Wilson acquitted of murder

PALMER — A jury acquitted a man who shot a young mother in Butte in November of all but a single charge, attorneys and family members said Monday.

Benjamin Wilson was convicted of a single count of coercion, the least serious of eight counts against him, according to multiple attorneys. Jurors dismissed counts of first-degree murder, two types of second-degree murder, manslaughter, kidnapping, and an additional count of coercion. The victim in the case, Letitia Faller, 28, of Butte, was found shot once in the head and dying in the parking lot of a popular Butte convenience store.

Jury deliberations lasted three days, and jurors reached a verdict about 5 p.m., Friday. The verdict was announced at an 8:30 a.m. hearing Monday.

Coercion is a class C felony, and Wilson still faces up to five years in prison, according to Alaska statutes. A sentencing in the case has been set for June.

Wilson, incarcerated since November, was expected to post $2,500 bail Monday afternoon, family members said. A sentencing for the case has been set for June, some of Wilson’s relatives said.

Wilson’s mother, Karen Wilson, spoke tearfully about the verdict and the instances that led up to Faller’s death. Beyond the trial itself, the Wilson family faced ongoing threats arising from the incident, Wilson said.

“Hell,” she said, when asked what the trial had been like. “I loved Letitia and I loved Ben and this is the worst thing, and now I have people still threatening my family.”

The family’s belief in Wilson’s innocence has been unwavering, Karen Wilson said.

“I knew he was innocent, and I believe very honestly Torin (Ford) set him up,” she said. “A lot of Letitia’s friends believe the same thing.”

Ford’s testimony about the incident featured references to Willie Nelson and John Rambo, as well as an attempted verbal confrontation with public defender Jeffrey Bradley.

Ford claimed to have been Faller’s boyfriend of three years, and also claimed to have been kidnapped in the hours leading up to a confrontation between Wilson and Faller, which ended when Wilson shot Faller.

Prosecutors characterized the incident as a kidnapping staged by a spurned lover to make a romantic rival look weak during closing statements last week.

“I am a little disappointed but I do respect the decision of the jury,” wrote lead prosecutor Lindsey Burton in an email. “They worked very hard and certainly cannot be accused of making this decision lightly. Since they did convict on the coercion count for Letitia, I like to think that there was some recognition of what Mr. Wilson put her through in the day before she died.”

Bradley characterized Ford, who testified under subpoena, as unreliable in closing statements. While Wilson’s attempt to scare Faller straight by staging a sham kidnapping of Ford was ill-conceived, it ultimately arose from noble intentions, Bradley told jurors.

Bradley declined the opportunity for comment Monday.

Contact Brian O’Connor at 352-2269, brian.oconnor@frontiersman.com, or on Twitter @reporterbriano.