on Wednesday October 5th 2022 at approximately 8:30 a.m. a young mother was found dead in her SUV and her three young children in the back seat First Responders realized that this mother was wearing a bulletproof vest which led to many thinking that she knew she was a target of a shooting 30-year-old Kira Hudson had given police evidence of abuse she was experiencing in marriage and took extra measures to protect herself by buying a bulletproof vest but that was not enough to save her this is a disturbing story of a mother whose life was taken by
a man she once trusted before we dive into our story we would like to offer our condolences to the loved ones and family of Kira Benefield especially her children let her story remind us of the importance of involving law enforcement in abuse as soon as possible this story takes us to Buffalo in the state of New York it is the second largest city in that state and is known as the city of Good Neighbors when it comes to the crime rate in the city it is quite high with an average of 53 homicides per year
additionally there are 7744 violent crimes per every 100,000 people Which is higher than the national average unfortunately for Kira she would be one of those people Kira Hudson Benefield was from Lorraine Ohio she was a kind person who was very close to her family members she was an expressive artsy person and sometimes she would wear brightly colored wigs and her body was adorned with tattoos if there was one thing Kira loved it was being a mother she had three children two older girls aged five and n and a six-month-old son who she gave birth to
on the 1st of April 2022 she always posted pictur pictures of her children on social media when she would take them to amusement parks Kira was also very close to her family and she lived in the same county as her mother and sister some days they would help take care of the children when she was busy with work that way she was able to balance her professional and personal lives her eldest daughter was with her ex-boyfriend Andrew hodj who she still had a friendly but distant relationship with but her other children were with her husband
Adam Benfield 1 two he can lift me R move before you drop [Music] me Kira had been dating Adam for a long time and on the 27th of March 2021 she got engaged to him on August 15th of that same year she made a post that said I am getting married today but did not follow up with any pictures it wasn't until February 2022 that she took to Facebook to post her wedding photos [Music] [Music] she said that it was the happiest day of her life she also called Adam her lifetime friend partner and said
he loves her with every breath he has although they looked like the perfect couple no one knew that behind closed doors she was going through unbelievable pain unfortunately the union became abusive and Kira tried her best to fight back according to a friend Adam had a bad temper long before they got married but he always apologized whenever he hit her and promised to change friend also mentioned that Kira's family did not want her to marry him they were so scared for her and tried to reach out to Kira but she felt like she was fine
looking at the timeline of her having a quiet ceremony on August 15th 2021 and giving birth in April 2022 the reason for her wanting to marry him might have been because she was already pregnant if that was the case Kier might have wanted to build a family rather than have another baby daddy that's why she married Adam she was also very much in love with him and always posted about their life together but that was not enough to keep their Union together Adam's abuse became too much and Kira wanted to leave him although the two
were legally married they were separated she even updated her Facebook profile to separated because she did not want to be with him anymore this would later aggravate Adam so much that he resorted to an evil plan that would change the lives of this family looking back at Adam's crime history on March 2nd 2000 at the age of 22 he ordered his ex-girlfriend and a second woman out of the car on a busy Expressway he was armed with a shotgun and abducted them by forcing them into his vehicle then he led police on a high-speed chase
the second woman had to jump out of the car to escape his ex-girlfriend still in the car then told Adam that she was pregnant with his child for fear that he would otherwise un alive her thankfully she was not injured in the incident following this Adam was arrested and taken to jail thank you Adam Benfield is no stranger to law enforcement his brushes with the law and court system date back decades the news for investigates team is looking into this Luke Moretti has the latest Adam benfield's past includes an escape from a local jail and
a violent domestic incident with an ex-girlfriend back in March 2000 Benfield was armed with a shotgun when he abducted his estranged girlfriend and another woman on the Kensington Expressway before leading police on a high-speed chase he was 22 at the time of the incident then in September of the same year while awaiting trial he escaped from the Erie County Correctional Facility in Alden by climbing over a 15- ft wall he eventually surrendered to law enforcement after a 19-hour Manhunt here's what he told reporters as he was taken into custody the reason for all this is
because I wanted to get some help the do the doctors refused to give me any help as you see I slipped my wrist and just want to get some help nobody want to help me while awaiting trial on September 16th 2000 Adam escaped from the Erie County Correctional Facility in Alden by climbing over a 15t wall and through razor wire he eventually surrendered to law enforcement after a 19-hour Manhunt later that same month he pleaded guilty to two felony counts of second degree attempted abducting and a first-degree Escape he was sentenced in November 2000 to
concurrent sentences of 15 years in prison on each of the abducting counts and a term of 2 to six years on the escape charge for a total sentence of 17 to 21 years while Inon prison Adam tried at least twice to get his sentence vacated but the court refused after spending the full 15 years in prison he was released to parole Supervision in June 2015 we have covered a few cases on this channel where Women's husbands have been in jail and get married on release only to commit murder to their wives a few months into
the marriage it is not clear if Kira knew that Adam had spent 15 years in jail when she married him or if she never took it seriously but soon after Adam started showing his true colors before the unfortunate event that ended Kira's life she had been assaulted by her husband several times so much so that people were shocked that the police did not do much to protect her on the afternoon of September 28th 2022 Adam Benfield assaulted his wife at the Chek toaga house where she was living with their three children and sister-in-law he beat
and threatened to un alive her while holding knives according to statements she made to the police during the beating he locked the door so she couldn't escape he even took her cell phone so she couldn't call for help she said to the police that she was screaming for help the whole time but Adam told her to shut up and that he was going to un alive her she was scared and thought that she was going to die and leave her kids to a monster Kira also told police that her estranged husband allegedly ripped off her
pants at one point and allegedly stuck his hand in her private part that was when she started screaming for Adam's sister Rachel who lived in an apartment upstairs When Rachel arrived Adam told her that Kira was not getting out of there alive she sprung into action and immediately called the police who arrived to find that Adam had locked himself in the bathroom and wanted to self harm they arrested him for harassment but it was not going to be enough to keep him in jail Kira visited the station several times to make a statement but it
wasn't strong enough still or maybe the authorities took it not to be serious fortunately there was a surveillance camera set up in her apartment so she had evidence of abuse recorded on camera that next day on the 29th of September she posted the horrifying video on Facebook as a cry for help with a caption this is what this man does to me but I'm always treated like I'm the abuser all of this was still not enough to get prosecutors to charge Adam Benfield with anything higher than misdemeanors Kira was also examined at the scene because
she was having pain in her wrist but there was no obvious injury that's why the police only charged Adam with misdemeanors yet on October 4 despite Kira's obvious fear and abuse Adam wasn't taken into immediate custody he was released because of the lowlevel charge Adam wasn't just some run-of-the-mill violent man he was a convicted felon with a history of abducting but in New York judges can't weigh the dangerousness of a perpetrator in considering bail meaning his prior 2,000 conviction for which he served 15 years couldn't be taken into account the charges were considered non-qualifying offenses
for bail under New York's laws at the time no bail was set no meaningful protection was given just a temporary order of protection that did nothing to stop what was about to happen because Adam went to find Kira again Kira posted on Facebook don't underestimate me I am a Hudson we were born strong but I also know when to play weak and it saved my life I was smart enough to get myself out of that situation alive but that would be her last post because what followed were days of tension this is the point Kira
bought a bulletproof vest and started wearing it everywhere she went even at a visit to her mother's home when her mother asked she told her he's going to me you don't understand that statement was very emotional and heavy to her mother but they both did not know how to stop the man it wasn't a question of if Adam would try to un alive her it was when her sister montasia said that Kira was trying to get all the help she could could and was even going to court so she could fight for custody of the
kids she also stopped staying in her apartment and moved to her mother's house instead unfortunately on the 5th of October just one day after Adam was released and the day kirao was supposed to go to court she woke up early to prepare her kids and later drove off to drop them at school on that fateful morning Adam Benfield rammed his car into the front of Kira's SUV forcing it to a stop then without hesitation he stepped out with a shotgun aimed and fired a single gunshot to Kira's head and he was gone it was over
for Kira in seconds her children were trapped in the backseat witnessing their mother's murder her lifeless body hanging in the car seat belts unable to comprehend the horror unfolding in front of them police were called to the scene but Kira was long dead although Adam was initially a person of interest in just three days a warrant was out for his arrest and there was even a $7,500 reward for information regarding his whereabouts and good evening everyone I'm Jeff P there is a new development in the killing of a woman on Buffalo's East Side three days
ago Adam Benfield was initially a person of interest in the fatal shooting of Kiera Hudson now according to Buffalo Police Commissioner Joseph Galia Benfield is a suspect in that shooting the victim was shot and killed in her car on shny Avenue with her children in the back seat investigators say prior to the shooting Hudson was scared for her life and had been wearing a bulletproof vest police say an arrest warrant for Benefield has been issued and the US Marshals are involved in the search a massive Manhunt for Adam Benfield started law enforcement was scrambling to
catch the man they had let slip through their fingers for a week he was on the run but on October 12th Adam was fin captured thanks to a tip from a Vigilant Citizen who said he was wearing a feminine Coco Chanel mask and made strange eye contact We Begin tonight at 600 with the new developments in the case of a man accused of killing his wife and after running a week or spending a week on the run that man is in police custody tonight good evening I'm Mary Alis demler hello again I'm Scott Levan 45-year-old
Adam Benfield of chaga was arrested this afternoon and has already been arraigned on one count of murder and three accounts of endangering the welfare of a child Benfield is accused of shooting and his wife 40-year-old Kiara Benfield last Wednesday morning while she was inside her car with their kids on richlon Avenue today Buffalo police say that it was a tip that led to the coordinated effort to bring him into custody he was found near Bissell and Walden Avenues and arrested without incident he was charged with one count of murder one count of aggravated criminal contempt
and three counts of endangering the welfare of a child this time he was held without the opportunity for bail Adam plad not guilty to all of his charges during his court appearances Adam kept his head down and his fate Now lies in the hands of the legal system A system that failed Kira when she needed it most if convicted of the highest charge Benfield faces a maximum sentence of 25 years to life in prison the murder of Kira Benefield has become a rallying cry for opponents of baale Reform had her husband Adam Benfield not been
released after being charged with misdemeanor assaults she'd still be alive Kira Hudson's family decided to sue the Chik toaga police department and the town of Chek toaga accusing them of failing to step in against her alleged abuser and murderer Adam The Grieving grandmother wants Kathy holel the governor of New York State charged as well because she thinks that she's also responsible for the crime Kira's husband was released under noash bail laws which were established by Kathy in 2019 New York ended the use of money bail and jail for most cases involving misdemeanors and lower level
felonies that is a tragic situation but we did make changes to the bail laws I'm always open to more conversations based on the data it's only been in effect uh fairly short time but we're also focusing on gun violence overall the problem is that these felonies can become as seen in Kira's case instead of being apologetic Erie County District Attorney John J Flynn who released Adam was adamant that no felony charges could have been filed against Adam to prevent him from being released without bail he insisted that they did not fabricate evidence or upgrade charges
when the evidence did not exist keep in mind that there was a whole video of abuse that was given to the police along with full cooperation from Kira he said that the charges originally were misdemeanors and that there was Zero evidence for anything higher than that he continued that the charges were correct and the judge had no choice but to release him and while Adam may eventually face Justice no punishment will ever bring Kira back her children will grow up without their mother her family will forever be haunted by the what ifs what if someone
had taken her pleas for help more seriously what if Adam had been held accountable sooner what if if the laws had been different Kira's death forces us to confront uncomfortable truths about domestic violence Kira's story is heartbreaking but it's also far too common there are countless women like her mothers sisters daughters trapped in abusive relationships feeling like they have nowhere to turn even when she did try her best to keep herself and her children safe it did not work what do you think could have been done differently in Kira's case do you believe the current
laws are enough to protect domestic violence survivors and what changes do you think need to happen to ensure that no other family has to go through what Kira did leave your thoughts in the comment section here are four more true crime stories that are more shocking than what you just watched and I strongly believe you will learn something from these cases thank you so much once again for watching another video by Wednesday crime if you like the way we bring you stories or you learned something new today please like this video and consider subscribing to
the channel if you haven't yet as always remember to leave your thoughts in the comment section below perhaps someone learns from your experience or advice I will talk to you again in another video it's bye for now
