Man Guilty For Punching And Killing Woman In Alexandria

On Tuesday, a jury found a man guilty for a brutal murder outside an Alexandria convenience store last July. The jury recommended a sentence of 10 years in prison for Robert D. Coleman, 27, of Alexandria.

On the morning of July 10, 2017, the defendant encountered the victim, Fedelia Montiel-Benitez, at the convenience store in the 4900 block of Seminary Road. Video surveillance footage showed Coleman appearing to taunt the victim until a bystander intervened.

The victim spoke with Coleman before leaving the store, the footage shows. But Coleman followed her out and punched her. The punch knocked her unconscious, causing her to hit her head when she fell.

Police found Montiel-Benitez lying unconscious on the ground outside the building, and she was taken to the hospital. She died a week later from the injuries to her head.

Montiel-Benitez and Coleman did not know each other.

"Verbal arguments should never devolve into physical altercations because physical altercations often bring devastating consequences," said Commonwealth's Attorney Bryan Porter in a statement following the jury's verdict. "So it was here, where a random encounter and brief argument inside of a store led to inexplicable violence."

Coleman is being held at Alexandria's Truesdale Adult Detention Center and faces sentencing May 24.

Image via Alexandria Commonwealth's Attorney