L.A. Neighborhood Anguished, Heartbroken After Brazen Arson Murder

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Family members say John McGraham's life as a child was plagued by a father who abused John and his siblings.

As a kid, John McGraham loved to read comic books, and was a big fan of Star Trek.

Childhood wasn't easy, though; John grew up the second youngest of six children, and family members say his father was an alcoholic who was sometimes abusive to John and his siblings. The more time passed, his family says, the more John seemed like a lost child in a large family.

In the 1970s, John's sister Sharon helped him find work in the hotel business.  He landed his first job with the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles, and later became a bellhop at L.A.'s glitzy Ambassador Hotel, where he was known as a reliable employee.

It was then that John's family says he fell in love: John's sister Sue says John and his new girlfriend dated for about six months, and she convinced John to pay for her divorce.

After the divorce, the woman dumped John because she allegedly had found another boyfriend. No one in his family can remember the woman's name, but they all felt the impact of the scars this woman left on John's heart.  

John was devastated, and his family says he sunk into a deep depression.  John's sister Sharon stepped in and encouraged him to start seeing a therapist, which seemed to be helping. Things started getting better for John. 

When his therapist went away for a month-long vacation, John hit rock bottom.  He lost his job with the hotel, and was living with family members, moving back into his mom's one-bedroom apartment in Hollywood, Calif.

No one knew how to help John, and he became homeless on the streets of Los Angeles. John's family has always believed he suffered from some kind of mental condition, but they couldn't find anyone to treat him, and they could never convince him to commit to a program.

Although John was living on the streets, his family never gave up on him.  Often, his sisters would bring him clothes and food.

John McGraham's Life On The Streets

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John McGraham's life on the streets began after a deep bout of depression that started after a relationship ended.

One night, his sister Sue got a call that John had been rushed to the hospital. Family members say John was attacked along 6th Street in Los Angeles, and was stabbed multiple times by an unknown assailant. His lung was punctured, and he wasn't doing well.

Despite his serious injuries, John checked himself out of the hospital and went right back out on the streets.

John moved everything he had in a cart to 3rd Street, where he slept in front of an empty dental office.

John made a number of friends in the community. Business owners say he was thoughtful person who watched out for his neighbors, and for their businesses.

He loved to drink Dr. Pepper, and always had a bag of Cheetos. John's sister Sue would often bring him batteries, so he could listen to talk radio and Johnny Cash.

Reports say John would often be seen peering into windows of parked cars to check his appearance, and when he was really dirty, he would keep his distance from the customers in Los Angeles' Koreatown.

Regulars at a nearby donut shop would often bring him coffee and donuts everyday, and some locals would take him for haircuts and showers. 

Many business owners say John was a friendly, social guy, with not a lot to give to anyone, but if he had something, it would be yours.

The Last Hours Of John McGraham

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On October 9, 2008, an unknown assailant lit John McGraham on fire while he sat in his usual spot on 3rd Street near Los Angeles' Koreatown neighborhood.

On October 9, 2008 at around 9:30 p.m., witnesses say someone approached John and threw gasoline on him. Witnesses tell police that someone lit John on fire. 

He burned to death in the middle of the street where he lived; witnesses rushed to his aide, and the owner of a nearby Mexican restaurant grabbed a fire extinguisher to dampen the blaze.

The smell of gasoline loomed in the air, John's clothes were burned off, his body was charred, and witnesses say the tips of his clenched fingers were burned away.

John foamed at the mouth as everyone crowded around and waited for an ambulance to arrive.

John died in the very same place he considered home.  Police are stumped as to who would want to do this to an innocent man. Some witnesses say there was at least one killer.

Calif. Cops Make Arrest In Homeless Man's Murder

The fiery murder of John McGraham, an adored Los Angeles-area homeless man, galvanized the community in which he lived. The LAPD spent the last few months poring over evidence and witness accounts, and on January 22, 2009, they made an arrest in the case.

Police say that at 11:45 a.m., detectives from the LAPD Robbery-Homicide division arrested 30-year-old Benjamin Mathew Martin in Ranch Mirage, Calif.

At a press conference, authorities said that Martin was "currently unemployed, but he was a barber in and around the area where the victim was attacked."  Lt. Mark Tappen of LAPD's Robbery-Homicide added that "it is unknown if he (Martin) was by himself" at the time of the attack. 

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