US millionaire Daniel Beckwitt jailed for 9 years after man dies in fire while helping him build secret nuclear bunker
- Firefighters found Askia Khafra’s naked, charred body in basement of Beckwitt’s house, only steps away from an exit
- Prosecutors say extreme hoarding conditions in the home prevented victim from escaping when blaze broke out
A millionaire stock trader was sentenced on Monday to nine years in prison for his conviction in the fiery death of a man who was helping him secretly dig tunnels for a nuclear bunker beneath a Maryland home.
Daniel Beckwitt, 28, had faced a maximum of 30 years in prison when Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge Margaret Schweitzer sentenced him. In total, Beckwitt was sentenced to 21 years but the judge suspended all but nine years of the sentence.
In April, a jury convicted Beckwitt of second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter in the September 2017 death of 21-year-old Askia Khafra.
During the trial, Montgomery County prosecutor Marybeth Ayres accused Beckwitt of recklessly endangering Khafra’s life. Beckwitt ignored obvious signs of danger and sacrificed safety for secrecy while they dug a network of tunnels beneath a home in Bethesda, a suburb of Washington, the prosecutor said.
Defence lawyer Robert Bonsib had told jurors the fire was an accident, not a crime.