Benson Caused Worst Injuries in Beating at 2011 Party, Attorney Says

The trial of two Hillsborough men on aggravated assault charges stemming from an incident at a Millstone house party in 2011 took a turn Wednesday when the lawyer for one pointed a finger at Clint Benson of Hillsborough for the worst of the beating. 

The trial stems from a Sept. 24, 2011, incident, when Daniel Humphreys was beaten while at a party. Four Hillsborough men—Kevin Regan, Alexander Karousatos, Todd Shamro and Clint Benson—were initially charged with aggravated assault for the beating, but the charges against Shamro and Benson were later dropped, due to "insufficient evidence."

During Wednesday's closing arguments, attorney Jack Venturi, representing Regan, said Benson, son of former N.Y. Giants lineman and auto dealer Brad Benson, administered the most severe beating to Humphreys.

He told the jury that Benson boasted about the beating.

“I lit him up,” Venturi told the jurors. “We knocked him down. We beat on him and he stumbled down the stairs and fell into the pond, and we went after him.” 

Benson also has been indicted on assault by auto charges following an incident in Branchburg. Recently, Superior Court Judge Judge Robert Reed, sitting in Somerville, ruled the charge could not be used in the current trial against Regan and Karousatos. 

Attorney Matthew Katzenbach, representing Karousatos, said his client admitted to pushing Humphreys but did not participate in any beatings—he noted his client's hands were unmarked when police interviewed him subsequent to the incident.

In his closing arguments, Somerset County Assistant Prosecutor Frank Kolodzieski said evidence showed Humphreys was "beaten violently and suffered significant bodily injury" by Regan and Karousatos.