Suspects' Mom Arrested After Teen's Rape and Murder: 'She Was Hiding Something,' Victim's Dad Says
A Washington mother has been arrested for her suspected actions following the vicious rape and murder of a 16-year-old boy late last month, allegedly at the hands of the woman’s two sons, PEOPLE confirms.
Kindra Rose Adamson, 43, of Randle, was arrested on Tuesday and charged with two counts of rendering criminal assistance in the first-degree in the death of Benjamin Eastman III, Lewis County Prosecutor Jonathan Meyer tells PEOPLE.
Adamson is the mom of Benito “Benny” Marquez, 16, and 21-year-old Jonathon Adamson, who have both been charged with first-degree murder and rape, among other counts, in Eastman’s beating death.
“[Kindra’s] arrest is based on her actions and knowledge of the crime after the homicide, but prior to the arrest of the two suspects,” the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office stated in a news release.
A probable cause affidavit in Kindra’s case, obtained by PEOPLE, shows authorities believe she learned of Eastman’s death not long after it happened on June 24 but was “deliberately misleading” in a subsequent police interview. She allegedly said she had “no idea where was Ben was at and he [was] like a son to her,” the affidavit states.
But Kindra’s younger son, Marquez, told her what they’d done later that Sunday while “destroying evidence” at her house with her present, the affidavit alleges.
Eastman’s last known interaction while he was alive was a series of messages exchanged with Marquez early on June 24, prosecutors have said. Authorities believe he was “lured” into the woods “under the guise of a camping trip,” then attacked by Marquez, his lifelong friend, and Marquez’s older brother.
Eastman’s body was found on June 28 in a shallow grave on property owned by the suspects’ grandparents.
His dad, Benjamin “B.J.” Eastman Jr., tells PEOPLE he believes “she [Kindra] was hiding something.”
“When we first went to her house looking for Ben,” B.J. says, “she came outside and told us she came outside herself at 3 a.m. [on June 24] looking for Ben because he told Benny he was on his way over.”
Kindra is scheduled to appear in Lewis County Superior Court on Wednesday afternoon. It was not immediately clear if she or Brown have retained attorneys who could comment on their behalf.
Detention records show Kindra remains behind bars without bail.
B.J. told PEOPLE he last saw his son on the night of June 23. The next morning, when he realized Ben had left home, he figured the teen was at Marquez’s house, where he often spent time as the two had been close friends since kindergarten.
With his son still missing days later, B.J. began a desperate search.
His hunt for his son turned into a nightmare when Ben’s body was found wrapped in plastic and twine in a lonely stretch of a local property. The dirt covering his body was marked by a homemade cross of sticks.
According to charging documents previously obtained by PEOPLE, Ben had been sexually assaulted with a stick and savagely beaten and kicked — and, to “ensure” he was dead, he’d been repeatedly hit on the head with a rock. Authorities said he died of blunt force trauma.
On June 29, police took Jonathon and Marquez into custody after they allegedly fled the county and headed east.
PEOPLE’s attempts to reach Marquez’s family were not successful. A lawyer for him and Jonathon previously declined to comment, saying it was still early in the case.
The brothers are being held in lieu of $10 million bond each and are tentatively scheduled to return to court on Thursday.
“Our agency will continue to hold those involved in this horrific act responsible for their actions,” Lewis County Sheriff Robert Snaza said in a statement. “This includes anyone else who may be identified as part of this investigation in the future.”
Anyone having additional information on the incident is encouraged to call the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office at 360-748-9286, or Lewis County Communications at 360-740-1105.
