ST. GEORGE’S, Grenada (AP) – A man accused of killing a tourist from Georgia in a machete attack on an isolated beach in Grenada made his first appearance Wednesday before a judge on the Caribbean island to face a charge of capital murder.
Dave Martin Benjamin did not enter a plea and was not given an opportunity to speak in the brief hearing. A lawyer has not yet been appointed to represent him. The 27-year-old could get the death penalty if convicted. Grenada has not carried out an execution since 1978.
Hundreds of people gathered outside the courthouse to get a glimpse of Benjamin as he was led into court in jeans and a checkered shirt.
The suspect surrendered to authorities Monday, a day after the body of Jessica Colker, a 39-year-old physician’s assistant from Atlanta, was found in a wooded area near an isolated beach where she had been walking with her husband.
Benjamin became the chief suspect because people had seen him begging on the beach before the incident, Acting Police Commissioner Winston James said after the court hearing. He did not disclose what other evidence investigators had collected and said that Benjamin had not confessed to the crime.