Detroit man facing trial in teen's 2018 kidnapping, slaying dies in hospital

A Detroit man accused of killing a teen in 2018 and trying to hire a hitman to kill a witness in his trial has died, officials announced Tuesday.

Gerald Bennett, 63, died Monday in a hospital from medical complications, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan Mark Totten said in a statement.

Totten said the U.S. Attorney’s Office is dismissing the pending case against Bennett because of his death.

"The allegations in this case were heinous and I deeply regret we will never present the evidence against Mr. Bennett in open court," he said.

Bennett was taken to the hospital last week to be treated for cancer. The U.S. Attorney said his health declined the next day and he was placed on life support.

Authorities accused Bennett of kidnapping and killing Mujey Dumbuya in 2018.

Mujey was a 17-year-old high school student who accused a Grand Rapids man, Quinn James, of sexually assaulting her when she was 15.

Investigators said James hired Bennett to help him kidnap and kill Mujey when she was 16. They said the two men abducted the girl on Jan. 24, 2018, from a bus stop. Her body was found days later in a wooded area in Kalamazoo.

State prosecutors charged both James and Bennett in her murder.

James was convicted after a trial and sentenced in 2019 to life in prison without parole.

However, Bennett, convinced a court he was not competent to stand trial. A judge dismissed the case against him last year.

But federal and state investigators remained convinced Bennett was competent and presented their case to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Federal agents arrested Bennett in June 2022 on a federal criminal complaint. Months later, a federal grand jury reviewed the evidence and indicted him for kidnapping a minor.

Bennett underwent a competency exam and a forensic psychologist determined he was faking his condition, according to federal officials. A federal judge ruled in April that Bennett was competent to stand trial.

Investigators also said that while Bennett awaited his competency hearing, he solicited another person in a murder-for-hire plan to silence a key witness.

As a result, charges of conspiracy to commit murder for hire-resulting in death and kidnapping- resulting in death, and a fourth charge for solicitation to commit a crime of violence were added.

Jury selection for trial was scheduled to begin on Feb. 26, Totten said.

"At best, our efforts can secure only a measure of justice," he said. "We can’t bring Mujey back. But the truth-telling role of a conviction matters. I am grateful for the investigators who worked for years to secure justice and my heart remains with her family as they mourn the loss of one they dearly loved."

cramirez@detroitnews.com

X: @CharlesERamirez