CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A state inmate who murdered his wife has now pleaded guilty to defrauding the government.
Zachary Dawson, 38, entered a guilty plea Wednesday to theft of public money. He remains incarcerated at the Mount Olive State Prison in Fayette County. The U.S. Attorney for Southern West Virginia’s office said that Dawson ran an eight-year scheme, claiming that he had post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following his service in the U.S. Army in Afghanistan.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s release, Dawson earned $354,813.98 in U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs benefits in his scheme. By pleading guilty, Dawson admitted that he lied to the Veterans Benefits Administration to earn the benefits.
Dawson has been serving a life sentence for the November 2022 murder of his newlywed wife, Marrisa (Mann-Bennett) Dawson. Two years ago, Dawson pleaded guilty in Greenbrier County Circuit Court to beating her to death. The fatal beating followed a violent argument.
Dawson’s wife was the mother of five children.