Woman who claimed boyfriend was fatally stabbed by Black man in 1996 arrested for the killing

A California woman, who in 1996 told police that her then-boyfriend was fatally stabbed by a Black man during a struggle at an apartment, was recently arrested in connection with his killing.

According to Daily Beast, the suspect, identified as Jade Benning, called 911 to claim the supposed Black man had broken into the apartment and gotten into a physical altercation with her deceased boyfriend Christopher Hervey. She also claimed the home invasion happened around 3 a.m., and she woke up to witness the alleged struggle that ensued. Benning added that she got slashed in the hand while trying to save Hervey.

Hervey sustained multiple knife wounds and succumbed to his injuries at a hospital. Investigators initially said the killing was probably a botched burglary, and no arrests were made at the time.

In a statement this week, the Santa Ana police said investigators “worked diligently” to apprehend Hervey’s killer in 1996, but they never got to the bottom of the case, Daily Beast reported.

But investigators revived the 26-year cold case in January 2020 after an anonymous person sent a letter implicating Benning. New forensic testing also gave detectives sufficient evidence to arrest and charge the 48-year-old for her former boyfriend’s death.

The female suspect moved from California to Las Vegas before relocating to Texas after her boyfriend’s murder. She was reportedly arrested in Austin on Tuesday, and she is set to be extradited to California.