Matthew Hayes

mhayes@ithacajournal.com | @IJmhayes

Police say Benjamin Cayea confessed to strangling Shannon Jones to death on Thanksgiving

Cayea and Jones had been dating for about two years%2C according to a friend

Police say Cayea left his apartment after killing Jones and went to a friend%27s apartment in Newfield

A charming, upscale apartment just off the Cornell University campus in Cayuga Heights became the scene of a grisly murder Thanksgiving Day as Benjamin Cayea allegedly strangled his girlfriend to death, according to police documents.

Tompkins County Sheriff deputies arrested Cayea, 32, at the home of a friend in Newfield Thursday night after police say he strangled his girlfriend, Shannon Jones, at his apartment in the Westview Apartments at 400 Triphammer Road.

Cayea admitted to killing Jones, 23, a senior in Cornell's engineering school, after an argument earlier in the day, according to Tompkins County Sheriff's Investigator Kevin Cowen.

Police accuse Cayea of grabbing Jones with two hands around her neck, choking her until she lost consciousness, and died.

"We got into a fight," Cayea told police. "I choked her."

When police asked Cayea if she was OK, Cayea responded: "No I don't think so, she was cold when I left."

Cayea told Investigator Cowen that he knew Jones was dead because she was blue and had no pulse. Cayea estimated that it happened around 6:30 p.m. and he told police that he stayed in the apartment for an unknown amount of time before leaving.

Cayea drove Jones' car to the apartment of Jacob Ives on Elmira Road in Newfield, according to a sworn statement Ives made to police on Thursday.

Ives said he received a phone call from Cayea between 7 and 8 p.m. Thursday. Cayea told Ives that he was parked outside his apartment and he had to come out to talk.

Ives described Cayea as sobbing and hysterical. "I asked Ben what had happened. He told me that he did it. He told me that he snapped," Ives told police. Ives said Cayea and Jones had been dating on and off for about two years.

According to Ives, while sitting in the car Cayea told him "she would not stop coming at me, she would not stop yelling. I did it, I choked her."

Ives brought Cayea into his apartment, where Cayea collapsed into the fetal position. Ives tried to calm Cayea for about 15 minutes before telling him that he had to call the police.

"He said that he knew this but he just wanted to see me before he killed himself," Ives said.

It took about 20 minutes for police to arrive at the Newfield residence, Ives said. During that time Ives said Cayea told him he had been fighting with Jones but did not tell him what the fight was about. Cayea talked about killing himself repeatedly as Ives told him he could not because of his religion.

When police asked Ives if he knew Cayea to be violent, he said "No, in fact because of his religion I thought him incapable of violence. He is a Buddhist."

Ives told police that Cayea was under an extreme amount of stress, that he was incoherent and emotionally upset.

Police said that when they went to Cayea's Cayuga Heights apartment they found Jones on her back in a second floor room and only wearing a robe.

Cayuga Heights Police Officer Brandon Manheim found her, and could not feel a pulse. He tried emergency resuscitation techniques until emergency personnel arrived. She was pronounced dead at 8:48 p.m. at Cayuga Medical Center.

In a letter to students and faculty following her death, Cornell described Jones as having an interest in theater and as taking part in the Teszia Belly Dance Troupe at the university.

A Facebook message on the Teszia Belly Dance Troupe posted Friday around 6 p.m. read "Shannon, you will be missed so dearly by your Teszia family, as well as by everyone who was lucky enough to see you grace the stage. We know you will be with us whenever we dance."

Her brother, John Jones, 21, told WJLA-TV in Washington D.C. that the family was half-Turkish, and they grew up in Potomac, Md. She was active in the Spanish Club and took part on the technical crew during theater productions at Winston Churchill High School, where she graduated in 2009.

Scott Selman, one of Jones' high school teachers, told the television station that she was an amazing leader who did not conform to what other people expected.

"She was definitely one of those people who broke the norms and wanted to march to her own drum beat and I think that's one of the things that made her so special," Selman said.

"And you knew there was something different about her. She was one of those people that was going to do something special with her life," Selman said.

Her father died in 2013, and that loss made her brother appreciate how fragile life can be.

"You don't appreciate what you have until it's gone," her brother told the station. "And, you know, after my dad died I thought about my mom, I appreciated her more, but the thought didn't even cross my mind that Shannon would be next."

While being driven from the Newfield apartment, Cayea told a Tompkins County Sheriff deputy, "I'm sorry you guys have to deal with this, I'm sorry your guys had to find her like that."

Cayea was arraigned before Justice Glenn Galbreath around 4 a.m. Friday in the Village of Cayuga Heights Court. Galbreath assigned Matthew Van Houten as Cayea's attorney, who entered a plea of not guilty. Galbreath sent Cayea to the Tompkins County Jail without bail.

Cayea is scheduled to appear at 6 p.m. Dec. 2 in Village Cayuga Heights Court.

A support meeting for the community will be held Monday at 4:30 p.m. in the lounge in Upson Hall at Cornell.

Follow Matthew Hayes on Twitter: @IJmhayes

Getting help

•The Advocacy Center of Tompkins County offers a local 24-hour hotline for domestic violence and sexual abuse services. Anyone with concerns about their own relationship or about that of a friend or family member can call (607) 277-5000; the hotline is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

•In the event of an immediate threat, call 911.

•Support services are available to all members of the Cornell community. Students can consult with counselors from Gannett Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) by calling (607) 255-5155.

•Employees can call the Faculty Staff Assistance Program at (607) 255-2673. The Ithaca-based Crisisline is available at 607-272-1616. For additional resources, visit caringcommunity.cornell.edu.