In the late hours of a Sunday evening in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, the life of Benzel T. Rose, a 26-year-old Black man, came to a violent end. On October 17, 2021, police were called to a residence near 8th Street and Fond du Lac Avenue, where they discovered Rose deceased from apparent gunshot wounds. The Fond du Lac County Medical Examiner's Office would later confirm through an autopsy the exact cause and manner of his death, marking the beginning of a homicide investigation.
As
authorities began to piece together the events that led to the shooting, their investigation pointed to a drug transaction that had turned into a fatal robbery. Two individuals, Eric Perry and Julius Freeman, were identified as the men involved. They had arranged to meet with Rose, but their intentions were not to conduct a simple transaction. Instead, they robbed Rose, stealing cash and a gun from him. During the commission of this crime, Perry fatally shot Benzel Rose in the head. The Fond du Lac Police Department sought assistance from the public, asking for any information that could lead to an understanding of the circumstances of the killing.
The subsequent investigation led to the arrests of both Perry and Freeman. Their legal paths diverged, but both ultimately ended in convictions for their roles in the death of Benzel Rose. Julius Freeman faced a jury trial in 2023 and was convicted of first-degree intentional homicide and armed robbery. For his crimes, he was sentenced to life in prison, with the possibility of release only after serving 35 years. Eric Perry chose a different route, pleading no contest to charges of second-degree intentional homicide, armed robbery with the use of force, and possession of a firearm as a convicted felon. In March 2025, a judge sentenced Perry to 50 years in prison, to be followed by 20 years of extended supervision.
