The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department just made a major breakthrough in a decades-old cold case involving the mysterious homicide of a Black woman. Though they are still far from locating the woman’s killer, new information answers a major question in the case.
In July 1996, police found skeletal remains in a wooded area surrounding the Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina. According to WCNC’s report, the remains were taken by a medical examiner and determined to belong to a woman. The examiner also ruled her manner of death to be a homicide. However, for years, that was the only information the cops had to work with.
The race, age, and occupation of the woman went unknown. Not to mention, police were also on the hunt for a potential killer. It wasn’t until 2022 that the remains were sent for another examination by a forensic anthropologist in Raleigh, about two hours north of Charlotte, the report says. The skeleton was then forwarded again for further examination, but to Texas instead.
There, the report says researchers attempted DNA testing but to no avail. Two years later, the medical examiner’s office sent additional bone samples which led to a groundbreaking discovery: the identity of the victim.
Authorities announced last week the woman is named Betty Jean Benton, born in Louisiana on Feb. 27, 1954. The report says detectives contacted her family, who confirmed they stopped hearing from her around 1991. She was reported missing the following year.
Though putting a name to the woman was a major breakthrough in the case, the CMPD Cold Case Unit is still on the hunt for a suspected murderer. Anyone with information about Betty Jean Benton or her activities in North Carolina is urged to contact detectives at 704-432-TIPS.