WEBVTT - Hell and Gone Murder Line: Jennifer Wix Part 1 0:00:46.480 --> 0:00:51.961 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 --> 0:01:14.000 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. 0:01:29.520 --> 0:01:32.281 On March twenty fifth, two thousand and four, twenty one 0:01:32.360 --> 0:01:36.361 year old Jennifer Wicks was in crisis. Jennifer lived in 0:01:36.441 --> 0:01:39.801 Robertson County, Tennessee. She was a single mother to her 0:01:39.840 --> 0:01:44.241 two year old daughter, Adriana, who Jennifer adored. She and 0:01:44.281 --> 0:01:48.441 Adriana had moved in with her boyfriend, William Joseph Joey 0:01:48.481 --> 0:01:52.561 Benton and his parents, Cynthia and Frank Joseph Benton a 0:01:52.601 --> 0:01:55.041 few months before, in December of two thousand and three, 0:01:56.361 --> 0:02:00.441 for clarity, because the father and son have the same name. 0:02:00.841 --> 0:02:02.761 From here on out, we're going to call the father 0:02:02.960 --> 0:02:08.081 Joseph and the son Joey. The situation at the Benton 0:02:08.161 --> 0:02:12.481 home was volatile. Before moving in with Joey's family, Jennifer 0:02:12.561 --> 0:02:15.681 lived with her mother, Kathy Nail, and her younger half sister, 0:02:15.841 --> 0:02:20.201 Casey Wicks. Casey told us that Jennifer had been calling 0:02:20.240 --> 0:02:23.761 home and complaining to her mother that she wasn't getting 0:02:23.761 --> 0:02:28.120 along with certain members of Joey's family. Because Casey was 0:02:28.201 --> 0:02:32.161 living in the home, she was hearing some of these conversations, 0:02:32.201 --> 0:02:35.041 and also it was a topic of discussion in their house. 0:02:35.841 --> 0:02:38.921 So even though they were only hearing Jennifer's side of 0:02:38.960 --> 0:02:43.081 the story, Casey and Jennifer's mom, Kathy Nell, were forming 0:02:43.121 --> 0:02:45.801 an impression of Joey that wasn't great, So there was 0:02:45.881 --> 0:02:50.201 tension there. Over a period of a few months, Jennifer's 0:02:50.240 --> 0:02:53.481 family said the situation at the Benton home had become 0:02:53.521 --> 0:02:59.321 increasingly strained. Then, on March twenty fifth, something happened. No 0:02:59.361 --> 0:03:02.721 one knows exactly what happened, and law enforcement has not 0:03:02.881 --> 0:03:06.960 released much information due to this still being an open investigation. 0:03:07.881 --> 0:03:10.801 That being said, we do know a few things about 0:03:10.841 --> 0:03:14.401 the timeline leading up to that day. At some point 0:03:14.521 --> 0:03:17.681 during the day on March twenty fifth, Joey got a 0:03:17.681 --> 0:03:20.881 call at work and he left suddenly, saying that he 0:03:20.961 --> 0:03:24.601 needed to deal with a situation at home. He told 0:03:24.641 --> 0:03:28.001 police that he picked up Jennifer and Adriana at his home. 0:03:28.481 --> 0:03:29.801 He said they went for a drive. 0:03:30.521 --> 0:03:34.081 During that drive, Joey claimed that he and Jennifer decided 0:03:34.121 --> 0:03:38.121 to end their relationship. After that, Joey told police that 0:03:38.161 --> 0:03:39.761 he stopped at a grocery. 0:03:39.281 --> 0:03:41.441 Store so that Jennifer could use the phone there. 0:03:42.041 --> 0:03:45.441 Then, he said he drove her Adriana to a nearby 0:03:45.521 --> 0:03:49.041 gas station in Cross Plains, which was a few minutes away. 0:03:50.321 --> 0:03:54.321 Joey said at that gas station, Jennifer and Adriana got 0:03:54.321 --> 0:03:57.161 into a vehicle, which he described as a white four 0:03:57.201 --> 0:04:04.161 door Sedan. Jennifer and Adriana were never seen again. From 0:04:04.201 --> 0:04:08.441 the beginning, Jennifer's family has been suspicious of this story. 0:04:09.241 --> 0:04:11.681 They say they just don't believe that a young mom 0:04:11.721 --> 0:04:14.801 with a toddler would leave without any of her belongings 0:04:15.281 --> 0:04:19.241 and without ever calling her family. Also, they pointed out 0:04:19.241 --> 0:04:21.921 that Jennifer could have stayed with multiple family members who 0:04:21.921 --> 0:04:25.201 lived in the area, and that on the day she disappeared, 0:04:25.640 --> 0:04:28.041 she had actually talked to her aunt about staying with 0:04:28.121 --> 0:04:31.440 her and picking up a key, So why would she 0:04:31.640 --> 0:04:35.161 drive off with someone else and never contact her family. 0:04:36.200 --> 0:04:39.561 It's been almost twenty years, and those years have been 0:04:39.601 --> 0:04:43.601 filled with rumors, several searches of a property shifting, st 0:04:43.880 --> 0:04:47.440 worries about what really happened that day, a wrongful death lawsuit, 0:04:47.760 --> 0:04:51.241 and most recently, a severed body part connected to a 0:04:51.281 --> 0:04:55.720 family member found in a creek. And yet no one 0:04:55.760 --> 0:04:59.880 has found any trace of Jennifer Wicks or her daughter Adriana. 0:05:01.201 --> 0:05:02.321 I'm Catherine Townsend. 0:05:02.721 --> 0:05:05.640 Over the past seven years of making my true crime podcast, 0:05:05.721 --> 0:05:08.521 Helen Gone, I've learned that there is no such thing 0:05:08.641 --> 0:05:12.320 as a small town where murder never happens. I've received 0:05:12.441 --> 0:05:15.721 hundreds of messages from people all around the country asking 0:05:15.761 --> 0:05:19.081 for help with an unsolved murder that's affected them, their families, 0:05:19.361 --> 0:05:22.401 and their communities. If you have a case you'd like 0:05:22.441 --> 0:05:24.721 me and my team to look into, you can reach 0:05:24.761 --> 0:05:27.001 out to us at our Helen Gone Murder Line at 0:05:27.081 --> 0:05:30.081 six seven eight seven four four six one four five. 0:05:30.601 --> 0:05:33.961 That's six seven eight seven four four six one four 0:05:34.121 --> 0:05:37.681 five or you can send us a message on Instagram 0:05:37.761 --> 0:06:17.961 at Hell and Gonepod. This is Helen Gone Murder Line. 0:06:25.841 --> 0:06:30.841 We spoke to Casey, Jennifer's younger half sister, Jennifer. Casey 0:06:30.921 --> 0:06:33.281 and their middle sister, Heather have the same mother but 0:06:33.401 --> 0:06:36.801 different fathers, and there are three more sisters on Jennifer's 0:06:36.801 --> 0:06:40.081 father's side, so six sisters in total. 0:06:40.801 --> 0:06:44.201 He was just the cool older sister, ahead of all 0:06:44.241 --> 0:06:48.721 of us, and just all things school and boys and 0:06:49.321 --> 0:06:51.681 going through things in life that we hadn't yet gone 0:06:51.721 --> 0:06:54.721 through at the time that they disappeared. And she was 0:06:54.961 --> 0:06:59.601 artistic and quiet. She was not super outgoing, just very 0:06:59.881 --> 0:07:04.961 spoken and intrinsic, and she loved to write. She loved 0:07:05.001 --> 0:07:08.921 animals and horses and spent a lot of time outdoors, 0:07:09.001 --> 0:07:11.921 just a country girl in Robertson County, Tennessee. 0:07:13.161 --> 0:07:16.641 Jennifer's mom, Cathy, told Dateline that she and Jennifer were 0:07:16.721 --> 0:07:17.361 very close. 0:07:17.961 --> 0:07:20.001 She said that they were a lot alike. 0:07:20.121 --> 0:07:23.481 Which sometimes made them butt heads, mainly because she said 0:07:23.561 --> 0:07:27.561 Jennifer was headstrong like her. Casey told us that at 0:07:27.601 --> 0:07:31.321 age nineteen, Jennifer didn't go to college after high school. 0:07:31.401 --> 0:07:33.281 She continued to live at home and was trying to 0:07:33.281 --> 0:07:35.761 figure out her next move. That's when she met a 0:07:35.761 --> 0:07:39.761 guy named Billy. They had a brief relationship. Casey said 0:07:39.761 --> 0:07:42.241 that Jennifer wanted to be more serious, but that Billy 0:07:42.361 --> 0:07:45.481 didn't want to settle down, and so they broke up. 0:07:46.241 --> 0:07:48.961 Then a few months later, Jennifer found out that she 0:07:49.041 --> 0:07:52.561 was pregnant with Adriana. At that point, she wasn't sure 0:07:52.601 --> 0:07:56.401 who the father was. Even though the pregnancy was a surprise, 0:07:56.921 --> 0:08:00.840 the family completely supported Jennifer, and Jennifer adored her daughter. 0:08:01.401 --> 0:08:04.161 She worked multiple jobs to make ends meet. 0:08:05.041 --> 0:08:07.561 I took care of her as an infant while my 0:08:07.641 --> 0:08:10.401 sister worked like second and third fifth job. So I 0:08:10.481 --> 0:08:13.121 was very close with her and treasured my time with 0:08:13.201 --> 0:08:16.761 her that it was only two years. She was perfect, 0:08:17.401 --> 0:08:21.521 the biggest, brightest blue eyes, looked just like her dad, 0:08:21.881 --> 0:08:26.121 and just a tiny little thing, just innocent and beautiful 0:08:26.321 --> 0:08:31.201 and perfect. She's my own le niece and I have nephews. 0:08:31.281 --> 0:08:34.401 But definitely knew that we would have been close today 0:08:34.800 --> 0:08:35.521 if she were here. 0:08:36.560 --> 0:08:39.800 At first, Jennifer believed that another man who she dated 0:08:39.841 --> 0:08:43.401 before Billy was Adriana's father, but a DNA test proved 0:08:43.481 --> 0:08:47.121 that he was not. Then, after a chance meeting at 0:08:47.121 --> 0:08:51.561 the fair, Jennifer became convinced that Billy was Adrianna's father. 0:08:52.481 --> 0:08:55.121 They had ran into each other and he kind of 0:08:55.121 --> 0:08:57.920 looked down and was like, oh, my gosh, because she's 0:08:57.961 --> 0:09:00.721 a spitting image of him and is around the age 0:09:00.800 --> 0:09:03.841 of whenever, you know, they would have conceived her whatever. 0:09:04.641 --> 0:09:07.720 They met up after that, and he was like, I mean, 0:09:07.721 --> 0:09:10.401 she's clearly mine. It would you be okay? Like getting 0:09:10.441 --> 0:09:13.040 the fraternity test, and they did, and they just hadn't 0:09:13.040 --> 0:09:15.401 paid for the results yet and we didn't pay for 0:09:15.401 --> 0:09:18.201 those and get those until after they disappeared and found 0:09:18.241 --> 0:09:19.321 out he was her dad. 0:09:21.001 --> 0:09:24.080 In two thousand and three, Kathy got a job opportunity 0:09:24.121 --> 0:09:28.121 in Las Vegas, so she and Casey moved. Jennifer stayed 0:09:28.121 --> 0:09:31.081 behind in Tennessee. She was living with her aunt Lisa. 0:09:31.881 --> 0:09:34.801 In the summer of two thousand and three, Jennifer met 0:09:34.921 --> 0:09:37.161 Joey Benton through her cousin, Jeffrey. 0:09:38.081 --> 0:09:41.641 My sister Jennifer called my mom and was like, I'm 0:09:41.641 --> 0:09:45.161 at the boy. She met him through Jeffrey, my cousin. 0:09:45.681 --> 0:09:49.281 Jennifer and Adriana stayed with my aunt Lisa, which is 0:09:49.401 --> 0:09:52.041 just right down the road. From where Joey lived, and 0:09:52.081 --> 0:09:54.841 I guess like Joey and Jeffrey is my cousin's name. 0:09:55.001 --> 0:09:57.081 They were hanging out all the time. They were really 0:09:57.081 --> 0:10:00.721 good friends, and Jennifer got introduced to Joey and they 0:10:01.321 --> 0:10:05.481 fell in love and started dating. And yeah, they dated for. 0:10:05.481 --> 0:10:09.361 A short time, but then Casey said that she and 0:10:09.441 --> 0:10:12.481 her mom got a call from Jennifer in October of 0:10:12.521 --> 0:10:15.161 two thousand and three that alarmed them. 0:10:15.441 --> 0:10:20.121 Their relationship, you could describe it as volatile intense. My 0:10:20.241 --> 0:10:23.321 sister called my mom. We were still in Las Vegas 0:10:23.361 --> 0:10:26.441 at the time, and she called my mom and was 0:10:26.561 --> 0:10:28.961 very upset, and she had just been dropped off at 0:10:28.961 --> 0:10:32.641 her grandparents' house because Joey had pulled a gun during 0:10:32.641 --> 0:10:34.881 an argument that they were having and threatened to hurt 0:10:34.921 --> 0:10:38.081 himself and hurt Jennifer and Adriana, and so he would 0:10:38.121 --> 0:10:39.721 like just get them out of here, and his mom 0:10:39.841 --> 0:10:43.321 took them and dropped them off out her grandparents, which 0:10:43.321 --> 0:10:44.361 is not too far away. 0:10:45.481 --> 0:10:49.041 Jennifer and Joey broke up, and Casey and Kathy were 0:10:49.121 --> 0:10:53.081 so concerned they immediately moved back to Tennessee to be 0:10:53.161 --> 0:10:57.721 with her. Casey said that her mother believed that Jennifer 0:10:57.801 --> 0:11:00.121 would break off all contact with Joey. 0:11:00.921 --> 0:11:03.401 That was part of okay, you are breaking up, you're 0:11:03.441 --> 0:11:05.841 moving in with us, So she wasn't supposed to be 0:11:05.881 --> 0:11:08.681 talking to him and he wasn't allowed around, so they 0:11:08.721 --> 0:11:10.201 weren't supposed to be seeing on together. 0:11:11.641 --> 0:11:15.721 Despite that conversation, Jennifer and Joey at some point did 0:11:15.761 --> 0:11:19.321 reconnect and start seeing each other, and then in December 0:11:19.361 --> 0:11:22.641 of two thousand and three, Casey said she remembers the 0:11:22.721 --> 0:11:26.440 day that changed everything when Joey showed up at their 0:11:26.481 --> 0:11:39.401 house and said that Jennifer was coming to live with him. 0:11:39.721 --> 0:11:42.481 In December of two thousand and three, Casey said that 0:11:42.601 --> 0:11:45.801 Joey showed up at their house saying that Jennifer was 0:11:45.841 --> 0:11:46.761 coming to live with him. 0:11:47.601 --> 0:11:49.761 He walked in our house even though he wasn't supposed 0:11:49.801 --> 0:11:52.761 to be there, and went down the stairs where Jennifer 0:11:52.761 --> 0:11:55.280 and Adriana had this apartment area they were living in 0:11:55.721 --> 0:11:59.561 our basement, and he went down there and Jennifer had 0:11:59.641 --> 0:12:02.241 packed up their things, and he started gathering their things 0:12:02.280 --> 0:12:04.641 and was taking them out to the truck. Then my 0:12:04.761 --> 0:12:07.280 mom walks in and was like, WHOA, You're not supposed 0:12:07.280 --> 0:12:10.281 to be here, she's not going with you, and we're 0:12:10.361 --> 0:12:14.081 trailing them through the house, and my Mom's like, that's 0:12:14.121 --> 0:12:16.961 not a good environment. Jennifer's told me that there's drugs, 0:12:17.001 --> 0:12:20.721 there's guns everywhere within arm's reach in that house. It's 0:12:20.721 --> 0:12:22.800 not good for the baby. It's not even good for 0:12:22.921 --> 0:12:25.361 Jennifer's not good for my daughter. And he just looked 0:12:25.441 --> 0:12:27.001 right at my mom and says, you don't have a 0:12:27.081 --> 0:12:30.881 daughter anymore, bitch, and walked out of the house and 0:12:30.961 --> 0:12:32.441 goes put their stuff in the truck. 0:12:34.481 --> 0:12:38.481 Casey said her sister left with Joey and took Adriana 0:12:38.521 --> 0:12:42.841 with her. On that day, Casey claims that Joey kicked 0:12:42.881 --> 0:12:45.681 one of their doors off the hinges. There was a 0:12:45.721 --> 0:12:50.201 police report filed of this incident. Over the next few months, 0:12:50.361 --> 0:12:53.800 Jennifer and her mom reconciled, but Jennifer only saw her 0:12:53.801 --> 0:12:57.561 family sporadically. She was living with Joey's family. She didn't 0:12:57.561 --> 0:13:00.081 have a job or a car, so she had to 0:13:00.121 --> 0:13:04.321 rely on someone to drive her places. Casey helped work 0:13:04.361 --> 0:13:08.201 on a podcast called Missing in Hushtown. On that show, 0:13:08.601 --> 0:13:12.001 Casey said she and her mother worried that the Benton 0:13:12.121 --> 0:13:14.881 home was not a safe environment for Jennifer and Adriana. 0:13:15.881 --> 0:13:19.241 According to the podcast, Joey had issues in the past 0:13:19.241 --> 0:13:22.841 with drugs. His father, Joseph, also had a criminal record 0:13:23.201 --> 0:13:27.521 with multiple felony charges related to drugs and weapons. So 0:13:28.001 --> 0:13:32.001 Casey said that at first Jennifer, Adriana, and Joey were 0:13:32.041 --> 0:13:35.121 living in a trailer on his parents' property, but then 0:13:35.361 --> 0:13:38.721 as it got colder, they moved into the three bedroom 0:13:38.721 --> 0:13:43.001 house with his parents, Cynthia and Joseph, and that's when 0:13:43.081 --> 0:13:45.560 Casey said things started escalating. 0:13:46.321 --> 0:13:49.121 I don't know exactly when that move happened, but that's 0:13:49.161 --> 0:13:53.081 whenever things started to get tense and all the arguing 0:13:53.161 --> 0:13:53.920 started happening. 0:13:55.081 --> 0:13:57.881 Casey said the last time that she saw her sister 0:13:57.961 --> 0:14:02.081 alive was on her sixteenth birthday, when Joey dropped Jennifer 0:14:02.161 --> 0:14:04.561 off so that she could see Casey and her mom. 0:14:05.361 --> 0:14:07.761 Jennifer, I remember, came to our house and that's the 0:14:07.801 --> 0:14:09.881 first time we had seen her since everything that happened. 0:14:09.921 --> 0:14:13.721 In December. She started making up with mom, and Mom 0:14:13.841 --> 0:14:17.241 was babysitting Adriana and they were coming over on a 0:14:17.280 --> 0:14:20.321 regular basis, talking every day like usual. 0:14:21.321 --> 0:14:25.001 After that, Casey said that to her knowledge, the dynamic 0:14:25.041 --> 0:14:26.641 at the Bitton House got worse. 0:14:27.721 --> 0:14:31.361 There's an argument between Jennifer and Joey which Jennifer is 0:14:31.441 --> 0:14:33.961 asking him to move out of his parents' house and 0:14:34.081 --> 0:14:37.481 back into that shed born thing, and he's saying no, 0:14:37.641 --> 0:14:39.921 like you just won't hear her and doesn't want to. 0:14:40.041 --> 0:14:42.001 He doesn't think it's good to have a baby out 0:14:42.041 --> 0:14:45.681 there with no running water, which is not but just 0:14:45.721 --> 0:14:47.961 the fact that she wants to move out there at 0:14:47.961 --> 0:14:50.721 all is very telling of what she's trying to get 0:14:50.721 --> 0:14:54.201 away from. In March, it's springtime, so it's starting to 0:14:54.201 --> 0:14:56.761 get warmer, like, let's move out there, but he just 0:14:57.401 --> 0:15:00.921 didn't want to do that. So that argument was happening 0:15:01.001 --> 0:15:05.641 the week of their disappearance. There was also jealousy stuff 0:15:05.681 --> 0:15:09.121 going on. Joey was the baby of the family. He 0:15:09.161 --> 0:15:12.041 was the only kid left at home with his parents, 0:15:12.121 --> 0:15:14.801 and he was very close with his mom, and so 0:15:14.961 --> 0:15:17.241 there was a lot of jealousy there this other woman 0:15:17.361 --> 0:15:20.921 coming in potentially taking her son and asking him to 0:15:20.961 --> 0:15:22.921 move out of the house, So I think some of 0:15:22.961 --> 0:15:25.761 that was going on, and then just his mom being 0:15:25.841 --> 0:15:30.521 upset with him because he was playing house and pretending 0:15:30.641 --> 0:15:33.361 to be dad to a little girl that wasn't his. 0:15:34.641 --> 0:15:38.361 Now, obviously we are only hearing one side of the story, 0:15:38.561 --> 0:15:41.441 the version that Jennifer told Casey and her mom, And 0:15:41.521 --> 0:15:44.401 to be fair to the Bittens, it is not uncommon 0:15:44.441 --> 0:15:46.921 to have arguments when you're living in a small home 0:15:47.001 --> 0:15:50.721 with a new baby with multiple people, especially since that 0:15:50.841 --> 0:15:52.081 baby was not their sons. 0:15:53.521 --> 0:15:57.881 Yeah, just out of nowhere. In March, Adriana had gotten sick. 0:15:58.921 --> 0:16:02.601 On Monday, March twenty second, two thousand and four, Jennifer 0:16:02.681 --> 0:16:05.801 called her aunt Lisa and told her that Adriana was sick. 0:16:06.601 --> 0:16:09.041 Lisa drove Jennifer and Adriana to. 0:16:09.001 --> 0:16:12.241 The hospital, say visit to that night at North Crest 0:16:12.321 --> 0:16:14.841 Hospital and runt a bunch of tests on her, and 0:16:14.921 --> 0:16:17.881 she had an infection dajinaida. 0:16:18.601 --> 0:16:21.721 This type of infection can be caused by things like 0:16:21.801 --> 0:16:25.321 diapers or soap and bathwater, and there are also other 0:16:25.601 --> 0:16:30.121 less innocent explanations. Ultimately, the pediatricians said they could not 0:16:30.281 --> 0:16:34.201 determine a cause for Adriana's diaper rash, but Jennifer was 0:16:34.321 --> 0:16:38.321 upset about something. I wonder did it have anything to 0:16:38.361 --> 0:16:41.001 do with this infection since it happened so close to 0:16:41.081 --> 0:16:45.281 the date of her and Adriana's disappearance. Then again, Jennifer's 0:16:45.281 --> 0:16:48.801 family said she and the Bentons were already arguing before 0:16:48.921 --> 0:16:52.841 Adriana got sick, so the timing could have been simple coincidence. 0:16:54.401 --> 0:16:57.921 Multiple sources have stated over the years that Jennifer was 0:16:57.961 --> 0:17:02.201 considering leaving the Benton home during this time. On Tuesday, 0:17:02.281 --> 0:17:05.561 March twenty third, Jennifer met her mom, Kathy, and Joey 0:17:05.721 --> 0:17:09.801 outside of a Dollar General store. Kathy gave Jennifer a 0:17:09.840 --> 0:17:14.400 homemade cream for Adriana's rash. She said she and Jennifer 0:17:14.561 --> 0:17:18.440 talked about bringing Adriana to stay with Kathy the following weekend, 0:17:19.241 --> 0:17:22.201 but that never happened because that meet up outside the 0:17:22.241 --> 0:17:26.360 Dollar General was the last time Kathy saw Jennifer and Adriana. 0:17:27.241 --> 0:17:29.761 The last time Kathy talked to her daughter was on 0:17:29.801 --> 0:17:34.521 the next day, March twenty fourth. According to Kathy, Jennifer 0:17:34.561 --> 0:17:37.001 was upset over a fight that she had with a 0:17:37.041 --> 0:17:41.001 member of Joey's family. There were multiple phone calls made 0:17:41.041 --> 0:17:44.200 on March twenty fifth and next week. In two of 0:17:44.201 --> 0:17:47.241 this story, we're going to go into much more detail 0:17:47.321 --> 0:17:50.041 about every single version of the story. 0:17:49.721 --> 0:17:50.321 That was told. 0:17:51.281 --> 0:17:55.241 Casey told us what she had heard about those phone calls. 0:17:55.521 --> 0:18:00.840 On Thursday, March twenty fifth, Jennifer and Adriana were at 0:18:01.041 --> 0:18:04.641 joe and his parents' house and Joey was at work 0:18:04.681 --> 0:18:07.080 that day. He had went to work with my cousin 0:18:07.441 --> 0:18:11.160 in Franklin, Kentucky, which is like thirty forty minutes north 0:18:11.641 --> 0:18:15.641 of where their house was. Joey worked with his dad 0:18:15.681 --> 0:18:19.400 a lot and his dad's friends and they did construction 0:18:19.601 --> 0:18:24.041 contract work, so they did steel work for commercial buildings. 0:18:24.121 --> 0:18:27.321 They put up those big racks we see in Costco, 0:18:27.681 --> 0:18:30.360 like big shelves. So he was at work and had 0:18:30.441 --> 0:18:33.201 ridden to work with my cousin that day, and Jennifer 0:18:33.201 --> 0:18:36.241 made a couple phone calls. So round eleven o'clock on 0:18:36.521 --> 0:18:39.160 that Thursday, she talked to her dad, which it was 0:18:39.241 --> 0:18:43.161 super uncommon for her to talk with her dad during 0:18:43.161 --> 0:18:46.361 the day because her dad worked, and she said, I'm scared, Dad, 0:18:46.921 --> 0:18:51.321 and he said, of what, and she said, Joey's mom. 0:18:51.601 --> 0:18:55.681 She's acting weird. And so he remembers that on that 0:18:55.761 --> 0:18:58.761 phone call, but he remembers the baby playing in the background. 0:18:58.801 --> 0:19:02.241 You could hear like cartoons on the TV. And then 0:19:02.641 --> 0:19:06.761 he also remembers hearing someone approach Jennifer while they were 0:19:06.761 --> 0:19:09.521 on the phone. On her call like walk up to 0:19:09.561 --> 0:19:11.681 her and say something. But he didn't hear what they said, 0:19:12.401 --> 0:19:16.200 but she said stop, I'm talking to my dad, and 0:19:16.281 --> 0:19:19.481 he thought that it sounded like a woman's voice. 0:19:19.561 --> 0:19:22.120 The details of that call are stated in a civil 0:19:22.161 --> 0:19:26.200 lawsuit that was launched by Jennifer's family. The lawsuit stated 0:19:26.281 --> 0:19:29.481 that Jennifer told her dad that quote, she was scared 0:19:29.561 --> 0:19:34.401 of her boyfriend's mother and that Cynthia was quote acting 0:19:34.441 --> 0:19:39.561 weird end quote. Again, a civil lawsuit is only one 0:19:39.601 --> 0:19:42.761 side of the story. We did reach out to Joey 0:19:42.801 --> 0:19:47.241 and Cynthia Benton. Joey did not reply. Cynthia replied that 0:19:47.321 --> 0:19:50.601 she had no comment, but in a court filing they 0:19:50.721 --> 0:19:54.721 have denied the allegations in this civil lawsuit. We know 0:19:55.001 --> 0:19:59.161 that Joey left work at some point. He claimed that he, Jennifer, 0:19:59.201 --> 0:20:02.921 and Adriana drove around. Joey had told police that during 0:20:02.961 --> 0:20:05.921 that drive, he and Jennifer decided to end their relationship. 0:20:06.521 --> 0:20:09.001 Then he dropped Jennifer and her daughter off at that 0:20:09.041 --> 0:20:13.041 gas station to be picked up by a friend. Jennifer's aunt, 0:20:13.041 --> 0:20:16.481 Lisa told Dateline that Jennifer also called her on Thursday, 0:20:16.521 --> 0:20:19.241 March twenty fifth, and told her she didn't want to 0:20:19.281 --> 0:20:22.001 live at the Benton house anymore. She said she was 0:20:22.041 --> 0:20:24.441 going to tell Joey that day that she was leaving. 0:20:25.241 --> 0:20:26.241 Jennifer's aunt said. 0:20:26.321 --> 0:20:29.080 Jennifer asked her aunt if she did leave, if she 0:20:29.121 --> 0:20:31.521 could come to her house. Her aunt said, of course. 0:20:32.161 --> 0:20:34.441 Lisa said that she would leave out a spare key 0:20:34.481 --> 0:20:38.121 for Jennifer. Lisa went into a job interview, but when 0:20:38.121 --> 0:20:40.521 she got home, the key was still there and there 0:20:40.561 --> 0:20:44.281 was no sign of Jennifer. On March twime twenty six, 0:20:44.681 --> 0:20:47.281 no one in Jennifer's family had heard from her, which 0:20:47.361 --> 0:20:51.640 Casey said was very unusual. They started calling the Benton 0:20:51.681 --> 0:20:56.121 home repeatedly, but Casey said no one answered. Then on 0:20:56.161 --> 0:21:00.881 March twenty seventh, Cathy reported her daughter missing. Pulice did 0:21:00.961 --> 0:21:03.041 talk to Joey, since the Bentons were some of the 0:21:03.121 --> 0:21:06.761 last people known to have seen Jennifer a live, Lisa 0:21:06.881 --> 0:21:09.761 told Dateline she finds it implausible that Jennifer would get 0:21:09.761 --> 0:21:12.921 into a vehicle with someone and disappear with her daughter 0:21:13.241 --> 0:21:15.920 when she had authors from family members to stay with him, 0:21:16.521 --> 0:21:20.640 and even if she had, she and Casey believe that 0:21:20.801 --> 0:21:23.121 Jennifer would have called them to let them know where 0:21:23.161 --> 0:21:28.801 she was. Jennifer's cousin and Lisa's son, Jeffrey Grayson, was 0:21:28.840 --> 0:21:32.241 the cousin who Jennifer had met Joey through. He and 0:21:32.321 --> 0:21:35.321 Joey were friends. He was at work with Joey that day. 0:21:36.080 --> 0:21:38.361 Jeff told Dateline that he talked to Joey at work 0:21:38.401 --> 0:21:40.840 that day. He confirmed that Joey got a call and 0:21:40.921 --> 0:21:44.080 had to leave. He told Dateline quote, it was really fast. 0:21:44.241 --> 0:21:47.640 It was really something happened. You know, we gotta go, 0:21:47.761 --> 0:21:50.880 I gotta go. You know, it was really really, really 0:21:50.961 --> 0:21:55.721 really urgent end quote. Casey says that at the time, 0:21:56.201 --> 0:21:59.721 members of her family talked to Joey. She claims that 0:21:59.761 --> 0:22:02.920 he told their family slightly different stories about what had 0:22:02.921 --> 0:22:03.721 happened to Jennifer. 0:22:04.521 --> 0:22:07.001 Casey claims that on the day when. 0:22:06.961 --> 0:22:11.161 Jennifer went missing, there was a bonfire party and both 0:22:11.241 --> 0:22:15.161 Jeffrey and Joey were present at that party. She claims 0:22:15.321 --> 0:22:18.561 that Joey told her cousin Jeffrey, that Jennifer was with 0:22:18.601 --> 0:22:22.961 a friend. For years, nothing seemed to be happening with 0:22:23.041 --> 0:22:26.801 this case, but in twenty thirteen it made headlines again. 0:22:27.401 --> 0:22:31.401 The Robertson County Police Department posted details on their website. 0:22:31.801 --> 0:22:35.961 They posted quote, the investigation led deputies to the Robertson 0:22:36.001 --> 0:22:39.441 County home of Jennifer's boyfriend Joey Benton, where Jennifer and 0:22:39.481 --> 0:22:42.400 Adriana had been living with Benton in an outbuilding on 0:22:42.481 --> 0:22:45.521 the property. Joey Bitten claimed that on the evening of 0:22:45.561 --> 0:22:48.561 March twenty fifth, two thousand and four, Jennifer asked him 0:22:48.601 --> 0:22:51.361 to take her to a grocery store in Cross Planes 0:22:51.401 --> 0:22:52.321 to use the phone. 0:22:52.601 --> 0:22:53.080 End quote. 0:22:53.761 --> 0:22:56.761 The post said Jennifer told police that after he drove 0:22:56.840 --> 0:22:59.521 Jennifer and Adriana to a grocery store so Jennifer could 0:22:59.561 --> 0:23:02.160 use the phone, he then drove them to a local 0:23:02.241 --> 0:23:06.041 excellent station and dropped them off. The post had a 0:23:06.041 --> 0:23:09.721 few more details. The post read quote, Joey said he 0:23:09.840 --> 0:23:12.521 pulled across the street and watched as a white four 0:23:12.561 --> 0:23:16.081 door car pulled up and Jennifer and Adriana got inside. 0:23:16.441 --> 0:23:16.881 End quote. 0:23:17.961 --> 0:23:21.761 The Robertson County Sheriff's office stated that these stories that 0:23:21.840 --> 0:23:24.281 Joey dropped Jennifer and Adriana off at the gas station 0:23:24.561 --> 0:23:27.041 or that they had been at the grocery store. Quote 0:23:27.241 --> 0:23:32.080 were never independently corroborated, despite countless hours of investigation and 0:23:32.161 --> 0:23:36.961 numerous interviews end quote. The department's website confirmed the last 0:23:37.001 --> 0:23:40.281 person known to have spoken to Jennifer was her father, Michael, 0:23:40.641 --> 0:23:44.680 at approximately eleven am on March twenty fifth, four and 0:23:44.721 --> 0:23:48.080 that Michael quote told detectives that his daughter spoke of 0:23:48.161 --> 0:23:50.961 arguing with Joey Bitton's family and that she looked forward 0:23:51.001 --> 0:23:54.400 to seeing him in Manchester on the following Sunday end quote. 0:23:57.921 --> 0:24:00.961 There were more details on the website that Casey said 0:24:01.201 --> 0:24:05.721 her family wasn't aware of before then. For example, police 0:24:05.761 --> 0:24:09.801 stated that Joey said he saw Jennifer again the next day, 0:24:09.961 --> 0:24:13.401 on March twenty six, two thousand and four. The department 0:24:13.441 --> 0:24:17.081 website reads, quote, Jennifer showed up back at his property, 0:24:17.361 --> 0:24:20.241 collected her belongings, and said that she needed some time 0:24:20.281 --> 0:24:24.641 away end quote. And the police announced that they were 0:24:24.681 --> 0:24:28.921 reclassifying the disappearance of Jennifer and Adriana from a missing 0:24:28.961 --> 0:24:41.041 person's case to a homicide. There are a lot of 0:24:41.161 --> 0:24:44.121 questions about what went down on March twent twenty fifth, 0:24:44.201 --> 0:24:48.201 two thousand and four. Police confirmed a few facts. They 0:24:48.241 --> 0:24:51.641 did confirm Jennifer talk to her father and her aunt, 0:24:51.641 --> 0:24:54.841 Lisa said on the day she disappeared, Jennifer also called her, 0:24:55.401 --> 0:24:58.401 telling her about arguments in the Benton home and about 0:24:58.441 --> 0:25:02.801 potentially leaving. Who called Joey at work that day to 0:25:02.840 --> 0:25:05.521