SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — The southwestern Minnesota man who is accused of strangling a Sioux Falls woman to death made his first court appearance Tuesday in Pipestone County.
KELOLAND’s Don Jorgensen was there and so were family members of the victim.
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The arraignment hearing for Joseph Benson didn’t last long, but it was still emotional nonetheless.
The mother of 38-year-old Samantha Koehne, Joy Feyereisen, hugged her husband and broke down crying after attending Tuesday’s arraignment.
Benson is in jail, charged with 2nd degree murder. He’s accused of killing Samantha earlier this month.
Benson wasn’t in court today, he appeared via Zoom and it only lasted a couple of minutes.
Samantha’s uncle Mark Koehne, who also attended today’s arraignment, says his niece didn’t deserve this.
“She was always pretty quiet and called me Uncle Mark all the time and I’m going to miss that,” Koehne said.
According to court documents, police responded to a report of a possible domestic assault at a home in Edgerton on November 2, where Benson and Samantha were staying.