Benjamin Beale, accused of woman’s dismemberment murder, pleaded guilty to manslaughter last month
NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) - Benjamin Beale, the Ninth Ward man accused four years ago of the dismemberment murder of a woman whose frozen torso was found on his property, was allowed to plead guilty last month to a lesser charge of manslaughter, Orleans Parish court records show.
Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams’ office did not publicize the resolution of the case, which spared Beale a potential life sentence. Beale pleaded guilty to the lesser charge, which carries a potential prison term of up to 40 years, and was sentenced to just 30 years by Criminal District Court Judge Benedict Willard on Feb. 3, records show.
Orleans Justice Center jail records showed Beale was transferred from the New Orleans lockup to a state prison facility on Tuesday (March 24).
The Orleans DA’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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Beale, now 38, was 34 when arrested on Jan. 11, 2022. The arrest followed a gruesome discovery by New Orleans Police Department detectives investigating the disappearance of 36-year-old Julia Dardar.
Police executed a search warrant at Beale’s home in the 2300 block of Pauline Street and said they found a clandestine meth lab in his kitchen and the partial remains of a woman, contained in a deep freezer kept powered in a bus parked in his back yard. The remains later were identified as Dardar’s.
On May 6, 2022, Williams’ office announced that an Orleans Parish grand jury had indicted Beale on charges of second-degree murder, obstruction of justice, simple assault, creation or operation of a clandestine drug laboratory, operation of a drug lab within 1,000 feet of a school, illegal carrying of a weapon in the presence of a controlled dangerous substance, possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine, and possession with intent to distribute Psilocybin.
“What Ms. Dardar experienced is absolutely tragic and egregious,” Williams said in a statement announcing the indictment. “We will do everything in our power to ensure we secure justice for her and her family.”
Court records show that on Feb. 3, Orleans Parish prosecutors dropped all pending charges against Beale except the murder count, which was amended to manslaughter. Beale pleaded guilty to that count and was sentenced to 30 years, with credit for time served.
The case was listed as closed in court records as of Feb. 6.
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