Crime

One of Four Men Charged with 2017 Bradford Teen Murder Seeks Release Because of COVID-19

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One of four men charged in connection with the 2017 shooting death of a Bradford teenager is asking for release from prison because of COVID-19 precedents. Thomas J. Warner, who was charged with murdering 18-year-old Bryce T. Finn in June 2017, appears by video Thursday, May 14, in Salem Superior Court. Warner has been held since July 2018 when he was arrested in Delaware. He was later indicted by an Essex County grand jury on charges of murder and armed assault to rob, but no trial has yet taken place. Warner’s lawyer, James B. Krasnoo of Andover, petitioned the court April 28 for his release on personal recognizance in light of a state Supreme Judicial Court decision last month.

Bryce Finn

Haverhill’s Benner Formally Indicted for 2017 Finn Murder

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A secret grand jury proceeding Wednesday formally brought an indictment against 21-year-old Joseph “Max” Benner, the fourth man charged in the 2017 murder of Haverhill High School graduate Bryce Finn, the DA’s office tells WHAV. The closed-door session now elevates Benner’s case to the Superior Court level and comes three months after he was charged with murder and armed assault with intent to rob in connection with Finn’s shooting death. Benner is currently held without bail and continues to serve a two-and-a-half-year sentence on drug charges. As WHAV previously reported, 18-year-old Finn’s death began as Benner’s plan to rob the teen of his marijuana stash with boyhood pal turned co-defendant Kenneth Pitts. In Benner’s own works, the result was “things going badly,” according to a joint State and Haverhill Police interview.

Haverhill

Murder Arraignment Brings Surprise of Victim Pulling Out His Own Gun During Heist

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Joseph Maxwell “Max” Benner, handcuffed, with Assistant District Attorney Christina Ronan, defense lawyer Ronald J. Ranta and Haverhill District Court Officer Douglas Dow. (WHAV News photograph.)

Yesterday’s arraignment of a Haverhill man on a murder charge reveals he is a boyhood friend of the Delaware man who allegedly pulled the trigger, killing Bradford teen Bryce T. Finn in 2017. Finn’s death began as Joseph Maxwell “Max” Benner’s plot to rob the 18-year-old of his marijuana stash and, in Benner’s own words, the result was “things going badly,” according to a joint State and Haverhill Police prison interview. Twenty-one-year-old Benner knew the Rainbow Drive youth through his younger brother and sold him the anti-anxiety drug Xanax, the report revealed. “Benner didn’t think of Bryce as a friend.

Haverhill

Benner, 20, Charged in Finn Murder, To Remain in Prison Pending Grand Jury Action

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Joseph Maxwell “Max” Benner appeared this morning in Haverhill District Court where he was arraigned on a charge of murdering Bradford teen Bryce T. Finn in 2017. (WHAV News photograph.)

Twenty-year-old Joseph Maxwell “Max” Benner, charged with murder in connection with the shooting death of an 18-year-old Bradford teen in 2017, is expected to be indicted on the same charge by a grand jury before spring. Benner, of Haverhill, was arraigned this morning before First Justice Stephen S. Abany in Haverhill District Court. Abany ordered him continued to be held in prison where Benner is still serving a two-and-a-half-year sentence on drug charges. He was charged Friday—the fourth man with Delaware connections to be charged with murder in the death of Bryce T. Finn.

Haverhill

Finn Murder Suspect Benner May Have Had Access to Unlicensed Firearms at Home

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Joseph Maxwell “Max” Benner’s grandfather was arrested and charged with improper storage of unlicensed firearms and ammunition. (File photograph)

Joseph Maxwell “Max” Benner, the 21-year-old Haverhill man charged Friday in the shooting death of Bryce Finn, may have had access to a multitude of weapons police say were unlicensed and improperly stored at his home. According to a police report from February 2018, Benner’s West Meadow Road condominium—where he lived with his grandparents and brother—contained hunting rifles, handguns and several types of ammunition—all improperly stored in the home’s detached garage. Benner’s 80-year-old grandfather Raymond J. Maczuma was arrested by Haverhill Police and charged with firearms offenses including possession of an unlicensed weapon and ammunition. He was released on personal recognizance following a Haverhill District Court hearing.

Bryce Finn

Ex-Delaware Treasurer: Bryce Finn Murder Preventable; Levels Charges at Suspect

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A former elected Delaware state treasurer says the murder of a Haverhill teen in 2017 might have been prevented if officials down south acted on his concerns about the Benner family. Instead, former Treasurer Chipman “Chip” L. Flowers Jr. told WHAV Saturday, he was forced into a political battle which forced him not to seek re-election in 2014. Flowers, who now lives in Massachusetts, said the shooting death of 18-year-old Bryce Finn in the doorway of his Rainbow Drive home might have been averted. “I will go to my grave believing that, even though I worked with law enforcement, had the State of Delaware prosecuted them for what they did to me and my family, that young man (Finn) would still be alive today,” Flowers told WHAV. He alleged 21-year-old Joseph Maxwell “Max” Benner, who was charged Friday in connection with Finn’s murder, had a “horrible temper.” Flowers charged Benner threatened him and his future his wife during a 2014 Fourth of July Parade in Dover, Del.

Bryce Finn

Updated: Finn Suspect Benner’s Mother Is Former Deputy Delaware State Treasurer

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Joseph Maxwell “Max” Benner was charged in connection with the murder of Bryce Finn. (File photograph)

This story has been updated to clarify information about alleged wrongdoing by Erika J. Benner in Delaware, and reflect murder suspect Joseph Maxwell Benner was better known under his nickname of “Max.”

Unexpected ties to the state of Delaware that surfaced over the summer in connection to Bryce Finn’s 2017 murder are now becoming clear on the heels of a Haverhill man being charged with the crime. While Joseph Maxwell “Max” Benner’s alleged role in Finn’s murder remains to be seen, he is the fourth suspect with ties to the state of Delaware to be charged in the case. Nicholas Mandato, Thomas Warner and Kenneth Pitts—indicted for Finn’s shooting death in October—all call the state home. As WHAV has uncovered, Benner’s mother, Erika J. Benner, served as the deputy treasurer for the state of Delaware before resigning amid a scandal in 2013.

Haverhill

Haverhill Man, 21, Is Fourth Charged With 2017 Finn Murder

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Bryce Finn was shot in the chest after answering the door at his Bradford home (pictured) in June 2017. (WHAV News file photograph)

A 21-year-old Haverhill man has been charged in the 2017 murder of Bradford’s Bryce Finn, Essex County District Attorney Jonathan W. Blodgett and Haverhill Police Chief Alan R. DeNaro said Friday. Joseph Maxwell Benner is the fourth suspect facing charges in the shooting death of Finn, who was gunned down on his Rainbow Drive doorstep just days after graduating from Haverhill High School. As WHAV previously reported, three Delaware men—Nicholas Mandato, Thomas Warner and Kenneth Pitts—were indicted by an Essex County grand jury for Finn’s murder in October. Mandato and Warner are additionally charged with armed assault with intent to rob Finn.