WEBVTT - Hell and Gone Murder Line: Jennifer Wix Part 2 0:00:46.480 --> 0:00:51.921 School of Humans. Helen Got Murder Line actively investigates cold 0:00:52.040 --> 0:00:55.361 case murders in an effort to raise public awareness invite 0:00:55.401 --> 0:00:58.761 witnesses to come forward and present evidence that could potentially 0:00:58.840 --> 0:01:02.961 be further investigated by law enforcement. While we value insights 0:01:03.001 --> 0:01:06.160 from family and community members, their statements should not be 0:01:06.200 --> 0:01:09.961 considered evidence and point to the challenges of verifying facts 0:01:10.041 --> 0:01:14.041 inherent in cold cases. We remind listeners that everyone has 0:01:14.080 --> 0:01:17.160 presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. 0:01:17.961 --> 0:01:20.840 Nothing in the podcast is intended to state or imply 0:01:21.041 --> 0:01:23.601 that anyone who has not been convicted of a crime 0:01:24.121 --> 0:01:27.121 is guilty of any wrongdoing. Thanks for listening. 0:01:31.520 --> 0:01:34.920 On March twenty fifth, two thousand and four, Jennifer Wicks 0:01:34.920 --> 0:01:39.440 and her daughter, two year old Adriana disappeared. Last week, 0:01:39.640 --> 0:01:42.801 we talked to Jennifer's younger half sister, Casey, who has 0:01:42.840 --> 0:01:45.240 been fighting for ants about what happened to her sister 0:01:45.601 --> 0:01:50.241 and her only niece. Casey said that since Jennifer disappeared, 0:01:50.641 --> 0:01:54.081 their family has heard conflicting stories about the last time 0:01:54.121 --> 0:01:57.881 that Jennifer was seen from Joey Benton, Jennifer's boyfriend. 0:01:57.481 --> 0:01:58.041 At the time. 0:01:59.281 --> 0:02:03.081 Since December of two thousand and three, Jennifer and Adriana 0:02:03.201 --> 0:02:06.281 had been living with Joey and his family on their property, 0:02:06.881 --> 0:02:10.081 first in an outbuilding and then in the Benton's three 0:02:10.081 --> 0:02:15.201 bedroom family home. But according to Casey and Jennifer's mother Kathy, 0:02:15.841 --> 0:02:19.761 Jennifer's life at the Benton House had become chaotic. Though 0:02:19.841 --> 0:02:23.081 obviously we're only hearing one side of the story, we 0:02:23.321 --> 0:02:27.321 do know from phone calls that arguments were happening between 0:02:27.401 --> 0:02:32.041 Jennifer and members of Joey's family. On March twenty fifth, 0:02:32.041 --> 0:02:36.641 twenty twenty four, the day Jennifer and Adriana disappeared, Jennifer 0:02:36.721 --> 0:02:39.961 called her aunt Lisa. She told her Aunt Lisa that 0:02:40.081 --> 0:02:42.201 she was going to tell Joey that she was leaving 0:02:42.240 --> 0:02:45.201 the Benton House. She said she was going to try 0:02:45.281 --> 0:02:47.921 to get joe to move out with her, but she 0:02:47.960 --> 0:02:50.841 said that if Joey didn't agree, Jennifer was leaving with 0:02:50.881 --> 0:02:54.161 Adriana on her own and coming to her aunt Lisa's. 0:02:55.161 --> 0:02:58.041 Lisa said that they could stay at her house and 0:02:58.161 --> 0:03:01.841 left out her spare key, but Jennifer never used it 0:03:02.961 --> 0:03:06.161 and after that day she was never heard from again 0:03:06.281 --> 0:03:12.681 by anyone in her family. Jennifer's family has claimed that 0:03:12.801 --> 0:03:16.601 Joey told their family in law enforcement different stories about 0:03:16.601 --> 0:03:20.561 what happened that day. Casey said that Joey told her 0:03:20.881 --> 0:03:24.001 that on the day Jennifer went missing, he picked Jennifer 0:03:24.041 --> 0:03:27.281 and Adriana up at his family's home after leaving work. 0:03:28.281 --> 0:03:31.001 This was two thousand and four. Jennifer did not have. 0:03:30.961 --> 0:03:34.241 A cell phone, so Joey said that he drove Jennifer 0:03:34.281 --> 0:03:36.721 to a local grocery store and that she went. 0:03:36.641 --> 0:03:38.281 In to use the phone. 0:03:38.321 --> 0:03:41.121 He said that he then drove her and Adriana to 0:03:41.161 --> 0:03:45.361 a gas station in cross Plains. There, he says Jennifer 0:03:45.361 --> 0:03:48.521 and Adriana got into a vehicle, which he described as 0:03:48.521 --> 0:03:49.961 a white four door Sedan. 0:03:51.041 --> 0:03:53.001 After that they disappeared. 0:03:54.041 --> 0:03:57.641 Initially, Joey had told police a similar story about leaving 0:03:57.681 --> 0:04:00.481 work and then driving Jennifer and Adriana to a grocery 0:04:00.481 --> 0:04:02.401 store and then to an Exon gas station. 0:04:03.361 --> 0:04:04.241 But then in. 0:04:04.121 --> 0:04:08.521 Twenty thirteen, the Robertson County Sheriff's Office posted a statement 0:04:08.601 --> 0:04:12.441 about the case. They said that Joey had stated something different, 0:04:12.961 --> 0:04:15.961 that Jennifer had come back to his home and that 0:04:16.041 --> 0:04:19.001 he had seen her alive and well a day later, 0:04:19.200 --> 0:04:24.280 on March twenty sixth. In twenty twenty four, Joey's father, 0:04:24.440 --> 0:04:28.401 Joseph Benton Senior, was hit with multiple weapons charges and 0:04:28.801 --> 0:04:33.841 charges related to sexual exploitation of a miner. This led 0:04:33.880 --> 0:04:37.481 to the Benton family home where Jennifer and Adriana had 0:04:37.521 --> 0:04:42.681 been living, being raided. After that raid, Jennifer Wix's family 0:04:42.721 --> 0:04:45.840 filed a civil lawsuit against the Benton family for wrongful death, 0:04:46.481 --> 0:04:50.921 and in that lawsuit, they allege that Joseph Senior may 0:04:50.961 --> 0:04:52.641 have been responsible. 0:04:52.081 --> 0:04:53.641 For Jennifer and Adriana's death. 0:04:55.121 --> 0:04:58.481 After the raid, Joseph Senior was released but failed to 0:04:58.481 --> 0:05:01.760 appear for a hearing, so he ended up on the 0:05:01.801 --> 0:05:06.841 Tennessee Bureau of Investigations Most Wanted Fugitives list. Then Joseph 0:05:06.881 --> 0:05:12.361 Senior disappeared until on July fourth, twenty twenty five, a 0:05:12.441 --> 0:05:17.041 decomposing leg was found near Sulfur Fork Creek in Springfield. 0:05:17.881 --> 0:05:22.881 Days later, forensics confirmed that leg was Joseph Benton Seniors. 0:05:25.961 --> 0:05:29.201 I'm Catherine Townsend. Over the past seven years of making 0:05:29.241 --> 0:05:32.641 my true crime podcast, Helling Gone, I've learned that there's 0:05:32.761 --> 0:05:36.161 no such thing as a small town where murder never happens. 0:05:36.721 --> 0:05:39.601 I've received hundreds of messages from people all around the 0:05:39.601 --> 0:05:42.921 country asking for help with an unsolved murder that's affected them, 0:05:43.321 --> 0:05:44.681 their fa families. 0:05:44.561 --> 0:05:45.521 And their communities. 0:05:46.321 --> 0:05:48.241 If you have a case you'd like me and my 0:05:48.321 --> 0:05:50.801 team to look into, you can reach out to us 0:05:50.841 --> 0:05:53.440 at our Helen Gone Murder Line at six seven eight 0:05:53.721 --> 0:05:57.481 seven four four six one four five. That's six seven 0:05:57.521 --> 0:06:02.320 eight seven four four six one four five, Or you 0:06:02.361 --> 0:06:06.001 can send us a message on Instagram at Helen Gonepod. 0:06:07.161 --> 0:06:54.721 This is Helen Gone Murder Line. So this week I 0:06:54.801 --> 0:06:57.640 want to take a closer look at the conflicting information 0:06:58.001 --> 0:07:01.361 that Jennifer's family say they have received over the years. 0:07:01.921 --> 0:07:05.561 Could Jennifer have left voluntarily and started a new life. 0:07:06.201 --> 0:07:08.760 Could she have left with someone in that white car 0:07:08.961 --> 0:07:13.121 and then that person harmed her or Adriana, Or could 0:07:13.241 --> 0:07:16.841 as the Wicks family suspects, the answers lie closer to 0:07:16.841 --> 0:07:19.961 where Jennifer was last seen on or around the one 0:07:20.041 --> 0:07:21.241 hundred acres. 0:07:20.841 --> 0:07:22.281 Owned by the Bentons. 0:07:23.161 --> 0:07:26.001 First, let's explore the theory that Jennifer could have left 0:07:26.041 --> 0:07:28.641 with the person in the white car, and she could 0:07:28.721 --> 0:07:33.521 be living somewhere else and for whatever reason, just voluntarily disappeared. 0:07:33.161 --> 0:07:34.481 And wanted to go off the grid. 0:07:35.641 --> 0:07:38.841 Jennifer's family have been adamant they do not believe that 0:07:38.921 --> 0:07:42.561 this is a possibility, and I got another piece of 0:07:42.561 --> 0:07:46.801 information that makes me agree with Jennifer's family. According to 0:07:46.841 --> 0:07:49.761 what Jennifer's sister, Casey, has been told by law enforcement, 0:07:50.481 --> 0:07:54.041 since March twenty fifth, not only has Jennifer not been 0:07:54.081 --> 0:07:57.121 in contact with anyone in her family, there is no 0:07:57.321 --> 0:08:00.801 evidence that she has been in contact with anyone at all. 0:08:01.361 --> 0:08:04.601 There has been no trace of Jennifer or Adriana being 0:08:04.641 --> 0:08:08.321 alive anywhere else since that day. Casey told me that, 0:08:08.361 --> 0:08:12.241 according to her conversations with law enforcement, neither Jennifer nor 0:08:12.321 --> 0:08:15.641 Adriana's Social Security numbers, which she would have needed for 0:08:15.721 --> 0:08:19.361 lots of things, including doctor visits for herself and her daughter, 0:08:20.121 --> 0:08:25.521 was never used again. Kathy told Dateline she believed that 0:08:25.601 --> 0:08:29.601 her daughter was deceased, but at the time she was 0:08:29.681 --> 0:08:33.121 holding out hope that Adriana may still be alive and 0:08:33.160 --> 0:08:36.841 out there somewhere. Kathy told Dateline that even if something 0:08:36.920 --> 0:08:40.481 happened and someone killed Jennifer, that that person would not 0:08:40.601 --> 0:08:43.561 take the life of such a small, innocent child. That 0:08:43.800 --> 0:08:47.641 Adriana had been left somewhere or given to someone else. 0:08:48.881 --> 0:08:52.761 Law enforcement has shared an age progress photo of Adriana 0:08:53.201 --> 0:08:57.440 in case Jennifer's killer or killers either took Adriana or 0:08:57.641 --> 0:09:01.441 gave her to someone else. Kathy told news Channel five 0:09:01.521 --> 0:09:04.841 that she also did an ancestry DNA test just in 0:09:04.881 --> 0:09:08.080 case Adriana is still out there, if there was any 0:09:08.160 --> 0:09:11.641 possibility of that, however remote. She wanted to make sure 0:09:11.721 --> 0:09:14.840 that Adriana could reach out to her family someday and 0:09:14.961 --> 0:09:21.041 that they could be reunited. But Kathy, Casey and the 0:09:21.081 --> 0:09:24.001 rest of the Whigs family feel that the Benton property 0:09:24.161 --> 0:09:28.081 could have answers as to what happened to Jennifer. And 0:09:28.121 --> 0:09:39.841 then there was Joseph Benton, Senior's decomposing leg You may 0:09:39.881 --> 0:09:42.801 remember that last week. Casey told us that in twenty 0:09:42.881 --> 0:09:46.401 twenty four, she met with the district attorney in Robertson County, 0:09:46.761 --> 0:09:49.241 but that the meeting got cut short after Joey came 0:09:49.280 --> 0:09:52.401 in and said that he had information that he wanted 0:09:52.401 --> 0:09:57.161 to turn over to investigators. After that, he allegedly told 0:09:57.280 --> 0:10:00.641 Casey and her mom, while Casey was on speakerphone, that 0:10:00.761 --> 0:10:04.521 Jennifer and Adriana were already dead in their room when 0:10:04.561 --> 0:10:07.321 he came home from work that day on March twenty fifth, 0:10:07.361 --> 0:10:10.801 two thousand and four, so Joey seemed to be saying 0:10:10.921 --> 0:10:13.441 he found their bodies but had nothing to do with 0:10:13.481 --> 0:10:14.161 their deaths. 0:10:14.721 --> 0:10:16.761 This was a huge and. 0:10:16.761 --> 0:10:21.601 Shocking revelation, and this led to Kathy and Casey following 0:10:21.601 --> 0:10:25.481 a wrongful death civil lawsuit against the Bentons. They stated 0:10:25.521 --> 0:10:30.201 in that lawsuit that Joseph Senior killed Jennifer and Adriana 0:10:30.641 --> 0:10:34.561 and that Joey helped him cover it up. In a 0:10:34.681 --> 0:10:38.481 July ninth, twenty twenty five filing responding to that lawsuit, 0:10:39.001 --> 0:10:43.361 Cynthia Benton and Joey Benton completely denied these allegations. They 0:10:43.401 --> 0:10:47.001 say they had no knowledge of involvement in or connection 0:10:47.201 --> 0:10:52.121 with the disappearance of Jennifer or of Adriana. We reached 0:10:52.161 --> 0:10:55.681 out to Joey and Cynthia for comment. We didn't hear 0:10:55.721 --> 0:10:59.161 back from Joey, and Cynthia told us she did not 0:10:59.280 --> 0:11:03.401 want to comment. Cynthia Benton has filed a motion to 0:11:03.441 --> 0:11:07.321 dismiss the civil lawsuit, and in that dismissal, she claims 0:11:07.361 --> 0:11:10.921 that the civil suit quote failed to show how she 0:11:11.161 --> 0:11:14.401 and Joey Benton caused injury or harm to Jennifer or 0:11:14.521 --> 0:11:19.961 Adriana end quote. While this was happening, while the drama 0:11:20.121 --> 0:11:23.841 with the raid and the civil lawsuit was unfolding, Joseph 0:11:23.841 --> 0:11:27.201 Senior seemed to have fallen off the face of the earth. Remember, 0:11:27.761 --> 0:11:31.121 police raided the Benton family property in March of twenty 0:11:31.201 --> 0:11:34.641 twenty four. Leading up to that, in February of twenty 0:11:34.721 --> 0:11:38.601 twenty four, there were domestic assault charges filed against Joseph 0:11:38.641 --> 0:11:42.721 Senior related to an alleged assault of his wife. He 0:11:42.881 --> 0:11:46.881 was arrested and held on those charges. Now, at some point, 0:11:47.041 --> 0:11:50.801 someone we don't know who alerted police to the presence 0:11:50.801 --> 0:11:53.841 of a photo that Joseph had in his possession, which, 0:11:53.881 --> 0:11:57.281 according to court documents, showed a minor child in a 0:11:57.321 --> 0:12:01.881 sexual situation. And someone also alerted police that Joseph had 0:12:01.961 --> 0:12:05.001 multiple weapons at home, which, as a convicted felon, he 0:12:05.121 --> 0:12:08.561 was not allowed to have. Then, in March of twenty 0:12:08.601 --> 0:12:12.041 twenty four, the raid on the Benton property happened and 0:12:12.161 --> 0:12:15.761 police found the weapons and a photo of a minor 0:12:15.921 --> 0:12:19.921 child in a sexual situation. As we said last week, 0:12:19.961 --> 0:12:24.281 that photo was not Adriana, and it turned out this 0:12:24.481 --> 0:12:28.001 raid had nothing to do with her and Jennifer's disappearance, 0:12:28.961 --> 0:12:31.841 but the photo, which according to court documents, was in 0:12:31.961 --> 0:12:35.721 Joseph's possession between January and March of twenty twenty four 0:12:35.721 --> 0:12:38.961 when the raid happened, was a photo of a family member. 0:12:40.881 --> 0:12:44.481 After the raid, Joseph Senior was briefly locked up in jail, 0:12:45.241 --> 0:12:50.200 then he disappeared. According to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation's 0:12:50.401 --> 0:12:55.641 Most Wanted Information, Joseph's last known address was listed as homeless. 0:12:57.280 --> 0:12:59.121 According to media reports. 0:12:58.881 --> 0:13:02.001 Cynthia Benton said she had no communication with her husband 0:13:02.041 --> 0:13:04.761 since his release from jail in March. She said she 0:13:04.881 --> 0:13:08.401 had no idea where he was. She had also filed 0:13:08.401 --> 0:13:12.081 for divorce after the raid since he hadn't been seen 0:13:12.121 --> 0:13:15.881 in months. The Tennesseean asked the Robertson County Sheriff's office 0:13:16.121 --> 0:13:18.841 if there had been a missing persons report filed for Joseph. 0:13:19.321 --> 0:13:23.361 The department said no, there had not. Then there was 0:13:23.401 --> 0:13:27.401 the shocking news about Joseph's leg being found in Springfield 0:13:27.641 --> 0:13:32.481 near a creek. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation confirmed that 0:13:32.561 --> 0:13:35.441 they were able to test the DNA from the leg 0:13:35.601 --> 0:13:40.281 against the CODIS database and because Joseph Senior had pleaded 0:13:40.280 --> 0:13:43.401 guilty to that count of possession of prohibited weapons in 0:13:43.521 --> 0:13:47.040 US of twenty twenty four. His DNA was in the system, 0:13:47.841 --> 0:13:52.321 so they got a match. Joseph Senior's remains were found 0:13:52.401 --> 0:13:54.801 about ten miles from the Benton home. 0:13:55.841 --> 0:13:57.361 But it's been difficult. 0:13:56.921 --> 0:13:59.681 To find out any more information about what's going on 0:13:59.881 --> 0:14:04.161 with this investigation into Joseph's leg and his disappearance. The 0:14:04.201 --> 0:14:07.681 Tennesseean reported they have the same problem. In fact, the 0:14:07.721 --> 0:14:11.121 newspaper wrote they couldn't figure out who was leading the investigation. 0:14:11.841 --> 0:14:14.521 The newspaper reported that they had reached out to a 0:14:14.561 --> 0:14:18.401 spokesperson for the TBI, and this person referred them to 0:14:18.481 --> 0:14:22.001 Robertson County Law Enforcement, saying that they were leading the investigation. 0:14:22.881 --> 0:14:26.441 But then when the newspaper contacted the Robertson County Sheriff's 0:14:26.441 --> 0:14:29.921 Office for comment, they were apparently told the Springfield Police 0:14:29.921 --> 0:14:34.161 were in charge, but a spokesperson for Springfield told the 0:14:34.201 --> 0:14:38.281 newspaper the Robertson County Sheriff's Office and the nineteenth Judicial 0:14:38.401 --> 0:14:41.561 District Attorney General's office were the ones leading the investigation. 0:14:42.361 --> 0:14:45.121 This is very confusing, and they were not the only 0:14:45.161 --> 0:14:48.241 news outlet trying to get answers and clarity. On August 0:14:48.241 --> 0:14:52.441 twenty fifth, twenty twenty five, news Channel five also reported 0:14:52.681 --> 0:14:55.281 that they reached out to the Springfield Police for more 0:14:55.281 --> 0:14:59.561 details about the investigation. They said the department got back 0:14:59.601 --> 0:15:02.001 to them and stated that the leg was the only 0:15:02.041 --> 0:15:05.121 body part found, that there were no other body parts found, 0:15:05.441 --> 0:15:08.881 and they said there was quote no indication of foul 0:15:08.921 --> 0:15:10.841 play at this time end quote. 0:15:12.001 --> 0:15:14.161 Now, a lot of people posted. 0:15:13.761 --> 0:15:16.761 Comments on YouTube under that news story that reflected what 0:15:16.841 --> 0:15:18.641 I'm sure a lot of you were thinking, which is, 0:15:19.161 --> 0:15:21.801 how do you find a severed leg and come to 0:15:21.841 --> 0:15:26.001 the conclusion immediately that there's no foul play. There are 0:15:26.121 --> 0:15:27.641 a couple of possibilities that. 0:15:27.641 --> 0:15:28.241 Occurred to me. 0:15:28.961 --> 0:15:31.481 Again, we don't know anything about the evidence that the 0:15:31.561 --> 0:15:33.841 police have, so this is pure speculation. 0:15:34.521 --> 0:15:36.121 But one possibility could. 0:15:35.961 --> 0:15:38.481 Be that Joseph Senior was out in the woods and 0:15:38.561 --> 0:15:41.881 either took his own life or possibly died of natural causes, 0:15:42.401 --> 0:15:44.881 and then there was some animal likedvity and that could 0:15:44.881 --> 0:15:47.281 be the reason why his leg was separated from the 0:15:47.281 --> 0:15:48.081 rest of his body. 0:15:49.001 --> 0:15:49.921 I will say. 0:15:49.721 --> 0:15:52.641 Though, that, in my opinion, though it does seem a 0:15:52.721 --> 0:15:55.601 little odd to immediately assume there's been no sign of 0:15:55.641 --> 0:15:58.921 foul play. They may mean the leg did not appear 0:15:58.961 --> 0:16:02.601 to be cleanly severed, meaning that it wasn't immediately obvious 0:16:02.761 --> 0:16:06.521 that Joseph had been dismembered. But as with so many 0:16:06.561 --> 0:16:09.841 things in this case, the exact status of the investigation 0:16:10.161 --> 0:16:14.841 into Joseph Benton's senior's death is unclear. So where does 0:16:14.881 --> 0:16:19.401 this lead the investigation into Jennifer and Adriana's disappearances and 0:16:19.801 --> 0:16:24.481 Jennifer's family. Over the years, Joey Benton has not said 0:16:24.601 --> 0:16:29.161 much publicly about the state of the investigation. Joseph Benton, Sr. 0:16:29.281 --> 0:16:31.401 Did talk to some journalists in two thousand and eight. 0:16:31.881 --> 0:16:35.281 He told Fox seventeen News, quote, we done everything we 0:16:35.321 --> 0:16:37.721 could for a year to try to help find Jennifer, 0:16:38.161 --> 0:16:41.441 and we just don't know where Jennifer is end quote. 0:16:44.361 --> 0:16:49.601 Eventually Casey started doing her own investigating. Now, obviously Casey 0:16:49.681 --> 0:16:53.001 and her mother are not impartial. They have made it 0:16:53.121 --> 0:16:55.881 very clear that from the beginning they were suspicious of 0:16:55.961 --> 0:16:59.481 Joey and his family. They started a Facebook page in 0:16:59.481 --> 0:17:04.321 twenty eleven, and more recently, in twenty twenty four, Casey 0:17:04.441 --> 0:17:08.041 was interviewed on a podcast called Missing in Hushtown. And 0:17:08.201 --> 0:17:11.840 in that podcast, she claimed that at the time Joey 0:17:11.880 --> 0:17:15.241 and Jennifer were dating, that he had issues with drugs 0:17:15.321 --> 0:17:18.521 and that he had had police reports filed against him 0:17:18.801 --> 0:17:23.000 by other women. And as she kept digging, Casey found 0:17:23.080 --> 0:17:27.080 even more discrepancies in Joey's story about what really happened 0:17:27.201 --> 0:17:44.441 the day Jennifer and Adriana disappeared. Since Casey started investigating, 0:17:44.961 --> 0:17:48.241 she's heard a lot of conflicting information about what Joey 0:17:48.281 --> 0:17:53.001 said in the day's following Jennifer and adrian His disappearance. Remember, 0:17:53.401 --> 0:17:56.841 Joey and Jennifer had initially met through Jennifer's cousin, Jeffrey, 0:17:57.481 --> 0:18:00.441 and Jeffrey told Casey about something that happened on the 0:18:00.521 --> 0:18:02.481 night of May twenty fifth, two thousand and four. 0:18:03.281 --> 0:18:05.921 That night, there was a bonfire happening at his house 0:18:06.001 --> 0:18:08.600 that Jennifer was supposed to be at, and it was 0:18:08.681 --> 0:18:12.081 kind of like a couple's bonfire. There were three couples, 0:18:12.121 --> 0:18:15.120 and Jennifer was one of the couples with Joey, and 0:18:15.201 --> 0:18:18.041 so my cousin was there and my cousin's like, well, 0:18:18.080 --> 0:18:21.561 where's Jennifer And he says, she's at a friend's house. 0:18:22.281 --> 0:18:23.801 This seemed odd to Casey. 0:18:24.401 --> 0:18:26.961 Why would Joey tell Jeffrey that Jennifer was at a 0:18:26.961 --> 0:18:29.481 friend's house when he told police the next day that 0:18:29.601 --> 0:18:31.841 he and Jennifer had broken up in that car ride 0:18:31.840 --> 0:18:34.081 to the grocery store and then went to. 0:18:34.001 --> 0:18:34.641 The gas station. 0:18:35.721 --> 0:18:38.680 When the Robertson County Sheriff's Office put out that statement 0:18:38.761 --> 0:18:42.201 on their website in twenty thirteen, they said they were 0:18:42.321 --> 0:18:46.361 changing Jennifer and Adriana case for missing persons to homicide, 0:18:47.001 --> 0:18:50.120 and in that post they said that there was quote 0:18:50.601 --> 0:18:54.160 no independent confirmation that Jennifer had been at either the 0:18:54.201 --> 0:18:57.241 grocery store or the gas station on March twenty five 0:18:58.321 --> 0:19:01.920 to Casey's shop. The post also said that at some 0:19:02.001 --> 0:19:05.600 point Joey told law enforcement that Jennifer stopped by his 0:19:05.721 --> 0:19:09.281 house on the next day, on March twenty sixth. 0:19:09.881 --> 0:19:12.321 He says that Jennifer comes back to his house on 0:19:12.441 --> 0:19:15.681 Friday Friday. He was working at the same job site, 0:19:15.840 --> 0:19:18.481 but they got off work early, and so he was 0:19:18.521 --> 0:19:20.640 sitting in the living room and Jennifer pulls up to 0:19:20.721 --> 0:19:23.841 their house in the same white car, but alone. She's 0:19:23.881 --> 0:19:27.400 driving this car without Adriana, and she comes in to 0:19:27.401 --> 0:19:30.080 get a few things, the car seat, the diaper bag, 0:19:30.121 --> 0:19:32.521 and a change of clothes and stuff. And she's there 0:19:32.521 --> 0:19:35.441 to get her tax refunds money, her five hundred dollars 0:19:35.681 --> 0:19:37.601 and he says, well, my parents aren't here to give 0:19:37.601 --> 0:19:39.521 it to you, and she says, okay, I'll come back tomorrow, 0:19:39.840 --> 0:19:41.241 and of course never shows up. 0:19:42.161 --> 0:19:46.801 Later said that Joey's mother wrote her mother Kathy, a 0:19:46.921 --> 0:19:49.681 check for the five hundred dollars that she said Jennifer 0:19:49.721 --> 0:19:52.680 had gotten from her tax returns and deposited into one 0:19:52.721 --> 0:19:56.400 of Joey's family member's accounts because at the time, Casey said, 0:19:56.721 --> 0:20:00.681 Jennifer did not have her own bank account. Casey also 0:20:00.840 --> 0:20:05.120 has questions about the car. Joey told law enforcement that 0:20:05.161 --> 0:20:08.201 the white car that Jennifer drove to his house was 0:20:08.241 --> 0:20:11.081 the same one that Jennifer had gotten into the day before, 0:20:11.761 --> 0:20:15.041 but he said he couldn't identify the car more precisely 0:20:15.321 --> 0:20:17.640 than saying it was a four door white vehicle. 0:20:18.561 --> 0:20:20.840 He can't make out what kind of car it is, 0:20:21.001 --> 0:20:24.201 even though he changes that story. Originally in the police report, 0:20:24.201 --> 0:20:27.641 it says a white fourd do or Camaro or Mustang, 0:20:27.840 --> 0:20:30.881 which those do not exist, so he changes it from 0:20:30.961 --> 0:20:32.641 that to just a white board or car. 0:20:33.641 --> 0:20:36.920 We know that Jennifer was arguing with the Bentons, but 0:20:37.001 --> 0:20:40.360 we don't know much about those arguments or who the 0:20:40.401 --> 0:20:43.161 main family member was who Jennifer had a problem with. 0:20:44.321 --> 0:20:47.481 As we said last week, law enforcement have said the 0:20:47.601 --> 0:20:50.801 last person to talk to Jennifer was her father, Michael, 0:20:51.161 --> 0:20:54.001 at around eleven am on March twenty fifth, two thousand 0:20:54.001 --> 0:20:58.120 and four. That was the conversation where Jennifer told Michael 0:20:58.241 --> 0:21:01.640 that Joey's mom was acting strange and that she was scared. 0:21:02.681 --> 0:21:06.281 Casey told me something else about that phone call. Apparently, 0:21:06.321 --> 0:21:09.640 at some point Jennifer was under the impression that she 0:21:09.801 --> 0:21:12.080 and Joey were going on a picnic on that day, 0:21:12.561 --> 0:21:16.401 a detail that Casey is not sure that Joey told police. 0:21:17.281 --> 0:21:19.481 On the phone call with her dad after she said 0:21:19.561 --> 0:21:21.721 I'm scared, dad, and he said of what she said 0:21:22.201 --> 0:21:24.960 of his mom, she's acting weird. Her dad said, well, 0:21:24.961 --> 0:21:27.041 why don't you have your Grainny come get you or 0:21:27.121 --> 0:21:29.841 your mom come get you? And she's like, no, Joey's 0:21:29.881 --> 0:21:31.641 on his way home. We're going to go on a picnic. 0:21:32.321 --> 0:21:34.961 At that point in time, I guess joe had already 0:21:35.001 --> 0:21:37.401 told her before he left her work or she had 0:21:37.401 --> 0:21:39.001 talked to him earlier in the day. I don't know 0:21:39.041 --> 0:21:41.521 what it was, but they had plans for him to 0:21:41.561 --> 0:21:44.440 come home early. She knew he was on his way home. 0:21:45.041 --> 0:21:48.281 That's kind of an important thing to note because when 0:21:48.321 --> 0:21:50.961 we're thinking about who made the phone calls from the house, 0:21:51.001 --> 0:21:52.481 that it potentially could have been her. 0:21:53.921 --> 0:21:56.600 Casey spoke to Joey and says he told her that 0:21:56.641 --> 0:21:59.160 he and Jennifer did have a picnic, but that it 0:21:59.241 --> 0:22:02.201 wasn't any particular destination, that they just hung around the 0:22:02.241 --> 0:22:05.921 barn on the Benton property, and that after that he 0:22:06.041 --> 0:22:13.321 and Jennifer went on the drive. Over the years, Casey 0:22:13.481 --> 0:22:15.881 says she and the rest of her family have only 0:22:15.961 --> 0:22:19.961 become more convinced that Joey and his family were hiding something. 0:22:20.881 --> 0:22:24.761 The Sheriff's off estated quote no one, including Joey Benton, 0:22:24.881 --> 0:22:28.561 has been eliminated as having potential involvement in the disappearance 0:22:28.681 --> 0:22:30.481 of Jennifer and Adriana. 0:22:30.001 --> 0:22:31.841 Wicks End quote. 0:22:32.161 --> 0:22:36.360 Between two thousand and four and twenty thirteen, the Robertson 0:22:36.361 --> 0:22:39.841 County Sheriff's Department has searched the Benton property on four 0:22:39.881 --> 0:22:43.721 separate occasions, They reportedly drained a pond on the land 0:22:43.881 --> 0:22:47.881 as well. Jennifer's family told the Tennessee And that there 0:22:47.921 --> 0:22:51.041 was another search in twenty twenty one that scent and 0:22:51.080 --> 0:22:54.281 cadaver dogs were on the Benton property and that ground 0:22:54.321 --> 0:22:58.521 penetrating radar was also used. They told the newspaper that 0:22:58.561 --> 0:23:01.721 the dogs and the radar ultimately did not lead to 0:23:01.840 --> 0:23:05.841 any human remains being found. Then there was the big 0:23:05.961 --> 0:23:08.761 raid in twenty twenty four on the Benton property, and 0:23:08.840 --> 0:23:12.161 before Casey knew that the raid wasn't related to her 0:23:12.201 --> 0:23:16.641 sister and niece's disappearances, the family briefly had hope again, 0:23:17.801 --> 0:23:20.681 they said in a statement to news Channel five, quote, 0:23:21.001 --> 0:23:24.880 twenty years ago today we reported the missing. Law enforcement 0:23:25.041 --> 0:23:28.840 have never been on that property to conduct a warranted search. 0:23:29.881 --> 0:23:33.400 That house has the answers we need, and we're hoping 0:23:33.921 --> 0:23:35.561 this is the day we get them. 0:23:35.840 --> 0:23:39.521 End quote. 0:23:39.561 --> 0:23:42.641 We don't know a lot of details about the searches 0:23:42.681 --> 0:23:45.561 that have happened on the Benton property over the years, 0:23:45.921 --> 0:23:51.161 but reportedly nothing of evidentiary value related to Jennifer's case 0:23:51.281 --> 0:23:55.761 has ever been found there by law enforcement. When Robertson 0:23:55.801 --> 0:23:59.041 County Sheriff Bill Holt contributed to that posting on the 0:23:59.080 --> 0:24:02.801 department website in twenty thirteen, he said that the Sheriff's 0:24:02.801 --> 0:24:06.721 office was quote absolutely committed to not letting Jennifer and 0:24:06.761 --> 0:24:10.401 Adriana Wicks be forgotten, and he went on to say, quote, 0:24:10.721 --> 0:24:13.361 I strongly believe that there are persons. 0:24:12.921 --> 0:24:15.401 In this community who know what happened to Jennifer. 0:24:15.041 --> 0:24:18.681 And Adriana, but who have been reluctant to come forward 0:24:18.921 --> 0:24:23.321 for one reason or another. We today strongly encourage our 0:24:23.361 --> 0:24:27.080 citizens to help us provide answers and closure to the family, 0:24:27.761 --> 0:24:32.041 and as circumstances warrant justice to these two young persons 0:24:32.161 --> 0:24:33.721 who chose to live in our area. 0:24:34.361 --> 0:24:34.840 End quote. 0:24:35.961 --> 0:24:38.801 So from that statement, it seems like police believe there 0:24:38.840 --> 0:24:42.481 are people, maybe people right there in that community who 0:24:42.561 --> 0:24:45.761 have information that could lead to finding Jennifer and Adriana 0:24:46.241 --> 0:24:49.640 or the remains. The police have a number that you 0:24:49.681 --> 0:24:53.441 can call with tips at the Robertson County Sheriff's Office. 0:24:53.481 --> 0:24:56.840 The number is six one, five three, eight four, seven 0:24:57.001 --> 0:25:01.161 nine seven one. It's also listed on the department's Major 0:25:01.241 --> 0:25:05.400 Unsolved Cases page. There's also a crime tip section on 0:25:05.441 --> 0:25:08.361 the sheriff's department website at www. 0:25:08.561 --> 0:25:10.841 Dot robertson sheriff dot Com. 0:25:11.201 --> 0:25:15.201 From there you can navigate to the crime tips page. 0:25:15.481 --> 0:25:19.041 There are still so many unanswered questions in this case, 0:25:19.561 --> 0:25:25.041 including did Joseph Senior's disappearance have anything even indirectly to 0:25:25.121 --> 0:25:28.481 do with Jennifer and Adriana's case, and if not, what 0:25:28.761 --> 0:25:33.041