Santa Ana police arrest woman for 1996 cold case

CBSLA.com: The Rundown (May 3 PM Edition)

After almost 30 years, Santa Ana police arrested a Texas woman for the 1996 killing of her former boyfriend.  

On Jan. 4, 1996, the Santa Ana Police Department found Christopher Harvey dead in his apartment off 2205 N. Broadway Street after a caller said a Black man had forced his way into Harvey's home and stabbed him multiple times. 

During the police's initial investigation, for 15 minutes neighbors said that they could hear a loud argument inside the apartment Harvey shared with his then-girlfriend Jade Benning. However, the case eventually went cold.

The case heated back up again in January 2020, when an anonymous letter implicated Benning in the murder of her former boyfriend. 

In the time since Harvey's death, Benning had moved to Las Vegas in 2001 and eventually to Austin. According to police, after reopening the case, detectives found sufficient evidence to put out a $1 million warrant for Benning. 

She was arrested by U.S. Marshalls and Santa Ana police detectives on Tuesday at about 2:20 p.m.

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