Family of missing Tennessee mom and her two-year-old daughter reveal haunting new leads in 20-year-old cold case: 'Everything I told you was a lie'

Over 2 decades aft a Tennessee mom and her two-year-old girl vanished without a trace, her family judge they are yet connected nan cusp of cracking nan case.

Jennifer Wix, 21, was surviving pinch her fellow Joey Benton and his parents successful Robertson County astatine nan clip of her disappearance successful March 2004. 

Joey is believed to person been nan past personification to spot Jennifer aliases Adrianna alive, claiming he dropped them disconnected astatine a state station.

But aft sticking to this communicative for 20 years, he shocking agreed to beryllium down pinch Jennifer's sister Casey Wix Robinson and her mother Kathy Nale earlier this period to stock much astir what happened.

In an question and reply pinch DailyMail.com, Casey revealed that during this speech he chillingly referred to their 'remains' for nan first clip - and reportedly claimed he had been lying for 20 years. 

For nan first year-and-a half of Adrianna's life, Jennifer lived pinch her mother and 2 younger sisters successful their family location successful Springfield - astir 30 miles from Nashville.

Casey, past a teenager, has fond memories of this clip and recalls helping attraction for her niece while her older sister worked nighttime shifts.

She told Fox 17 Nashville that she was 'very close' pinch Jennifer and Adrianna - and has been hopeless to find retired what happened to them since they vanished.

Casey said that erstwhile she had her first telephone telephone pinch Joey a fewer months ago, he stuck by nan state position story. 

But successful a 2nd gathering connected July 2, she claimed he told her 'everything I told you connected that first telephone telephone is simply a lie. It's been a dishonesty for 20 years.' 

Casey added: 'During this gathering he told america what he supposedly remembered from that day. He said that it was Jennifer and Adrianna's past time connected Thursday, March 25, and past gave a imaginable location for their remains'.

Casey besides hinted that Joey revealed 'extreme details' astir what happened to them, but declined to opportunity what she heard retired of a desire to protect nan ongoing investigation being led by nan Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and nan Robertson County Sheriff's Office.

Jennifer and Joey Benton had started making love successful nan summertime of 2003. 

Less than a twelvemonth later and only a fewer months aft Jennifer and Adrianna moved successful pinch Joey's parents successful Springfield, nan young mother and girl vanished and were ne'er heard from again. 

Casey recalled nan days starring up to nan disappearance of her sister and niece successful March 2004.

At nan time, Casey was 16 and an audibly distressed Jennifer called their mother, Kathy, astatine location connected Wednesday, March 24.

During this telephone Jennifer reportedly told her mother astir an aggravated statement betwixt her and Joey Benton's parents, Joe Benton Sr. and Cindy Benton.

'Adrianna was successful nan different room. [My mother] could perceive her crying and screaming,' Casey said. 

During nan call, Casey recalled Jennifer said Cindy was acting 'weird' and was angry that Joey was acting for illustration a begetter to Adrianna nether her roof. 

Joey was not Adrianna's biologic father.

That night, nan mates was trying to slumber train nan baby, and this apparently didn't beryllium good pinch Cindy, according to Jennifer.

Nale besides said to Dateline NBC astir this call, saying she tried to assuage her daughter's worry astir her fraught surviving situation.

'I conscionable said, "Everybody will beryllium — everybody will beryllium calmed down tomorrow. Things will beryllium amended successful nan ray of day, you know? And if not, you conscionable telephone maine tomorrow,''' Nale recalled telling Jennifer.

Nale remembered her girl telling her she would telephone tomorrow.

'I ne'er heard from her again,' Nale said.

DailyMail.com made aggregate attempts to interaction nan Benton family. 

Lisa Fierro, Nale's sister and Jennifer's aunt, alternatively sewage a telephone from Jennifer nan adjacent day, Thursday, March 25. 

Casey told DailyMail.com that this was precocious confirmed arsenic nan past interaction Jennifer ever had pinch her family earlier going missing. 

According to Fierro, Jennifer said she didn't want to unrecorded pinch nan Bentons anymore and told her she was readying connected moving retired aft talking to Joey astir it. She besides said she wanted to travel to Fierro's location for nan clip being.

Fierro said she near a spare cardinal for her.

'She ne'er came, needless to say,' Fierro told NBC. 

Her family began calling astir for her, and nan first group they turned to for thief were nan Bentons, arsenic they were nan past known group to spot her.

But to their chagrin, Joey and his parents didn't prime up their phones.

'I conscionable retrieve everyone successful my family panicking,' Casey said.

When they yet reached Joey, Casey said he told nan family: 'I don't cognize wherever she is. We collapsed up. I dropped her disconnected astatine nan state station.'

Joey added that personification successful a achromatic car picked Jennifer and Adrianna up, but declined to springiness a much circumstantial explanation of nan conveyance aliases driver.

On Saturday, March 27, 2004, Jennifer's family reported her and her girl missing, and soon after, nan Robertson County Sherriff's Office searched nan Benton home. 

The constabulary person ne'er identified immoderate suspects, nor person they corroborated Joey's communicative astir dropping Jennifer and Adrianna disconnected astatine nan state station.

Today, Jennifer would beryllium 41 years aged and Adrianna 22.

In December 2013, nan eve of nan 10th day of their disappearance, nan Sherriff's Office upgraded nan lawsuit from a missing person's lawsuit to a homicide investigation.

At that time, investigators were nether nan belief that Jennifer's father, Michael Wix, was nan past known personification to speak to her connected Thursday, March 25, not her aunt.

Michael told investigators Jennifer said a batch of aforesaid things she told her mother a time earlier. She was fighting pinch nan Bentons, though she added she was excited to spot him nan pursuing Sunday.

Like everyone other successful nan family, Michael said he has not heard from Jennifer since this telephone call.

'No one, including Joey Benton, has been eliminated arsenic having imaginable engagement successful nan disappearance of Jennifer and Adrianna Wix,' nan Sheriff's Office wrote successful its case update.

It besides made clear that region investigators approached this lawsuit arsenic a homicide from nan very opening because location were 'strong implications of foul play.'  

DailyMail.com has reached retired to nan Sheriff's Office for comment.

The past clip Joey Benton said publically connected nan lawsuit was successful 2008.

'I miss them both, and I would do thing to cognize wherever she's at,' he told FOX 17.

Jennifer's family person spent 2 decades searching for answers. 

They've assisted authorities successful countless searches, held vigils, put connected fundraisers to prosecute backstage investigators and moreover had immoderate confrontations pinch nan Bentons.

But nary of these tireless efforts dredged up immoderate caller information.

All of that would alteration connected March 27, 2024, erstwhile nan sheriff raided nan Benton location wherever Jennifer and Adrianna were living. 

The ambush came '20 years to nan time that we reported Jennifer and Adrianna missing,' Casey pointed out.

However, nan sheriff was location to bust Joe Benton Sr., Joey's father, connected 40 unrelated charges for illegally possessing weapons, explosives and nan intersexual exploitation of a underage family member. 

While nan ambush didn't uncover thing caller successful nan unsolved execution of her sister and niece, Casey is hopeful it will lead to much answers.

She besides told DailyMail.com that aft nan raid, unit from nan territory lawyer was what forced Joey to group up that gathering pinch her and her mother to yet talk astir what happened to Jennifer and Adrianna.

'My dream of them really being alive, that each benignant of died a mates months ago, earlier we started getting each of this caller accusation aft [Joey's] begetter went to jail,' Casey told DailyMail.com.

'I already knew that they were deceased anterior to that meeting, but conscionable proceeding it from him solidified it, and it's very difficult because they've lied to america for 20 years.'

Now that Casey has this grim confirmation, her family and investigators person been digging retired aggregate wooded areas successful Robertson County based connected what they've been told by Joey.

Nothing has been recovered yet.

'I consciousness for illustration we're getting closer,' she said.

Casey is besides launching her ain podcast astir nan lawsuit adjacent month, called 'Missing successful Hush Town.'

She has teamed up pinch existent crime podcast shaper Jules Thorp, and nan brace are successful nan process of re-interviewing arsenic galore group connected to nan lawsuit arsenic they can. 

Some are coming guardant pinch caller information, though galore others who person knowledge are choosing to enactment quiet.

'We've had a batch of group travel guardant and say, "I wish I could show you what I know, but I'm excessively scared," Thorp told FOX 17.

But judging from nan podcast's tagline - 'Small towns talk, and we're listening' - Casey and Thorp look assured they will get nan answers they're looking for. 

The podcast will premiere connected each awesome platforms connected August 16, Jennifer's birthday.

Casey has besides started a GoFundMe to raise money for ineligible counsel arsenic nan homicide investigation appears to beryllium reaching a fever pitch.

Close to 80 donors person fixed a full of $6,110, arsenic nan family closes successful connected its $10,000 goal. 

Although Casey said it was often frustrating astatine really slow advancement was connected nan investigation into her sister's disappearance, she thanked region constabulary for staying connected apical of it for each these years.

'We person measurement much accusation now, successful nan past fewer months, than we person had successful nan 20 years that this has been a missing persons case,' she said. 'I decidedly property it to [the police] and to america for staying connected apical of it and moving truthful difficult to do our ain investigation.'