Damon Benson: Tinder date gets 71 years after carving swastika on woman's back and killing her lover

ROSEVILLE, CALIFORNIA: In a Placer County courtroom on Tuesday, Damon Benson, a man from Rancho Cordova, California, was sentenced to serve 71 years to life in state prison. 

Benson had been convicted of torturing a woman, his lover who he met on Tinder, aiming to discover the whereabouts of her other lover, whom he planned to murder under the cover.

What did Benson do?

During the summer of 2021, Damon Allen Benson, now 31 years old and convicted in September, carved a swastika into the back of a tortured Jewish woman.

At the time, the victim, then 29 years old, was tied to his ceiling with a rope and held against her will at his apartment. The purpose behind the horrifying act was to obtain the address of her other lover for the intent of murder.

Prosecutors, describing the case as a horrific love triangle murder, outlined that the woman and Gabriel had also connected through the Tinder dating app. 

Out of jealousy, Benson forcibly entered Cameron Gabriel’s home in Rocklin, ambushed the victim, and fatally shot Gabriel. Benson then attempted to justify the killing as an act of self-defense.

However, Benson's self-defense narrative quickly unraveled when surveillance video revealed his entry into Gabriel’s home 'in the middle of the night' and his subsequent escape from the scene while taunting the victim.

Further, The DA officers said that the investigation revealed that Benson executed an ambush on the male victim inside his residence, resulting in his death in his room. Subsequently, Benson fled the scene. 

The footage captured Benson rushing into the victim's home in the middle of the night, followed by immediate gunfire, and Benson fleeing the premises while yelling as per Law&Crime.

What did Prosecutors say?

Judge Jeffrey Penney of Placer County Superior Court handed down a sentence of seven decades-plus to life in the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation for Benson.

Prosecutors emphasized that this severe sentence was deemed necessary to ensure he doesn't victimize anyone again.

Placer County’s Supervising Deputy District Attorney Jeffery Moore said in a statement about justice that should be given to victim, “This is a day for justice for the victim and the victim’s family. We recognize this verdict will not bring [the victim] back and that we cannot undo what this defendant has done to their family."

He added, "We are humbled to provide justice for this horrific crime to the greatest extent our laws allow, The defendant shows a clear danger to the public and a callous disregard for human life.”

Who is Cameron Gabriel?

According to Obituary, Cameron Gabriel was murdered on July 25, 2021, approximately seven months after relocating to the state where he grew up, following two decades of living in Oregon.

Survived by his mother, stepfather, and two sisters, one of whom was his twin, Gabriel was described as a kind and humorous man.

He was never known to utter a harsh word about or to anyone, refrained from consuming alcohol or using drugs, as mentioned in the obituary.

Instead, the victim was remembered as a positive individual celebrated for his witty jokes, entertaining stories, and adherence to Buddhist spiritual beliefs, according to his family members.