Ben Campbell and Ken Horack
A gay man from Qatar is on trial in Perth, Australia, for the murder of his Texas boyfriend’s partner.
William Benjamin Campbell, 44, lived with his partner Kenneth Horack in Galveston and Liberty, Texas, which is 30 miles northeast of Houston.
In 2007, Campbell got a job in Qatar. That’s where he met Mohammed Ahmed Almansouri, 39, in 2009.
When Campbell returned to Houston in 2011, Almansouri came to Texas with him, but lived in a separate bedroom, according to the newspaper The Australian.
In June 2011, Campbell moved to Perth for a new job and Horack and Almansouri moved with him. According to the paper, Horack and Campbell shared one bedroom and Almansouri stayed in a second bedroom in a home in Subiaco, a suburb of Perth, on Australia’s west coast.
One night in August, Campbell was out to dinner with business associates. Almansouri called Campbell and told him to come home because he had killed Horack.
Campbell returned and found Horack with 14 stab wounds to the head, chest, arm, leg and shoulder.
The prosecution contends a jealous rage and “anger boiled over.”
Almansouri’s defense is that the attack was not premeditated, but an act of self-defense after Horack attacked him. Almansouri claims he had a stab wound in the butt.
Horack’s obituary in the Liberty County newspaper, The Vindicator, notes, “Kenny was well traveled and enjoyed exploring new international locations with long-time partner of 17 years, Ben Campbell, whom he loved very much.” But it doesn’t mention Almansouri or the murder.
The trial is expected to last two weeks.
