In the summer of 2025, a young New Orleans woman's life was tragically cut short in a case of domestic violence that shocked her community. Essence Peters, a 24-year-old female, was found deceased on Saturday, June 28, 2025, buried in the backyard of a residence in the city's St. Roch neighborhood. Her death was not the result of a mysterious disappearance but a grim confession from the person she was closest to, her boyfriend.
The harrowing events began to unfold when 24-year-old
Benjamin J. Camp contacted the police and admitted to a horrific act. He informed the authorities that he had shot his girlfriend and buried her body behind the house on Marigny Street. When officers arrived at the scene, they discovered what appeared to be human remains in the backyard, and the victim was pronounced dead at the scene. Further investigation uncovered that Peters had been shot eight times.
In the days leading up to the discovery of her body, Peters' mother, Na'Keshia Ruiz, had been trying to contact her daughter. They had last spoken on FaceTime on a Wednesday morning, making plans to get together for Ruiz to braid her daughter's hair. When her calls went unanswered the following day, she received text messages from her daughter's Facebook account. It was later revealed that it was not Essence responding to the messages, but Benjamin Camp. Ruiz recounted that although her daughter had never spoken of any violence in the relationship, there had been an argument a couple of weeks prior that led to Peters temporarily moving out.
Following his confession, Benjamin Camp was arrested and booked into the Orleans Justice Center on a charge of second-degree murder. He was also charged with obstruction of justice. Authorities reported that Camp claimed he shot and killed Peters after she said something he did not like during an argument. His bond was subsequently set at $1.2 million.
