Father of shooting-burning victim near Roseville: ‘This is just so brutal’ | The Sacramento Bee

The two men found shot and burning near Roseville on Thursday died overnight Saturday.

Warren Alexander Galsote, 34, and Jason John Benson, 33, both of Sacramento, were found shot in the head and burning late Thursday in a rural pocket of unincorporated Placer County near Roseville and Granite Bay, officials said.

On Sunday, Placer County sheriff’s spokeswoman Dena Erwin said detectives were piecing together what happened but were not prepared to release more details. No suspects or motive had been identified in the case being investigated as a double homicide.

Benson’s father, Kevin Benson, said Sunday that he was shocked by the gruesome killings. He learned about the shooting late Friday and visited his son at Sutter Roseville Medical Center.

“When I went to see him on Friday, I was just in denial,” Kevin Benson said. “I couldn’t accept it.”

Kevin Benson, 56, said his son had suffered two gunshot wounds – one that caused him to be paralyzed from the neck down. He also suffered brain damage as a result of his heart not beating for five minutes before paramedics resuscitated him, his father said.

At about 11:20 p.m. Thursday, a resident trying to tame a fire next to his home in the rural 3700 block of Annabelle Avenue discovered two burning men were the source of the blaze, officials said. The fire was in a gravel parking area in front of his house outside Roseville, near the Placer-Sacramento county line.

The victims did not have a connection to the neighborhood where they were found, Erwin said.

Kevin Benson said he wonders what triggered the killing, guessing that his son was at the wrong place at the wrong time. For the last two years, Jason Benson had been living with and caring for his grandparents, who suffer from health problems.

“I don’t know of him being involved in any gangs,” Kevin Benson said. “He was a good kid and had a very good heart.

“I don’t know if anyone was after him. … This is just so brutal.”

Dena Erwin of the Placer County Sheriff’s office says anyone with any information concerning the case is asked to contact the Sheriff’s tip line (530-889-7854) or Placer County Crime Stoppers (800-923-8191 www.placercrimestoppers.com).