Teen charged with stabbing 81-year-old roommate to death in Florida group home

BARTOW, Fla. — An arrest has been made in the weekend murder of an elderly man at a group home in Bartow.

Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said Moses Ojeda, 18, killed his roommate admitted stabbing his roommate to death in his bed on Sunday. Ojeda is now charged with first-degree murder and tampering with physical evidence.

The victim, 81 year-old Patrick Benway, was living in a group home on Blue Bird Avenue managed by ET Home Care LLC. The sheriff said Benway and Ojeda lived there with two other roommates.

Judd said Ojeda had just moved in a day prior after being released from a local hospital. According to investigators, Ojeda said he did not have any problems with Benway and described him as a good person.

Despite this, Ojeda told investigators he went into Benway’s bedroom and stabbed him multiple times. He said Benway did not physically resist, but asked, “Why would you want to do this to me?” before succumbing to his injuries, the sheriff’s office said.

Judd said Ojeda stated he has no regrets and wanted to kill the victim because he was “already dying.”

Following the attack, Ojeda told deputies that he cleaned the knife used and put it back in the kitchen, then removed his blood-stained clothing and placed it in his laundry basket.

Detectives say all of the evidence they gathered was consistent with the suspect’s statements on the stabbing and aftermath.

Ojeda has no prior criminal record.

“This was a senseless and tragic act of violence. Our detectives, forensic investigators, and Bartow Police Department officers worked diligently to take Ojeda into custody and gather evidence to hold him accountable.” Judd said in a statement.

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