NEW ORLEANS — Standing on the steps of New Orleans City Hall, a woman who wishes only to be known as “Ashley” says she and many other women in New Orleans are living in daily fear of Benjamin Beale.
She expresses her concern about the possibility of Beal being able to return home in any form or fashion
“An even greater risk of violence is posed for those who have acted to bring Beale to justice acted to protect his previous victims and or spoken out against his violent and abusive behavior,” Ashley said.
Beale, who is also known as Kelley Kirkpatrick, is in jail for the second-degree murder of Julia Dardar.
An autopsy reveals Dardar was beaten and strangled by Beale before he eventually dismembered her body.
Beale is currently in jail on a $1.4 million bond. Ashley says that’s not enough.
She says the court needs to “hold Benjamin Beal on zero bond.”
She sites Gwen’s Law that was instituted in 2017 in the state of Louisiana when a man killed his wife and child after he bonded out of jail on domestic violence charges.
“Gwen’s Law gives judges the right to hold accused domestic violence felons without bond and to consider the danger to the public, danger to individuals, flight risk and capacity to make bail before issuing a bond,” Ashley said.
Also in attendance was Micah Dardar, Julia’s estranged husband.
“It’s really unpredictable to think what a person that could do something that he’s already done would do,” he said.
Even more concerning considering the relationship built between the Dardars and Beale.
When I had a chance to sit down with Micah, only days after Beale was initially arrested, I asked him if he spent time with Beale inside their home with Julia.
“Not very long, but yes, we had dinner there one night and had gone there one time previously,” he said.
According to Micah, it was to accompany his wife who was buying drugs from Beale.
Because of his intimate knowledge of the man charged with murdering his wife, Dardar says he hopes Beale never again sees the light of day.
“Yeah, we are hoping that he is stuck in there and he’s not getting out for the rest of his life.”
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