Jason Sandford
Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.
National news media are following this week’s Buncombe County homicide involving a pregnant, former contestant on the Food Network Star show, her husband and a suspect who was a person of interest in an infamous, decades-old missing person case here.
Buncombe County deputies on Tuesday arrested Robert Jason Owens and charged him with first-degree murder in the deaths of 38-year-old Cristie Codd and her husband, 45-year-old J.T. Codd of Hookers Gap Road. Deputies also charged Owens with the murder of an unborn child. Cristie Codd was reportedly five-months pregnant.
Cristie Codd was a contestant on season eight of the Food Network show. She worked as a caterer on film sets, and her husband worked in the film industry as well, as a camera crew member.
Owens knew the Codds, according to reports. He apparently attended their wedding and did some construction work at their home.
Deputies have not said how the Codds may have died, or what a possible motive is in the case. There’s a press conference scheduled for Friday afternoon, which should provide more information about the investigation.
Owens was identified as a person of interest in the case of Zebb Quinn, who disappeared in January 2000. Owens was one of he last people seen with Quinn before his disappearance. Police gathered DNA evidence from Owens during their investigation, which went cold. The body of the then 18-year-old Quinn has never been found.
The Zeb Quinn missing person case was the subject of a Discovery Channel episode of Disappeared.
Gawker picked up on the story with a post this week, as did NBC News and Fox News, CBS News and a variety of other news sites and blogs. There will likely be a crush of media at Friday’s press conference at the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office. I plan on attending the press conference and will update.
Wow I just saw a picture of Zeb Quinn, and I actually remember when he disappeared. There were flyers with his picture all over town; Every Ingles, telephone poles, street corners.
This was around the same time a young woman disappeared from the downtown bar, Bar Code. All the billboards/flyers stated, “last seen at Bar Code”, which promptly put them out of business.
But I digress. My condolences to the loved one’s of the Codds, and I hope this ends up bringing resolution to the Zeb Quinn situation.
I am proud of the police and first responders. This isn’t a popular opinion in this “day and age,” but I don’t care.
Is this something to be proud of?
Of course not.
Who said it was?