Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - Four people were sentenced on Tuesday for their roles in the stabbing death of a Town of Boston man a little more than two years ago in July 2022.
27-year-old Jared Adamski from Hamburg was sentenced Tuesday to the maximum sentence of 25 years in prison, followed by five years post-release supervision after he pled guilty to one count of Manslaughter in the First Degree (Class "B" violent felony) back in May.
The defendant pleaded guilty to the lesser included offense in the highest count of the indictment on Wednesday, May 22 for fatally stabbing 25-year-old Brenden Benoit.
A few days before the incident took place, there was an allegation that surfaced against Benoit that he had sexually assaulted Kayleigh Skybyk-Schuh, who was in a relationship with Harrison Drozen at the time. Those ended up being false allegations against Benoit.
A few days later in the early morning hours of Sunday, July 10, 2022, Adamski, Skybyk-Schuh, Drozen and other co-defendants conspired to lure Benoit to a wooded area with the intent to commit a crime against him.
Skybyk-Schuh drove the victim, Elexus Dean and two other individuals to a location near Heltz Road in the Hamlet of Lake View. Adamski, Drozen and Connor Krone were hiding in the woods, waiting to attack the victim.
The victim was punched by one of the male defendants as he exited the vehicle in the wooded area. The victim retreated back into the vehicle in an attempt to escape the attack.
While armed with a knife, Adamski attacked the victim inside of the vehicle. With the intent to cause serious physical injuries, Adamski stabbed the victim multiple times in the upper area of both legs.
Adamski and his co-defendants drove away from the area, leaving the injured victim alone in the woods. Benoit eventually succumbed to his injuries at the scene.
"The family was obviously devastated by this crime, and they were all in court this morning. The parents of this young man, Mr. Benoit, as well as the stepfather, brothers, cousins, aunts and uncles, they were all in court this morning, and they are pleased with the fact that this case has wrapped up, at least with respect to these four defendants," said Acting Erie County District Attorney Michael Keane on Tuesday following the sentencing.
Also sentenced on Tuesday included Skybyk-Schuh, Drozen, Krone and Dean. Skybyk-Schuh and Krone each entered guilty pleas for their roles in the incident before their jury trials were set to begin this past May.
Drozen, 22, of Hamburg, was sentenced to 12 years in prison, plus five years of post-release supervision. He pleaded guilty to one count of Manslaughter in the First Degree (Class "B" violent felony), the lesser included offense in the indictment, on Wednesday, May 15.
Skybyk-Schuh, 21, was sentenced to 10 years in prison, followed by five years of post-release supervision. She pleaded guilty to one count of Manslaughter in the First Degree (Class "B" violent felony) and one count of Tampering with Physical Evidence (Class "E" felony) on Friday, May 17. She pleaded guilty, as charged, to all counts in the indictment.
In addition, Krone, 24, of the Village of Hamburg, was sentenced to time served, plus five years of post-release supervision. He pleaded guilty for his involvement in the assault of the victim on one count of Assault in the Second Degree (Class "D" felony) back on July 24, 2023.
"Mr. Krone was the first person to really cooperate here. He cooperated, and therefore, that was taken into consideration when we discussed and came to a decision with respect to his plea," Keane said. "Kayleigh Skybyk-Schuh did not cooperate, Harrison Drozen cooperated, and that was reflected in his plea. He pled guilty to a Manslaughter in the First Degree and received 12 years."
Meanwhile, Dean, 22, of the Village of Hamburg, pleaded guilty to one count of Tampering with Physical Evidence (Class "E" felony) back on Oct. 6, 2023. She was scheduled to be sentenced on Tuesday, but was not on-hand as the result of her lawyer failing to notify her of the sentencing date.
She faces a maximum sentence of four years in prison.
Another co-defendant pleaded guilty to one count of Assault in the Second Degree (Class "D" felony) for their involvement in the crime, and was already sentenced as a youthful offender due to their age at the time of the crime.
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