She Vanished Along With Her 2-Year-Old Daughter, And There’s Still No Trace Of Them Over 20 Years Later
A young Tennessee woman and her 2-year-old daughter disappeared without a trace over 20 years ago, but new developments may finally lead to a break in this decades-old cold case.
Jennifer Wix, the oldest of three girls, was known as a “mother hen” to her younger sisters. Then, at the age of 19, Jennifer found out she was pregnant with her own daughter, Adrianna, and grew into an incredible parent.
“She was beautiful, vivacious, strong-willed, hardheaded. Wonderful mother. Loved her baby more than anything on the face of the earth,” recalled Jennifer’s aunt, Lisa Fierro.
Up until December 2003, Jennifer and Adrianna had been living with her mom, Kathy Nale, in Cross Plains, Tennessee. Then, that summer, Jennifer began dating her boyfriend, Joey Benton.
After a brief breakup in the fall, Jennifer and Adrianna ultimately moved in with Joey, as well as his parents, in December 2003. By March 2004, 22-year-old Jennifer and her daughter ultimately disappeared.
Kathy last saw her daughter on March 23, 2004, when they met up outside of a Dollar General. She was giving Jennifer some homemade rash cream for 2-year-old Adrianna, and the pair made plans for Adrianna to stay at Kathy’s home the next weekend.
The following day, March 24, Kathy received a call from Jennifer, marking the last time the pair spoke. She was reportedly upset about a fight she’d gotten into the night before with one of Joey’s relatives, and Kathy attempted to calm her down.
“Adrianna was in the other room. [My mother] could hear her crying and screaming,” explained Jennifer’s sister, Casey.
Lisa also spoke on the phone with her niece on March 25. During the call, Jennifer claimed she didn’t want to live at the Benton residence anymore and shared her plans to move out once she spoke to Joey that same day.
Sign up for Chip Chick’s newsletter and get stories like this delivered to your inbox.
“She said, ‘If he does not agree for us to leave when he gets home, I’m leaving, and I’m coming [to your house],'” Lisa recalled.
Lisa left a spare house key out for Jennifer, who never showed up. Instead, her boyfriend, Joey, had actually been working at a construction site with Lisa’s son, Jeff Grayson, that day. According to Jeff, Joey received a phone call about something seemingly urgent and quickly left.
Joey later told Jennifer’s family that he’d gone home and found Jennifer locked inside their bedroom. Then, the pair went for a drive to discuss their relationship and decided to split up.
In subsequent interviews with investigators, Joey stated that on the night of March 25, Jennifer asked him to bring her to a Cross Plains grocery store in order to use a phone. Joey reportedly dropped both Jennifer and Adrianna at the store; next, he dropped them off at a local Exxon.
“Benton said that he pulled across the street and watched as a white four-door car pulled up, and Jennifer and Adrianna got inside.
Benton also claimed that on March 26, 2004, Jennifer showed up back at his property, collected her belongings, and said that she needed some time away,” says the Robertson County Sheriff’s Office on their website.
It’s important to note that Joey’s timeline of events, including how he drove Jennifer and Adrianna to the grocery store and the Exxon, as well as how she supposedly visited his house the following day, have never been confirmed.
The Robertson County Sheriff’s Office detailed how Jennifer’s father, Michael, was the last person to talk to her. According to phone records, they spoke at 11:00 a.m. on March 25.
Jennifer talked about her argument with Joey’s family and said she was looking forward to seeing her father on Sunday, March 27, in Manchester.
Jennifer was never seen or heard from again. On March 27, 2004, Kathy contacted authorities and reported that Jennifer and Adrianna were missing.
Joey’s residence was searched four separate times prior to December 2013, and from the beginning, the police noted “strong implications of foul play.”
So, the investigation was always treated as a homicide, and in 2013, the case was reclassified from a missing person’s case to “a death investigation.”
Jennifer and Adrianna’s loved ones have been wracked with grief for the last two decades. Still, Kathy never stopped searching for her daughter and granddaughter.
She posted flyers, followed up with small leads, and created a Facebook page entitled “Justice for Jennifer and Adrianna Wix” in 2011 to raise awareness.
Now, recent developments have heated up the cold case. In March 2024, the Benton home was raided by investigators.
The execution of a search warrant led to the arrest of Joseph Benton Sr., a felon due to a previous assault conviction.
He is facing over 40 charges for the unlawful possession of dozens of weapons and explosives and the exploitation of a minor because a 20-year-old photograph was also found.
These charges are not directly related to Jennifer and Adrianna’s case, but her sister, Casey, thinks it could lead to answers.
She’s already met with the Roberston County District Attorney, and Joey Benton reportedly agreed to a first-ever meeting with her and her mother, Kathy.
“He actually came forward and said, ‘I’m ready to tell y’all everything. He told a different story; that everything he had told the first time to me on that first phone call was a lie,” Casey revealed.
She didn’t elaborate further out of fear that she’d compromise the investigation. However, Casey did say that Jennifer and Adrianna’s remains may be local.
“That was the first time in 20 years that Jennifer and Adrianna were referred to by [the Benton] family as remains,” Casey stated.
“I feel like we’re getting closer.”
Casey has since launched a GoFundMe campaign to help raise money for an attorney, writing, “We have spent years investigating and searching for answers. We are at a point where we feel like we need legal guidance and representation to help us move forward.”
As the search for answers in Jennifer and Adrianna’s case continues, anyone with information is urged to contact the Robertson County Sheriff’s Office at (615) 384-7971.
More About:True Crime
Read This Next
