A UC Irvine graduate student pleaded not guilty Friday to shooting and killing his ex-wife on campus last month.
Brian Hughes Benedict, 35, pleaded not guilty to murder with sentencing enhancements for allegedly killing his ex-wife, Rebecca Clarke, 30, to save money on child support.
Published reports claim that a judge had increased Benedict’s child support payments shortly before the killing.
According to police, on Sept. 13 Clarke came to Benedict’s Verona Place apartment to pick up their 4-year-old son. She had full custody, police said. The ex-couple got in an argument. Benedict chased Clarke with a hammer outside the apartment, then shot her as she ran away, prosecutors said in a news release.
