A millionaire stock trader was sentenced Monday to nine years in prison following his conviction in the death of a man who was helping him build tunnels underneath his home in Montgomery County, Md.
Daniel Beckwitt, 28, was convicted of the second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter of Askia Khafra, 21, who was killed in September 2017 when fire engulfed the tunnel in which he was working.
Khafra was looking for funding for his own start-up company online when he met Beckwitt, who promised the younger man an investment in exchange for help digging the tunnels.
Beckwitt was known to be a conspiracy theorist who regularly attended computer hacking conventions. His lawyer, Robert Bonsib, conceded his client is an “unusual individual.” Bonsib claimed Beckwitt was attempting to dig tunnels under his home to escape a nuclear attack from North Korea. Beckwitt did not acquire permits for his construction, and even his neighbors were unsure what to make of his unusual activity.
Court records show that Beckwitt blindfolded Khafra when he drove him to and from the work site and also while leading him through his home to the basement to the tunnel entrance. Firefighters found his charred body only steps from an exit when they entered the home. Investigations revealed that Khafra would have likely escaped if he had known where the entrances and exits were. The house was also said to be piled with trash from floor to ceiling, and the cause of the fire was determined to have been a massive electrical failure stemming from a “daisy chain” of extension cords that powered lights, tools, and several ventilation machines all leading to the tunnels.
Bonsib claimed his client tried to save Khafra after he left the burning house, but the prosecution claims Beckwitt did nothing to prevent the death. Beckwitt was sentenced to 21 years, with all but nine suspended.
