Man makes court appearance in strangulation death of Sioux Falls woman

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — The southwestern Minnesota man who is accused of strangling a Sioux Falls woman to death made his first court appearance Tuesday in Pipestone County.

KELOLAND's Don Jorgensen was there and so were family members of the victim.

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The arraignment hearing for Joseph Benson didn't last long, but it was still emotional nonetheless.

The mother of 38-year-old Samantha Koehne, Joy Feyereisen, hugged her husband and broke down crying after attending Tuesday's arraignment.

Benson is in jail, charged with 2nd degree murder. He's accused of killing Samantha earlier this month.

Benson wasn't in court today, he appeared via Zoom and it only lasted a couple of minutes.

Samantha's uncle Mark Koehne, who also attended today's arraignment, says his niece didn't deserve this.

"She was always pretty quiet and called me Uncle Mark all the time and I'm going to miss that," Koehne said.

According to court documents, police responded to a report of a possible domestic assault at a home in Edgerton on November 2, where Benson and Samantha were staying.

When authorities got there they noticed Benson had scratches on his face and all down his arms.

Court papers say he later told police 'there's a dead body upstairs.'

They found Samantha lying face up on the bathroom floor with an extension cord around her legs and lying across her body.

Mark Koehne says the family wants Benson locked up for a long time.

"They're pretty upset, understandably; they pretty much want justice done, they don't want him to get away with it," Koehne said.

In September, Benson pleaded guilty to domestic abuse in Minnehaha County.

That case also involved Samanth Koehne.

He received a suspended sentence, meaning he didn't have to spend time behind bars as long as he stayed out of trouble.

Now Benson's back behind bars and that's exactly where the family wants him.

"Pay the price for what he did, because he shouldn't get away with it," Mark Koehne said. "Hope he goes away for a long time because he deserves it."

Samantha's mother declined an on-camera interview, but told us she wishes Benson would have just walked away.

His next court date has not been set yet.