Two brothers from Manitowoc County are charged with killing a man in central Illinois. 25-year-old James Jacquart of Manitowoc and 22-year-old Alexander Jacquart of Valders are both jailed in DeWitt County under bonds of a million dollars each.
Both are charged with first-degree murder and armed robbery in the death of 21-year-old Blayne Benefield. The victim’s body was found last Saturday morning by a pedestrian in Farmer City, Illinois. Investigators say the victim had been stabbed and strangled.
State’s attorney Karl Koritz called the incident a “senseless act of violence,” but he did not say how the suspects and the victim were connected.
The Jacquarts work for a traveling amusement company. Online court records show that James Jacquart had five previous convictions in Sheboygan and Manitowoc counties over the past six years for theft, criminal damage to property, and negligent handling of burning materials. Alexander Jacquart has had Manitowoc County convictions of theft and receiving stolen property. He also had a child sexual assault charge dropped from 2011, after fulfilling terms of a deferred prosecution agreement.
Damon Ryan, WOMT