ROBERTSON COUNTY, Tenn. (WSMV) - The family of Jennifer and Adrianna Wix has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the last people known to see the pair alive, marking a major development in a case that has captivated the Midstate for over two decades.
Jennifer Wix, 21, and her 2-year-old daughter Adrianna disappeared from Springfield in 2004. At the time, Jennifer was living with her boyfriend William "Joey" Benton and his parents. He claimed the last time he saw the pair was when he dropped them off at a gas station on March 25, 2004.
The family has now filed the wrongful death suit against all three Bentons.
Casey Robinson, Jennifer's sister, and Kathy Nale, her mother, said the timing felt right after recent developments in the case.
"Well, it's been a long time coming. It's been 21 years since Jennifer and Adriana disappeared," Robinson said. "We've had a lot of movement in our case in the last couple of years."
The court filing includes new claims from the family. According to the lawsuit, Joey Benton allegedly told them during a lunch meeting on July 9, 2024, that "his father was involved in the murder of Jennifer and Adrianna" and he "assisted in hiding their bodies."
The mother and daughter's disappearance was officially ruled a homicide in 2013. Earlier this year, the family had Jennifer and Adrianna legally declared dead, a process Robinson described as deeply emotional.
"We've known in our hearts for a while that Jennifer would just not go off with her baby and never come back," Robinson said.
"It's not closure, but just to be able to maybe kind of emotionally put them to rest in our hearts," Nale said.
The family hopes the civil lawsuit will finally provide answers, or at least information, about what happened to Jennifer and Adrianna, whom they describe as their "perfect sister and cherub-like niece."
"Being able to win wrongful death suit against the Benton's, that would give us a little bit of accountability that we need for someone being responsible for their disappearance," Robinson said.
They said they still have a lot of questions for the Benton family.
"To ask them questions and get responses that maybe we've never had the opportunity to do. And then do that in the court of law, do that in front of a jury and a judge," Robinson said.
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Two of the defendants, Joey and his mother Cynthia Benton, have responded to the suit and denied the allegations. The pair also filed a joint motion to dismiss the lawsuit in July. That decision will be up to a judge.
William's father, Joseph Frank Benton, was named in the suit but his partial remains were discovered this summer. In July, his leg was found decomposing in Sulphur Fork Creek.
Earlier this month, additional remains were discovered. Police said those remains are still being tested by the medical examiner's office for identification.