ST. CHARLES COUNTY, MISSOURI- THE OFFICE OF PROSECUTING ATTORNEY TIM LOHMAR announces that Cecil McBenge, 49 of St. Charles, was found guilty by a jury of Murder in the 1st Degree, following a nine day jury trial. Sentencing is scheduled for November 17, 2014.
Charges arose from the November 4, 1984 murder of Elenora Knorschild, 84, of the 1700 block of Sibley Street in St. Charles. She was discovered dead in her home by a family member following an apparent burglary. Though no arrests were made in the immediate aftermath, the investigation remained open. In October of 2011, under the direction of the St. Charles County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office Cold Case Unit, various items from the original crime scene were tested for DNA for the first time, the results of which linked McBenge to the murder. Brian McBenge, 52, brother of Cecil McBenge, also of St. Charles, was found guilty in August of this year by a jury on murder charges arising from the same incident and is set to be sentenced on October 9, 2014.
“I’m extremely grateful to the St. Charles City Police Department, who in collaboration with the St. Charles Prosecuting Attorneys Cold Case Unit, have given the victim’s family some closure after 30 years of pain,” said Prosecuting Attorney Tim Lohmar. “I would also like to acknowledge my predecessor, Jack Banas, for having the fortitude and the integrity to pursue these cases on behalf of the victims and on behalf of our community.”
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