ROCKLIN, Calif. – Damon Allen Benson has been sentenced to 71 years in prison in Placer County for one of the most heinous torture and murder cases in the county’s history. The sentencing comes after Benson was found guilty of murder, aggravated mayhem, torture, felony criminal threats, and false imprisonment by violence. The events unfolded in the summer of 2021 and have been described by authorities as a “horrific love triangle murder plot.”
Benson, also known as the “Tinder killer” in local media, met a 29-year-old woman on the dating app Tinder and held her against her will at his apartment in Rancho Cordova. He tortured her, tying her to his ceiling and carving a swastika in her back. The victim, of Jewish descent, was subjected to this torture as Benson sought to force her to reveal the address of another man she had met through Tinder.
In a further act of violence, Benson ambushed the second man, 48-year-old Cameron Gabriel, and shot him dead in his room in Rocklin. Benson claimed it was in self-defense, but surveillance footage reportedly showed him running out of Gabriel’s home yelling, “That’s right, [expletive].” The jury concluded that Benson murdered Gabriel with premeditation and intent.
Cameron Gabriel, a Stanford native, was described as gentle, kind, and funny by his loved ones. Placer County Supervising Deputy District Attorney Jeffery Moore stated that “this is a day for justice for the victim and the victim’s family,” emphasizing the importance of providing justice for this horrific crime to the greatest extent allowed by the law. With Benson’s sentencing, the goal is to remove a clear danger to the public and a callous disregard for human life from society.