks in Randle.
Lewis County Prosecutor Jonathan Meyer today charged Benito S. Marquez, 16, and his older brother Jonathon R. Adamson, 21, with first-degree murder and other offenses including first-degree rape.
Benjamin Eastman III
2002 – 2018
All three are from Randle. Detectives have said Eastman and Marquez lived near each other and were longtime friends.
“We’re not going to talk about motive at this time,” Meyer said after a court hearing for the defendants.
Meyer says the brothers lured Eastman to a wooded area under the guise of a camping trip on or about Sunday June 24. Eastman’s father reported him missing on Wednesday and investigators discovered his body this past Thursday on property off the Cispus Road belonging to the brothers’ grandparents.
The brothers appeared in Lewis County Superior Court this afternoon, in a nearly packed courtroom, represented by defense attorney Scott Johnson from Tri-Cities and a second lawyer.
Meyer asked they be held in lieu of $10 million bail and Judge James Lawler agreed.
Eastman lived with his father BJ Eastman on the 100 block of Gharet Road East in Randle and he last saw his son before going to bed on the Saturday night, according to authorities.
As deputies began looking for the teen, they were provided with his cell phone records which showed he was in contact with his friend and classmate Marquez, who goes by Benny, in the early morning hours on Sunday, according to charging documents.
Eastman indicated in a text he would be traveling to his buddy’s home, in the last activity on his phone, according to prosecutors.
When Marquez was interviewed last last week, he denied Eastman ever showed up.
Based on subsequent interviews with the suspects, detectives were able to determine the two planned to assault Eastman when they lured him to a wooded area, Meyer wrote in charging documents. Meyer said he didn’t know where that location was.
It was estimated by Adamson the assault lasted between 20 and 45 minutes, continuing after Eastman was on the ground; with well over 100 kicks delivered to the victim, according to the allegations. The pathologist agreed that number could be correct, based on the extensive injuries to Eastman’s head and torso, according to Meyer.
Adamson allegedly told authorities he pulled down Eastman’s pants and inserted a stick from the scene into Eastman’s rectum, while Marquez held Eastman’s shoulders, according to Meyer.
The two allegedly hit Eastman repeatedly with a large rock to ensure he was dead and buried him in a shallow grave at the scene. His and the brothers’ clothing along with a shovel were burned in a burn pile behind the brothers’ home, according to Meyer.
A short time later, concerned the site would be discovered, the brothers allegedly removed the body, wrapping it in plastic and twine from their grandparents’ barn and re-buried him on the grandparents’ property.
Detectives were were initially told that was a gravesite for a dog, but last Thursday when Lewis County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Ken Cheeseman got permission to search the property, he began to move the soil and uncovered a human foot, according to authorities. The grave was marked with a cross made of sticks.
Attempts to contact the brothers at that time revealed they had fled the area. Late the following afternoon, Adamson and Marquez were found when troopers made a traffic stop on Interstate 90 near Ellensburg.
The brothers are also charged with tampering with physical evidence and unlawful disposal of remains. If convicted, they face a maximum penalty of life in prison, according to Meyer’s charging documents.
Meyer said although Marquez is a juvenile, under the law a 16-year-old or a 17-year-old is automatically charged in adult court, for certain crimes.
The arraignments are scheduled for July 12.
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For background, read “Brothers arrested in death of 16-year-old Randle boy” from Saturday June 30, 2018, here
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Jonathon R. Adamson is escorted to the defense table for a bail hearing in Lewis County Superior Court