LOCKPORT, N.Y. — A jury rendered a guilty verdict on Tuesday against a Niagara Falls man for double murder that took place in May of 2020.
Billy Benton Jr. was found guilty of charges for the murder of Sonia Hamilton and Brian Harris on the 3100 block of 9th Street in Niagara Falls. He was charged with first degree murder, second degree murder and criminal possession of a weapon.
Benton was also convicted of the crimes of assault in the first degree and criminal possession of a weapon for an unrelated shooting in January 2020.
"These were awful, brutal killings," Niagara County District Attorney Brian Seaman said. "A mother and her son were taken from their family in an act of terrible violence."
The maximum penalty for first degree murder is life in prison without the possibility of parole.