A man was charged Friday with fatally stabbing an acquaintance whose body was found in a plastic storage container after neighbors complained of a foul smell, prosecutors said.
Kenneth Mullen Watkins was ordered to remain jailed in lieu of $2 million bail while awaiting arraignment March 23 at the downtown Los Angeles courthouse on a murder charge and a knife use allegation stemming from Terry
Nigale Benjamin's death, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.
Authorities said Benjamin had last been seen alive Jan. 4. He was reported missing.
The body of the 52-year-old man was discovered later that month in a plastic storage box in his apartment. The owner of the apartment complex in the 4100 block of Santo Tomas Drive went to the unit after tenants complained about
a foul smell, authorities said.
Benjamin had been stabbed multiple times, according to prosecutors.
The criminal complaint alleges that Benjamin was killed sometime between Jan. 4 and Jan. 12.
Watkins was arrested Wednesday by Los Angeles police, according to jail records.
Local
Get Los Angeles's latest local news on crime, entertainment, weather, schools, COVID, cost of living and more. Here's your go-to source for today's LA news.
He faces up to 26 years to life in state prison if convicted as charged, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.
