Guilty plea entered in Santa Maria murder case
The victim s remains were discovered last year at a Nipomo golf course
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and last updated 2021-02-10 19:47:32-05
One of three people arrested in connection with the 2018 murder of a Santa Maria man has pleaded guilty.
Benjamin Mersai was arrested last year on suspicion of murder, conspiracy and accessory to murder, but pleaded guilty Jan. 26 to voluntary manslaughter âdue to his level of participation and other mitigating circumstances in the case,â according to the Santa Barbara County District Attorneyâs Office.
The 34-year-old was taken into custody in September of last year at Blacklake Golf Resort in Nipomo, the same golf course where the remains of Joseph Martin Govey were pulled from a lake on the property a week earlier.
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