PLACER COUNTY, Calif. – Damon Allen Benson has been sentenced to 71 years in prison in Placer County for his involvement in a chilling murder and torture case. The Placer County District Attorney’s Office confirmed the sentencing. Benson, 31, also known as the “Tinder killer” in local media, was found guilty of murder, aggravated mayhem, torture, felony criminal threats, and false imprisonment by violence.
The horrific events unfolded in the summer of 2021 on the outskirts of Sacramento. Benson met a 29-year-old woman on the dating app Tinder and then held her captive in his apartment in Rancho Cordova, where he proceeded to torture her, including tying her to his ceiling and carving a swastika in her back. Authorities describe it as a “horrific love triangle murder plot” motivated by jealousy.
In a disturbing turn of events, Benson then ambushed 48-year-old Cameron Gabriel in the middle of the night at his home in nearby Rocklin, shooting him dead in his room. Benson claimed self-defense, but surveillance footage reportedly showed him running out of Gabriel’s home yelling, “That’s right, [expletive].” A jury concluded that Benson murdered Gabriel with premeditation and intent.
Cameron Gabriel, a Stanford, Calif. native, was described as gentle, kind, and funny, and never known to speak a harsh word about anyone. Placer County Supervising Deputy District Attorney Jeffery Moore expressed that while the guilty verdict will not bring the victim back, it provides a measure of justice for the victim and their family.
In summary, Damon Allen Benson’s heinous actions have resulted in a 71-year prison sentence in Placer County, California. The sentencing brings some closure to a horrific case that shook the local community.