A woman who claimed a thief broke into her California apartment and killed her boyfriend, more than two decades ago, has been charged with cold-blooded murder after an anonymous letter was sent to investigators recently, police said.
Jade Benning, who lived in Santa Ana in January 1996, told police that a colored suspect forcibly entered the apartment she was sharing with her 22-year-old boyfriend, Christopher Hervey, and stabbed her partner. its several times during an attack at 3 a.m., killing him.
Benning, also 22 at the time, gave "general statements" to investigators about the alleged theft - during which neighbors told police they heard a heated debate inside the apartment for about 15 minutes.
Investigators continued to work on the case but were unable to make any arrests until they received an anonymous letter to Santa Ana police in January 2020 implicating Benning in the murder of her ex-partner, police said.
Benning, who was arrested this week in Austin, Texas, was taken into custody following an extensive follow-up investigation, including forensic tests. Her parole costs $ 1 million.
Five years after she allegedly killed her boyfriend, Benning moved to Las Vegas in 2001 and later to Austin.
Her partner was found dead with multiple wounds to the chest and body, though one weapon was never found.
Source: NY Post
