Killer who torched mentally ill homeless man gets life in prison

Killer who torched LA homeless man gets life term

LOS ANGELES — A judge in Los Angeles has sentenced a former barber to life in prison for killing a mentally ill homeless man by splashing him with gasoline and setting him ablaze with a road flare.

Ben Matthew Martin pleaded guilty last month to first-degree murder, torture and arson causing great bodily harm. The 31-year-old Martin sat with his head bowed during Tuesday’s half-hour sentencing hearing.

Fifty-five-year-old John McGraham was attacked in October 2008. He lived on the streets there and was well known to local residents and merchants. Martin was a neighborhood barber.