SILVER SPRING, Md. (WUSA9) — Wednesday, a woman from Mississippi was convicted of killing a Maryland man who she was in a romantic relationship with in 2012.
Thirty-seven-year-old Katrina Renee Ben was found guilty of first-degree murder and use of a handgun in the commission of a crime of violence in the death of 25-year-old Eric Somuah of Silver Spring.
Somuah was killed in June 2012. Officers found Somuah with a gunshot wound to the head after responding to his apartment in the 1100 block of East-West Highway to check his welfare on June 6. A family member called police after he or she could not get in touch with Somuah and Somuah had not been to work, according to police.
Police say a spent shell casing was recovered at the scene. Officers noted that the apartment was locked and there were no visible signs of forced entry.
According to police, Katrina Ben was the last known person to be with Somuah in his apartment before his death. During an interview, police say Ben told detectives she was Somuah’s neighbor and that she was involved in a romantic relationship with him.
Police say the day after the homicide, a partially disassembled gun was found on Interstate 495 near Colesville Road by someone and was turned over to police. The bullet recovered from Somuah’s body was examined by the Montgomery County Police-Firearms Examination Unit and the rifling characteristics from the bullet were determined to be consistent with the gun recovered from the Interstate, according to police.
Detectives also determined that Ben purchased a gun at a pawn shop in 2004, say police, and that the make, model, and serial number on that gun and the recovered gun matched.
According to State’s Attorney John McCarthy in a statement on Wednesday, “Ms. Ben is a dangerous woman who let jealousy take control of her actions. It was a cold blooded murder in a man’s own bed – she calculated, planed and executed what she thought was the perfect crime. But through excellent detective work and a good Samaritan park ranger we tracked the gun all the way to Mississippi and finally to this defendant.”
Ben has a sentencing hearing set for December 15.
