Jackie Bensen is a general assignment reporter for News4. She specializes in reporting breaking news, mostly for News4 at 11.
Bensen joined News4 in 1999 after spending 12 years at WTTG-TV in a variety of roles including news writer, special projects producer and, for the last few years, general assignment reporter. She has also worked for Media General's cable channel and in the Washington Bureau of Outlet Communications.
Bensen is frequently called upon to speak at community and public safety events. She has been a guest lecturer at the FBI's National Training Academy in Quantico. She has also served as grand marshal of the Montgomery County Humane Society's Walk in the Park and the City of Rockville Memorial Day Parade.
A Philadelphia native, Bensen came to Washington to attend American University where she earned a Master's Degree in Journalism and Public Affairs. She has an undergraduate degree in English Literature from Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pa.
Bensen and her family live in Montgomery County.
The Latest
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Bitter cold Christmas Eve for residents of condo complex without heat
This cold Christmas Eve was even more uncomfortable for hundreds of residents of a condominium complex in Maryland. They say they have been without heat since mid-December. Residents of Chelsea Wood Condominiums in Greenbelt told News4 they’ve been informed it could be another couple of weeks, at minimum, until their homes are warm again. Coats and hats are indoor...
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New York family's puppy and car stolen from Forestville Wawa
He’s a small dog out there in a big world. A 3-month-old puppy named Benji was stolen Friday, along with his family’s car, at a Wawa in Forestville, Maryland. “He’s tiny,” said KerryAnn Wiltshire, one of Benji’s owners. “He’s very, very tiny, very loving.” Wiltshire says she and her boyfriend were driving from New York to North Carolina Friday...
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Veteran faces extradition to Philippines over unfounded allegations, lawyer says
A 66-year-old American citizen has been in the DC jail for almost 10 months awaiting extradition to the Philippines for a crime her attorneys say there’s no evidence she committed. Air Force veteran Grace Lourenco earned commendations for her service. In 1981, she was part of the flight crew aboard the Air Force plane that returned 53 U.S. diplomats and…
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5-year-old girl in critical condition after 3-year-old brother accessed gun
A 5-year-old girl in D.C. is in critical condition after her 3-year-old brother somehow got access to a gun and it went off, shooting her in the chest Monday evening, police say. The shooting happened inside an apartment building in the unit block of Galveston Street SW in the Bellevue neighborhood, not far from the Maryland border. A man...
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Girl, 14, jumped and assaulted by group of students at Maryland high school
A 14-year-old girl was jumped and beaten on her way to cheerleading practice last week at her Maryland high school, her mother told News4. Juanita Caldwell says her daughter was assaulted by a group of students at Potomac High School in Oxon Hill. “My daughter had a knot on the left side of her face,” Caldwell said. “On the right…
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4-year-old with autism left DC elementary school unsupervised
The mother of a 4-year-old boy with autism went to pick him up from a Capitol Hill elementary school Monday afternoon only to find out no one seemed to know where he was. “Everybody’s just running around the building looking for my child,” Diane Cook said. She described what she estimates to be 10 to 15 frantic, excruciating minutes after…
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‘My baby's gone': Body found in Northeast DC building identified as housing advocate
The body found encased in concrete inside a refrigerator at a Northeast D.C. apartment building has been identified as a 44-year-old woman and housing advocate. Chandra Brown was remembered as a talented writer and poet. “That’s my baby. My baby’s gone,” Sheila Brown, Chandra’s mother, said. Brown, who lives in North Carolina, says she and her daughter spoke by...
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Man hurt in police shooting at Rosslyn Metro station
Police say a suspect was seriously hurt in an officer-involved shooting just after 4 p.m. Tuesday at the Rosslyn Metro station in Northern Virginia. He was taken to a hospital. Before going to the Metro station, the suspect went to a Safeway on Wilson Boulevard just before 4 p.m., witnesses said. He wanted food but did not want to pay…
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Man ‘born and raised in Maryland' charged with murder in NYC CEO killing
A 26-year-old Maryland native is being questioned as a person of interest in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, the executive gunned down on video last week on a busy New York City sidewalk.
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‘Pushed to the side': Students with disabilities denied tables at Cracker Barrel
A group of students who have developmental and learning disabilities were denied service at a restaurant while taking part in a life-skills learning program with teachers, Charles County Public Schools said. In a community email, CCPS Superintendent Maria Navarro wrote 11 students and seven staff members visited a Cracker Barrel in Waldorf, Maryland, Tuesday after notifying the restaurant in advance...
