For Immediate Release
Contact: Laura French 774-317-2007 or 774-502-8567
WORCESTER – Today, a Worcester County Superior Court jury found 26-year-old Benjamin Willie guilty of second-degree murder in the fatal stabbing of 29-year-old Josue Rios, according to Worcester County District Attorney Joseph D. Early, Jr.
On June 30, 2020, Mr. Willie was slashing the tires of vehicles parked in Worcester’s Grafton Hill neighborhood when Mr. Rios confronted him. During the ensuing altercation, Mr. Willie stabbed Mr. Rios, who was transported to UMass Memorial Hospital and later died from his injuries.
In addition to the murder conviction, Mr. Willie was found guilty of two counts of malicious destruction of a motor vehicle.
Mr. Willie was initially charged and arraigned in Worcester Central District Court on July 1, 2020. He was charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon causing serious bodily injury and destruction of property. Following Mr. Rios’s death, the assault charge was upgraded to murder in the second degree. Mr. Willie was indicted by a Worcester County Grand Jury on November 12, 2020.
“Assistant District Attorneys Joseph Simmons, Rose-Ellen El Khoury, and Alexander Van Den Eynde, and Victim Witness Advocate Maria Deyette, did an outstanding job on this case,” said Mr. Early. “I also want to thank the Worcester Police Department for their thorough investigative work and unwavering commitment to this case. Their efforts, together with those of our prosecutors, made today’s conviction possible. I am equally grateful to the members of the jury for their careful attention to the evidence and thoughtful deliberations.”
Sentencing for Mr. Willie is scheduled for July 28, 2026.