Waco, Tx (FOX44) – UPDATE: Waco Police report 19-year-old Alijah Veshawn Benson has been arrested on charges of aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon and tampering with evidence connected with the discovery of a body in a Waco creek in January.
Special Crimes Detectives discovered that the suspects in the case arrived near the 300 Block of W. Kiest Boulevard in Dallas around 2:31 a.m. on December 22 and received a handgun from Benson regarding a planned robbery against the victim. In exchange for lending the firearm, Benson was to receive financial gain after the robbery was completed.
The handgun was returned to Benson after the murder of 59-year-old Stanley Wilcox in Waco. Wilcox’s body was found on January 6, 2023 – near the 1100 block of South 9th Street.
18-year-old James Keylan Willis and 19-year-old Brandon Xavier Stephens were previously arrested and charged with the murder of Wilcox, and with tampering with evidence. 17-year-old Heavyn Hamilton has been arrested and charged with failure to report a felony.
The Waco Police Department received a missing person’s report for Stanley Wilcox on December 29. Through further investigation by the Special Crimes Unit, detectives obtained a search warrant to search Wilcox’s vehicle – located at his home in the 800 Block of Garrett Avenue – where indication was made that a large amount of blood was cleaned up from the trunk area.
Interviews were completed with all three suspects – with Willis and Stephens both admitting to being present for Wilcox’s shooting and disposing of Wilcox’s body.
Hamilton admitted to knowing about the murder, but was not placed at the immediate scene and to any involvement in clean-up or disposal of the body. Willis provided the location of where Wilcox was found on January 6, 2023 – when the body was recovered under a bridge near the 1100 Block of S. 9th Street.
Although detectives believe Wilcox was killed in 2022, this is considered the first murder investigation of 2023.