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Man sentenced to 68 years for killing estranged wife in Chesapeake

CHESAPEAKE, Va. (WAVY) – A man accused of killing his estranged wife in Chesapeake in April of 2022 was sentenced to serve 68 years in prison on Monday.

According to police, on April 4, 2022, then 46-year-old Ben Matthew Wynkoop shot and killed his estranged wife, 44-year-old Kathryn Kathleen Dean, inside a home in the 600 block of Willow Oak Drive.


A protective order against Wynkoop was served on March 23, ordering him to stay away from home on Willow Oak Drive, court documents revealed.

Evidence revealed Wynkoop, who was in the process of a divorce with Dean, drove from North Carolina to Dean’s home in Chesapeake.

Dean called 911 shortly before being shot, where Chesapeake Police Dispatch heard a man and a woman arguing followed by several gunshots.

Wynkoop was taken into custody during a traffic stop in Currituck County just before 5 p.m. the same day as the homicide.

Wynkoop was found guilty of second-degree murder, commission of a murder, armed burglary and several firearm charges in June of 2023.

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