Stabbing Death Of Teen Results In 40-year Sentence

MARIETTA, GA -- A Woodstock man has been ordered to serve 40 years in prison after pleading guilty in the stabbing death of a fellow teenager. On the morning of Nov. 20, 2017, the body of Naseer Benefield, age 17, was found on a playground at Sierra Forest Apartments, on Mableton Parkway. Cobb police used phone records to connect Dawson Lee Wagner, of Woodstock, to the crime.

“This was a senseless crime of overwhelming violence perpetrated by an individual who displayed an utter lack of remorse for the crimes he committed,” Senior ADA Jennifer Stevenson said. “We hope that this conviction brings some measure of closure to the family of Naseer Benefield, which has been devastated by this tragic loss.”

On Friday, Wagner, who is now 19, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter, possession of a knife during commission of a felony, concealing a death and making a false statement.

After accepting the plea, Assisting Superior Court Judge Henry Thompson sentenced Wagner to serve 40 years in prison. Wagner has been in custody at Cobb Jail since December 2017, and will get credit for the time he has already served.

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Image Naseer Benefield. Cobb County DA