Court date set for Oct.

A UC Irvine graduate student accused of killing his ex-wife on the university campus Sunday during a custody dispute over their 4-year-old son had his arraignment postponed Tuesday until Oct. 2.

Brian Hughes Benedict, 35, is charged with murder with a sentencing enhancement of using a firearm. He faces up to life in prison if convicted.

Benedict appeared in court Tuesday afternoon, where he opted to delay his arraignment until the attorney his family has hired, Ronald Cordova, returns from a trip outside the country. A friend of Cordova, attorney Mike Jacobs, appeared on his behalf and requested the arraignment be delayed. Prosecutors released more details of what allegedly happened after 7 p.m. Sunday in UCI’s Verona Place housing facility.

Benedict’s ex-wife, Rebecca Edwina Clarke, 30, was at his apartment to pick up their son, police said.

She had recently been awarded primary custody, and Benedict was ordered to pay child support, prosecutors said. When Clarke showed up to pick up their child, the pair got into an argument and Benedict allegedly swung a hammer at her.

She ran away and Benedict chased her, armed with a handgun, authorities said. As she ran from the home, in the 4200 block of Verona Place toward Parking Lot 23, he shot at her several times, hitting her at least once, police said.

Neighbors reported hearing between five and 10 shots in two separate instances seconds apart. Prosecutors said their son was in the apartment when Clarke was shot. She was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.

Prosecutors said Benedict grabbed his son from inside the apartment and put him in his car. Witnesses feared he was going to try to get away. They detained him until police showed up, less than a minute after the shooting was first reported, officials said.

Clarke was a UCI graduate student who completed her program in 2004, according to university officials.

Benedict is in custody in Orange County Jail in lieu of $1-million bail.