Man who stabbed wife gets 7-year sentence

3/9/2012

A Toledo man convicted of stabbing his wife multiple times was sentenced in Lucas County Common Pleas Court to seven years in prison.

Walter L. Benton, Jr., 30, of 1057 Orchard St. entered a plea Feb. 17 to 14 counts of felonious assault, one for each time he stabbed her in an altercation in September.

Benton was arrested three days after his wife, Jessica, 22, was found Sept. 29 in an apartment in Vistula Manor. She had been stabbed in the face and body. Authorities said the assault was preceded by a domestic dispute.

Judge Gene Zmuda sentenced Benton Wednesday to seven years in prison on each count and ordered them to run concurrently. He noted the victim spoke on Benton’s behalf, saying that he needed help and not prison.

The judge dismissed an attempted murder charge as a result of the plea agreement.