Teenager arrested in Modesto rape, murder case makes first court appearance
A Patterson teenager accused of rape and murder in the death of a Modesto woman made his first appearance in Stanislaus Superior Court on Wednesday afternoon.
Last week, Seth Becknel, 18, was arrested in connection with the death of Jenny Wu. The 41-year-old woman was found without her clothing in a Modesto alley on the morning of April 21, 2017.
Wu was living at the Modesto Residential Living Center, a mental health facility in the 1900 block of Evergreen Avenue. She was reported missing from the facility on the evening before her body was found.
Modesto police investigators believe she was out for a walk when she was attacked. The following morning, her body was discovered positioned between a utility box and a fence in the alley near the 1700 block of Evergreen Avenue. Police officials said Wu had been asphyxiated.
Becknel lived near the mental health facility when Wu was attacked, police officials have said. Investigators collected evidence including DNA, which was sent to a state Department of Justice crime lab for analysis and led to the teenager’s arrest.
Becknel was 17 at the time the deadly attack occurred. Because Becknel was underage, a judge must decide if he should be prosecuted as an adult. But that issue was not discussed Wednesday during a brief hearing.
For now, the case against Becknel remains in the Juvenile Court system. Superior Court Judge Linda McFadden needed to decide where Becknel will await prosecution.
The judge on Wednesday received a detention report from the Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office that recommended that Becknel remain at the Stanislaus County Jail, where he’s been held without bail since his arrest.
Judges in juvenile court cases have the discretion to allow an underage defendant to return home with their parents while awaiting prosecution. McFadden said it would not be appropriate to send Becknel home with his parents.
Deputy District Attorney John R. Mayne told McFadden that the defendant could be housed at the county’s Juvenile Hall, but authorities had already determined that Becknel will be housed at the adult jail, since he’s 18 and will be 19 next month.
McFadden scheduled Becknel to return to her courtroom Feb. 28 to give his court-appointed attorney, Mary Ellen Hertle, more time to review the case before proceeding.
Becknel had since moved to Patterson, where he was arrested Dec. 5 on suspicion of carrying a concealed knife while panhandling outside a grocery store. Adults arrested on suspicion of a felony offense are subject to DNA collection, according to the state Department of Justice.
Authorities analyzed Becknel’s DNA sample, which matched DNA evidence collected in the investigation of Wu’s death, according to Modesto police.
This story was originally published February 14, 2019 at 12:35 PM.