Woman arrested in Texas in 1996 stabbing death of Santa Ana man
Santa Ana police on Tuesday arrested a suspect in the 1996 stabbing death of a 22-year-old man, the department said in a release.
Jade Benning, now 48, was arrested near her Austin, Texas, home in connection with the slaying of her boyfriend, Christopher Hervey.
The investigation began on Jan. 4, 1996, when Santa Ana police responded around 3 a.m. to a report of a break-in and stabbing at an apartment that Hervey and Benning shared in the 2200 block of North Broadway.
Hervey had been stabbed multiple times in the torso and later died.
Two burglars took off early Tuesday with marijuana bins in a stolen box truck, from which the bins fell onto Venice Boulevard.
Neighbors told police they’d heard a loud argument inside the apartment and Benning was interviewed by detectives, but the case went cold until January 2020, when police received an anonymous letter implicating Benning in the slaying.
Benning had moved to Las Vegas in 2001 and later relocated to Texas.
A cold-case homicide detective reexamined the case and ordered forensic testing, eventually identifying Benning as a suspect. An arrest warrant was eventually issued for her.
Benning was arrested Tuesday afternoon by U.S. marshals, with Santa Ana police detectives present. She will face extradition to California.
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