The man charged with killing another man on Friday in the Murphy area appeared in court Monday on video from the jail, restrained in a chair, and displayed attitude to Judge Pat Wolke.

Troy Miles Dawson, 24, is accused of shooting Michael Benedict Sr. to death in Benedict’s home on Board Shanty Creek Road, then dragging his body outside to a fifth-wheel trailer and lighting it on fire, according to court records.

The trailer burned to the ground with Benedict’s body inside, and Dawson fled on foot, according to court records.

Dawson was arrested at about 11 a.m. Saturday, after several callers responding to a news bulletin issued by Oregon State Police reported seeing him walking in the Summit Loop area between Grants Pass and Murphy.

During his arraignment on Monday, Dawson replied “I plead the Fifth,” and “Where’s the real judge?”

He refused a court-ordered attorney before Judge Wolke assigned one to him anyway, and displayed threatening behavior to jail personnel, according to a corporal at the jail.

Dawson is charged with murder with a firearm and three counts of first-degree arson. He’s being held without bail, with another court appearance set for Monday at 1 p.m.

Documents do not indicate what firearm was used in the shooting, nor does it mention any motive or relationship between the two men. Authorities have yet to formally identify the victim, and Benedict's age was not listed in court records.

Oregon court records show no previous crimes by Dawson.

The case is the second homicide of the year in the county that is being treated by authorities as a murder.

The first occurred in April, when 54-year-old Randy Hummel was shot to death at a rural residence in the Sunny Valley area.

A suspect, Amber Ellen Sells, is being held in that case. Authorities said Sells is the daughter of Hummel’s girlfriend, and that the shooting was precipitated by an argument over a firearm.

In August, a fatal stabbing in Cave Junction that was initially treated as a murder has since been charged out as a lesser manslaughter.

Valerie Lynne Atcher is accused of causing her husband Eric’s death after she stabbed him once in the arm.

———

Reach reporter Jeff Duewel at 541-474-3720 or jduewel@thedailycourier.com