A bizarre murder mystery 22 years in the making | Forensic Files

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[Music] website 18-year-old ZB Quinn started working part-time at the Hendersonville
Road Walmart store in Asheville North Carolina as a means to make money during high school he enjoyed the job so much
that he ended up staying on after graduation Zeb had a learning disorder which had caused some difficulties in
school and he' always struggled to fit in but at Walmart his friendly nature strong work ethic and dependability ured
he was well liked by his co-workers Zeb had earned a reputation as a valued member of the electronics
department team on days where he wasn't rosted on he often stopped by the store just to drop breakfast off to his
colleagues zeb's mom joked that he spent more time at Walmart than he did at home
in the 2 and a half years Zeb had been working there he'd never once called in sick zeb's supervisor Patty andri was
particularly fond of the 18-year-old despite their age difference the two got along well every morning Zeb
called Patty at work just to chat and make sure he'd done everything Patty needed him to do Patty was therefore
puzzled when she received a phone call from zeb's mother Denise on Monday January 3 2000 asking if she knew where
Zeb could be Denise said that her son hadn't returned home after his shift the previous night and she was getting
worried Patty hadn't seen or heard from Zeb since he clocked off around 9:00 p.m. she told Denise she'd contact her
right away if she heard anything the following day of Tuesday January 4 Zab was rosted to work the
afternoon shift at Walmart his family hoped he'd show up say and well with a worthwhile explanation for his brief
disappearance at around 2: p.m. Patty andri was Manning the electronics desk when the phone
rang hi this is Zeb the caller said I won't be in today Patty knew zeb's voice well she
didn't know who the caller was but she was certain of one thing it wasn't Zeb Quinn
[Music] Denise Quinn was incredibly close with her son Zeb whom she affectionately
described as a mama's boy after finishing high school he willingly chose to remain living at home with his mother
just the two of them zeb's parents had divorced when he was a toddler and his older sister had recently gotten married
and moved in with her husband Zeb didn't have many close friends his own age to talk to but he never hesitated to
confide in his mother so when Zeb failed to return home from work on the night of
Sunday January 2 2000 Denise sensed something was wrong he usually came straight home and if he
didn't he always contacted his mother to let her know where he was and what he was
doing Denise told herself that Zab had probably just stopped off somewhere to play pool and you found hobby of his his
father who owned a bar across town had recently given him his own pool queue and Zeb was eager to use
it Zeb didn't have a mobile phone but he took his pager with him everywhere a PO
popular telecommunications device at the time a call to a pager would leave a digital message for that person
typically in the form of a phone number this would alert the user that someone was trying to reach them over
the following hours Denise paged Zeb several times he didn't respond after a night of broken sleep
Denise spent all of Monday calling zeb's friends and relatives no one had heard from him or
had any idea where he could be when he still hadn't gotten in touch with that evening Denise called the police to
report her son missing as Zeb was 18 years old he was free to come and go as he pleased they
reassured Denise he was likely just out doing what teenage boys do and would show up
soon when zeb's work supervisor Patty andri received a call on Tuesday afternoon from an unfamiliar male
claiming to be Zeb she sprung into action Patty began asking The Caller work rated questions that only Zeb would
know the answers to the caller stumbled to respond before abruptly ending the call Patty immediately dialed star
69 in the United States this call return feature automatically redials the last number that called through to a phone
line a woman answered Volvo construction equipment she said how may I help you Zeb Quinn had no connection to the
Volvo plant but one of his Walmart co-workers did 22-year-old Robert Owens who went by his middle name of Jason
worked parttime at both businesses colleagues had seen Zeb and Jason talking to one another just before
Zeb clocked off on the night he disappeared Zeb was in the market to buy a new car Jason said he knew of one for
sale that Zeb might be interested in after learning about the call made to Patty andrick police officers went to
speak to Jason Owens he told them that after Zeb finished work on Sunday night the pair m in the Walmart parking lot
the car Jason thought Zeb might like was a Mitsubishi Eclipse it was parked out on ler Highway
roughly 15 M North Jason had offered to drive out to show Zeb where it was Zeb agreed he got into his light blue Mazda
Protege and tailed Jason's Ford pickup truck the two made a quick stop at a gas station on Hendersonville Road to grab a
drink before hitting the road according to Jason a few minutes later Zeb started flashing his
headlights taking this as a sign to pull over Jason stopped on Long Shaws Road just around the corner from a high
school Zeb pulled up behind him and said he'd justed a page and had to make a call he asked Jason if he had a cell
phone he could use Jason didn't Zeb said he was going to find a pay phone and would be back
shortly Jason told the police that he waited for 10 minutes before zeb's Mazda reappeared by this point it was around 9
:0 p.m. as Zeb pulled up behind a Jason's truck he bumped into the back of it according to Jason Zeb was frantic in an
obvious Rush he apologized and offered to pay for any damage but said he needed to cancel their plans he just received
another page and had to leave right away with that Jason watched as zeb's Mazda disappeared from
view according to Jason he had no idea that Zeb never returned home after that outside of work the pair
occasionally played pool and went fishing together but they weren't close friends Jason said he therefore thought
nothing of it when Zeb called him on Tuesday Morning asking if he'd do him a favor by calling in sick on his
behalf police obtained the CCTV footage from the gas station on Hendersonville Road at 9:4 14 p.m. on Sunday January 2
the footage captured Jason Owens entering the store 10 seconds later Zeb Quinn entered
behind him the two young men purchased soft drinks before leaving via the same door 2 minutes later both of their
vehicles could be seen heading in the direction of long Shaw's Road just like Jason Owens had
described for the police Jason's Story added to their belief that Zeb had likely left on his own accord and would
show up again soon his mother Denise wanted to believe this too but she wasn't so sure Not only would it be
completely out of character for Zeb to take off unannounced he hadn't taken anything with him that indicated an
intention to be gone for any amount of time when he'd left Walmart he was still dressed in his work uniform and didn't
have a coat or any other change of clothes despite the January weather in North Carolina getting bitterly
cold Zeb also wore contact lenses but had left his contact solution at home Denise knew there was no way Zeb
would have run away for good or considered suicide he was a happy young man who enjoyed his life and expressed
excitement about the future he'd recently purchased a new DVD player and satellite television system and was
looking forward to setting them up Zeb was also taking classes at the local community college and was enrolled in
the reserve Officers Training Corps while he loved his job at Walmart his dream was to one day join the armed
forces as a commissioned officer Jason Owens told police that Zeb didn't mention who had been paging him
so urgently but those who knew ZB well had their suspicions Denise Quinn's boyfriend Costa ran a
dino style restaurant in Asheville called Costa's kitchen Zeb had a close relationship with Costa and often
stopped by the restaurant to order his favorite menu item the chicken tenders in December 1999 just weeks
before he disappeared Zeb was at Costa's kitchen when he struck up a conversation
with a young woman named Misty Taylor Misty's mother worked at the resta alongside zeb's Aunt Misty and Zeb HIIT
it off and became fast friends but to those close to Zeb it was obvious that his feelings went beyond
just friendship Zeb became infatuated with 19-year-old Misty talking about her nonstop to anyone who would listen the
two began spending more and more time together playing pool and hanging out at the
mall the problem was Misty was already in a long-term relationship with a man named Wesley Smith the two had a baby
together zeb's family and friends urged him to cut ties with Misty but Zeb didn't listen Misty had apparently
confided in him that Wesley had a jealous streak and was abusive towards her and Zeb was determined to help her
escape the relationship by late December some of zeb's co-workers noted that he seemed
nervous Wesley had found out about the Pear's newfound friendship and he wasn't happy word allegedly got out that Wesley
and his friends warned Zeb to stay away Zeb and Misty stayed in contact regardless but Wesley soon found out
about that too according to one of zeb's co-workers on the day he went missing he mentioned
that someone had threatened his life when Zeb had first failed return home Misty Taylor was one of the first
people his mother called Misty said she hadn't heard from Zeb and had no idea where he could
be according to Misty on the night Ze disappeared she and her boyfriend Wesley had been having dinner at her mother's
house an alibi that checked out for zeb's loved ones this raised the question if Misty didn't send Zeb the
Urgent page then who did [Music] as the days continued to pass with no word from Zeb local newspapers started
appealing for anyone with information to come forward citizens were urged to be on the
lookout for the 18-year-old who was described as 5'10 and approximately 165 lb with gray blue eyes and short brown
hair he was driving a light blue 1990 model Mazda Protegé sedan while police maintained that zeb's
disappearance wasn't being treated as suspicious Denise Quinn grew more and more
concerned at the very least her son was out there without a coat and she worried
about how cold he could be Denise told the Asheville citizen times I just want to know my son is okay
it's just very weird it's too weird adding to the stress of the case police looked into Jason Owens and
discovered that on the morning of Monday January 3 he called his supervisor at the Volvo plant to say he couldn't make
it into work he claimed he'd been in a car accident and was receiving treatment at
the Urgent Care Center on Hendersonville Road records confirmed that Jason Owens
had checked himself into the center at 9:40 a.m. just over 12 hours after Zab Quinn was last seen alive
he was treated for a head wound and fractured ribs injuries that weren't consistent with Zeb Quinn rear ending
his car when speaking to police Jason claimed that this was a separate incident entirely he said that several hours
after his final encounter with Zeb he was driving past the Waffle House Restaurant on Long shols Road in the
pre-dawn light when he collided with another vehicle police checked their records no
accident reports had been filed for the early morning hours of Monday January 3 anywhere in the
county the injuries Jason Owens had been treated for also raised some questions as they weren't typical for a car
accident after giving his initial statement to the police Jason Owens refused to cooperate any
further although his behavior raised suspicions there was nothing to tie him to zeb's
Disappearance in fact there was still nothing to confirm that Zeb had met with fair play at
all his absence continued to be felt wholeheartedly by his loved ones Denise Quinn couldn't ignore zeb's
favorite lounge chair which he typically kicked back on with his dog Sam the chair now sat empty Sam's
whimpers a constant reminder of the fact that Zeb was gone then on January 16 2000 exactly 2 weeks
to the day since Zeb was last seen Denise Quinn received a phone [Music] call Denise worked at the Mission
Hospital on McDow Street in downtown Asheville a younger co-worker of hers had attended the same high school as Zeb
and was following the news about his disappearance she'd adjust passed by the little pig's barbecue restaurant which
was adjacent to the hospital's parking lot and noticed a light blue Mazda parked there she called Denise to let
her know that it might be zebs Denise rushed to the little pig's parking lot sure enough it was zeb's
Mazda Zeb himself was nowhere to be seen But one look at the vehicle told Denise
that something was wrong the headlights were on on and the windows were slightly a
jar on the rear windshield someone had used what appeared to be pink lipstick to draw a large set of lips with an
exclamation mark on either side when police arrived they opened the car doors to find something completely
unexpected inside a black labrador cross puppy the dog appeared to be approximately 3 months old and was
completely unharmed but nothing about her presence made sense Zeb didn't own the puppy nor had
he mentioned wanting to get one also inside the car were several drink bottles a plastic Hotel key card
and a man's jacket which Denise confirmed didn't belong to her son none of these items held any obvious
significance or indicated where Zeb could be his family wondered whether he had intentionally left these Clues
behind to some kind of message zeb's grandmother theorized that the drawing of the lips could be his way
of sending kisses and maybe he'd left the puppy there to signify that he was alive and
well one person even suggested that the puppy was a sign of guilt from whoever had dumped the car perhaps they felt so
bad about what happened to Zeb that they left the dog to console his family others thought the puppy had been
planted there to ensure the car didn't go unnoticed if the abandoned vehicle hadn't sparked attention a yapping puppy
surely would the location also raised some questions zeb's sister Brandy also worked at the Mission Hospital the two
siblings were Incredibly Close Zeb often called Brandy at the home she shared with her husband and young daughter just
to tell her that he loved her some wondered if Zeb had intend ition Al left the car at the little
pig's restaurant because there was a higher chance that his family would find it but Denise Quinn didn't think so Zeb
knew that his mother and sister typically used the entrance at the other side of the hospital if he wanted them
to find his car Denise felt there were better places he could have left it when police examined the vehicle they
realized that the driver's seat had been pulled close to the steering wheel Zeb was 5' 10 and he typically kept the
seat pushed further back with the seat positioned the way it was there was no way he could have comfortably driven the
car whoever it was that had driven the vehicle to the parking lot it wasn't Zeb Quinn the discovery of zeb's Mazda was a
major breakthrough but the clues left inside only raised more questions the hotel key card was just a blank
white card with no information on it it didn't include the hotel's name a logo or guest room
number police made inquiries with various accommodation providers but couldn't determine where the key card
originated from no one could figure out where the puppy had come from either police couldn't even be sure what
had been used to draw the lips and exclamation marks on the rear windshield it appeared to be lipstick but one
detective told ABC 13 news that it could have also been paint crayon or magic marker staff at the little pig's
restaurant recalled that the Mazda hadn't been parked there the evening before it was
found this along with the well-being of the puppy meant it had only been abandoned hours before it was
discovered there wasn't a single piece of evidence to indicate fair play nor was there anything to suggest that Zeb
had voluntarily run away the Ashville police captain told reporters that they couldn't decide
whether the car turning up was a good or bad sign speaking to the Asheville citizen
times he commented it's hard to say what this indicates if anybody saw that car anywhere they should let me
know the next day a couple came forward to report that a few days prior to the car being found they'd seen a woman
driving it around downtown Asheville the woman appeared to be around 25 to 30 years old with wavy
light brown hair the couple agreed to help put together a composite sketch of the
driver when police saw it they couldn't deny the similarities it bore to Misty Taylor Misty was questioned but she
denied having having driven zeb's car and maintained that she had no idea where he was or what happened to him
with a solid Alibi and no concrete evidence to suggest she knew otherwise police hit a dead
end zeb's family hired a private detective but he too remained baffled by the presence of zeb's vehicle telling
Spin Magazine it goes against all reason of criminality for the car to be here it's
just common sense you don't just go riding around in a car that a th000 police officers and 70,000 people are
looking for the mysterious reappearance of zeb's car led to an increase in media
attention and tips continued to come in police explored each one but nothing substantial
emerged zeb's co-workers at Walmart rallied behind the Quinn family by pinning yellow ribbons to their work
uniforms a symbol of Hope for zeb's safe return a poster with the zeb's picture detailing his last known movements was
displayed at the front of the store urging customers to come forward if they had any information that could help with
the investigation Walmart staff even opened a fundraising account to help Denise pay
for her independent search efforts and encouraged customers to donate to the fund zeb's father Jer Quinn refused to
give up hope that his son was still alive the two hadn't spent much time together during zeb's childhood but
they'd recently rekindled their relationship Jerry was certain Zeb would contact him on his
birthday Jerry spent the entire day by the phone but the date passed with no word from
Zeb the longer Zeb remained missing the more the rumor mill swung into o Drive locals began considering all kinds
of outlandish theories none of which held any Merit the private investigator hired by
the Quinn family told journalist Brett forest for Spin Magazine I have checked everything I can
possibly think of gangs witchcraft drugs deviant sexual behavior and I can't come
up with an explanation for the lips on the back of the car it took a while before police were able
to access the records for zeb's pager looking through the data from the night he disappeared it seemed that
Jason Owens had been telling the truth Zeb had indeed received a page just a few minutes after the two of them left
the gas station the number was traced to the apartment of AA rtic zeb's paternal
Aunt police went to speak with AA she vehemently denied having ever paged to Zeb and said she wasn't even home on
the night in question she'd been eating dinner at her friend Tamara Taylor's house the two women worked together at
Costa's kitchen the restaurant owned by Denise Quinn's boyfriend coincidentally the police
already knew about this dinner Tamara Taylor was Misty Taylor's mother it was this dinner that both
Misty and her boyfriend Wesley Smith had attended on the night Zeb went missing thus giving them both airtight
aliis the problem was AA rusti lived alone and she said no one else had a key to her apartment so how could Zeb have
received a page from her phone according to Winer when she returned home after Tamara's dinner it
seemed that someone had broken into her apartment now nothing appeared to be missing but various items were out of
place and the phone had been moved to a different part of the [Music] house police checked AA ati's phone
records and discovered that 3 minutes after Zeb Quinn received the page from aa's number someone called her
apartment the number was traced to the home of aa's brother Jerry Quinn qu zeb's
father but Jerry strongly denied making the call to aa's apartment on the night that Zeb
disappeared like AA he claimed he wasn't even home at the time Jerry owned a bar in Asheville's
builtmore Village area and he'd been working on the night in question he told the Asheville citizen times I didn't
make a no call I don't know who could have done that police considered whether Zeb could have
made the call to W's house from his father's apartment but Jerry lived roughly 7
miles north from the location on Long Shaws Road where Jason Owens claimed Zeb left him to return the Urgent
page the call to W's apartment was placed just 3 minutes after Zeb received the page that wouldn't have given him
enough time to drive to Jerry's place and make the call it also wouldn't make sense for him to do so given there were
plenty of pay phones in the area AA AR Stitch's phone records also revealed that in the days following
zeb's disappearance several other calls had been made from her apartment at times when she wasn't at home on one of
those days she claimed she returned home to find a pitcher had fallen off the wall and
broken AA was subject to a polygraph test which she passed outside of the Unexplained page
to Zeb there was nothing to connect her with the case regardless some continued to
suspect she knew more about zeb's whereabouts than she was letting on unfounded rumors swelled that she could
have been helping to hide her nephew Jerry Quinn told Spin Magazine that he'd threatened his sister warning if I find
you're hiding something I swear to God I will [ __ ] you for life every time you get up and hobble you'll
think about me you're my family but he's my baby AA was distraught by this and swore
she didn't know anything nevertheless Jerry told spin something makes me feel pretty
weird about her unable to handle the scrutiny AA moved into State she told the Asheville
citizen times she had no idea what happened to Zeb stating I could never do anything to
harm a hair on that boy's head I love him I'm just like everyone else I want to know what
happened by the time Zeb Quinn had been missing for 7 months police had followed
up on approximately 150 leads they'd even taken seriously two separate reports from local women women who
claimed to have psychic Visions in which Zeb was dead and buried one of the women claimed that the
murder weapon had been thrown into Lake Julian near Long Shaws Road and took police out on a fruitless search for
it Denise Quinn continued to do all she could to find her son handing out missing person Flyers speaking to
reporters and searching for his face among crowds locals were reminded of Denise's
heartache every time they drove by a billboard in town she' paid for which read Zab lots of people love you and
miss you honey where are you I miss you so much love Mom with no confirmed sightings and
zeb's bank account and social security number remaining untouched investigators came to the conclusion that Zeb had most
likely been the victim of a homicide if so they believed that the killer didn't act
alone one police spokesperson said just the mechanics of killing someone and disposing of the body would
lead us to believe more than one person had to be involved while they remained open to the
possibility that Zeb could still be alive they uncovered no reason to suggest that he left
voluntarily the Quinn family considered whether Zeb could have gotten into a sky
Shuffle with someone that had gotten out of hand he could be naive and it was possible that he was placed in a
difficult situation that he didn't know how to get out of Denise Quinn told the Asheville
citizen times I'm angry at the people here who know something but who won't say anything I just need to know whether
he's dead or alive I just need to know whether I should grieve or wish him well if someone would just drop us an
anonymous note or tell us where he's buried I just want to be able to find some peace one detective told the Hickory
Daily Record it's very frustrating you feel for the parents and wish you could give
them an answer sometimes you get a case that there just aren't any answers to the oneyear anniversary of zeb's
disappearance came and went with the $115,000 reward for information going unclaimed Zab had missed Christmas his
favorite holiday and the birth of his second niece further adding to the belief that he was no longer
alive Denise Quinn had since gotten engaged to her boyfriend Costa and it broke her heart that Zeb wouldn't be
there to walk her down the aisle Denise had no doubt that someone in town knew something they refused to
disclose she told the Asheville citizen times somebody had his car and if nothing else
they know where they got it even if they found it abandoned they know where it was and it could be the one thing that
would help zeb's Father Jerry blamed police incompetence for the lack of progress in
his son's case the Asheville Police Department was only small and officers lacked the experience and resources
required for a case of this magnitude Jerry was convinced that Misty Taylor's boyfriend Wesley Smith had
something to do with The zeb's Disappearance while local suspicion remained against MTI and Wesley many
believed there was a more obvious culprit Jason Owens Not only was he the last person
seen with Zeb the fact that he called Walmart pretending to be Zeb was a detail many couldn't get
past Jason continued to not cooperate with the police and spoke publicly about the case only once telling Spin
Magazine I was totally in the wrong place at the wrong time if just one thing different would have happened I
wouldn't be in the middle of it but I'm in the middle of it stuck here until something's figured
out locals weren't the only ones suspicious of Jason Owens police also couldn't shake the feeling that he was
involved in zeb's Disappearance in some way during the course of their investigation intriguing information had
emerged as detailed in the documentary a good kid police records revealed that on
the morning Zeb went missing Jason Owen's mother had called the county sheriff's
department the call placed at 700 a.m. was to report that her own son was missing she'd be become worried that
Jason had failed to return home after going out the night before with all this information
combined police felt they had enough evidence to establish probable cause in February 2001 13 months after
zeb's disappearance a judge issued a warrant for officers to draw hair blood and saliva samples from Jason
Owens while they didn't necessarily have any samples to compare them against at least they now had them on
file but by late October 2002 almost 3 years had passed there hadn't been a single breakthrough in the Zeb Quinn
case in the early hours of Tuesday October 29 Asheville Police Officer Diana Loveland was driving along
Interstate 240 on her way back to the station when she saw a pickup truck hurdling down the highway suspecting the
driver was intoxicated officer Loveland flashed her lights and signaled for them
to pull over instead the driver picked up speed with officer Loveland giving Chase
and calling for backup the pickup truck eventually exited onto long Sha's Road maintaining speeds of over 80 mph the
driver suddenly raised a gun and began shooting out the window then after speeding through an
intersection the vehicle hit a mailbox and flipped the driver was none other than
24-year-old Jason Owens Jason was treated in hospital for several days before being arrested on
nine charges related to the highspeed chase including alluding arrest and assault on a law enforcement officer
with a firearm he ultimately pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 8 months in prison police refused to say whether
Jason Owens was questioned further about Zeb Quinn as part of the car chase investigation but a healthc care
professional recommended he seek treatment for alcohol abuse 2 months later in December 2002
Cadets from the reserve Officers Training Corp unit that Zeb had been part of surprised his family with the
memorial service in zeb's honor with the 3-year anniversary of his disappearance approaching they wanted
zeb's loved ones to know that his case hadn't been forgotten Denise held back tears as she
was presented with a photo of her son in a memory book the cadets had put together the ambiguous loss no easier to
live with despite the years that had passed As Time wore on officers spoke to criminal profilers searched to various
areas with kadava dogs and followed up on all reported sightings to no impact 2007 marked the seventh year of
the investigation that year in April new evidence emerged that allowed police to
get a search warrant for Jason owens's Property he lived with his wife on Owens Cove Road a remote dead end stretch in
ler roughly 14 miles from downtown Asheville over the years Jason continued to rack up criminal convictions
receiving charges for ruting prescription drugs and being in possession of stolen
goods police wouldn't tell the media what the New Evidence was simply commenting we hope we can further the
investigation we are leaving no stone unturned officers also sought help from necro search a nonprofit organization
dedicated to helping law enforcement uncover clandestine Graves and other evidence they used aerial photography
and ground penetrating radar to search Jason's expansive wooded property nothing of Interest was
found in the 2 years that followed police started reinvestigating zeb's disappearance from
scratch they obtained DNA from Misty Taylor and Wesley Smith who had collectively been questioned nine times
since January 2000 police made it clear that neither Misty nor Wesley were being treated as
suspects and that collection of their DNA was simply part of their comprehensive
efforts no new discoveries emerged and by the 10-year anniversary of seb's disappearance in 2010 his case remained
one of 23 on the Asheville Police Department's Cold Case list officers once again appealed for
information in the hopes that loyalties might have changed over time a tearful Denise Quinn told the
Asheville citizen times basically all of us are to a point stuck on that day when Zeb
disappeared with no sense of what happened to him or where his remains were Denise said just not having
anything is torture it doesn't go away she wrote an open letter to the people of Asheville saying for now until
someone realizes it has been way too too long and calls in some information to help us all we can do is wait day by day
to hear that the police have finally gotten the break they need to answer our prayers by the start of 2015 15 years
had passed with no answers for zeb's loved ones despite the case receiving National coverage when it was featured
on an episode of Investigation discoveries disappeared program zeb's disappearance had be
become somewhat of an urban legend it continued to be talked about from time to time and locals held on to their
theories but it had mostly faded from the public Consciousness police Sergeant Chuck Sams
was one of few reminded of the case every day he'd been on duty on the day zeb's car was found CH adopted the puppy
found inside giving her the name Katie Katie had gone on to live a long and happy life but she was a living
reminder of the ongoing mystery for engaged couple Christy shaan and JT Cod the mountainous area
surrounding Asheville North Carolina seemed like the perfect place to settle down having both spent many years
working long hours in the entertainment industry they were excited to slow down and start a family
the two had met behind the scenes on a television show JT whose real name was Joseph worked as a keygrip responsible
for all non-electrical support gear on set Christy worked as a professional caterer leaning into skills she'
developed having grown up in Louisiana cooking Cajun cuisine with her father she was also an aspiring actor who did
occasional work as a stunt double in 2012 Christy combin to these two passions by appearing as a contestant on
the reality television show Food Network star although she was eliminated in the
first round her passion for food only grew stronger when christe and JT decided to
leave Los Angeles for North Carolina and purchase a 36 acre property on hookers Gap Road in ler they had a shared
Vision they'd use the property to grow their own food which they' then used to start a farm to table
Cafe with a variety of established fruit trees on the land already the property suited them well a close friend of JT's
told People magazine that while the property wasn't exactly remarkable quote JT was making it remarkable because
that's what he did with everything JT and Christy quickly found their place in their new community and
got married at a community center outside of Ash a few months later they shared the news
with their loved ones that christe was pregnant when they found out they were having a girl they decided on the name
Skyla for the newlyweds everything was falling into place then on Sunday March 15 2015 one
of their neighbors Cecilia Owens received a phone call it was Christy's father calling from his home in Miss
Mississippi he'd become concerned after christe who was 5 months pregnant had failed to show up for a planned visit
without any explanation he hadn't been able to get in touch with her since Cecilia Owens had houseat for the
couple in the past and had a key to their Home christe's Father asked Cecilia if she could go over and check
on them as soon as Cecilia arrived on the property she could tell something was wrong the couple's cars were parked in
the driveway but when she knocked on the door nobody answered Cecilia let herself in Christy
and JT's two pet dogs were inside but it was clear they hadn't been tended to in
a while Christy typically kept her house in Immaculate condition but the place now
stunk the dogs had defecated and urinated throughout Cecilia knew christe would never leave
her dogs unattended as she treated them like her babies Christy's father called the
county sheriff's department and the deputies arrived at the couple's home to conduct a welfare check a cursory search
of the home turned up no sign of the couple but there was evidence of a Breakin several items appeared to be
missing but christe and JT's wallets were present sparking immediate concerns for
wellbeing more officers arrived to assist with the search but with the 36 acre property encompassing valleys and
mountainous Woodland searching it all would be no easy task word quickly spread that
45-year-old JT and 38-year-old chrisy were missing and locals were advised to contact the police with any information
pertaining to their whereabouts at 8:30 p.m. A call came through from a member of the public who
wanted to report something suspicious on a deadend street roughly 6 mil from the shaan cob home they'd seen
a man throwing some items into a private residential dumpster investigators went to the
address and retrieved several garbage bags from the dumpster inside were numerous items
including a bed spread Handgun Ammunition and Jewelry there was little doubt as to who they
belonged to not only were these items missing from the showen cob household among the belongings was christe's
ID but the biggest breakthrough was that the witness recognized the man they saw
dumping the items 36-year-old Robert Jason Owens [Music] at 1:30 a.m. on Monday March 16 2015
police arrived at Jason owens's home on Owens Cove Road he lived just one mile from Christian JT's property and was
known to the couple Jason had been one of the first people JT and christe had met when they moved to the area
unemployed at the time he'd accepted JT's offer to help out with some handyman jobs on their property
extending a hand to those in need was part of JT's nature as a close friend of his told People
magazine JT was an advocate for every Underdog he really took everybody under his wing who other people weren't
willing to give a second look to Jason Owens got to work clearing trees building a wellhouse and other
such tasks the ever trusting JT eventually gave him a key to their storage shed and loaned him $7,000 so he
could start his own contracting business while his generosity had been admired in Los Angeles it was exploited
in North Carolina a friend of the couple told People magazine that JT's willingness to
help those down on their luck led to people showing up on their doorstep asking for work or money he described JT
as the ATM of the mountains a reputation that had started to worry Christie the police placed Jason Owens
under arrest for theft and took him to the station for questioning as reported in the documentary a good kid they had
intentionally transported the dumpster to the station and left it in full view for Jason to see upon
arrival when he laid eyes on it his physical reaction indicated he knew that the jig was
up Jason Owens immediately began talking he told the interviewing detectives that
he'd arrived at the shaan Cod household on Thursday March 12 to help them move JT's vehicle after it had become stuck
in a nearby Creek Jason claimed that he got behind the wheel of the Dodge Ram truck and accidentally slammed his foot
onto the accelerator the vehicle sped forward hitting both JT and Christie who were
standing in front of it according to Jason he carried the bad injured Christy into the house and placed her in the
living room he tried to administer first aid but it was no use and she soon passed away he then went back outside
only to find that JT was already dead given that Jason was driving on a suspended license and was taking
medication that left him heavily impaired he said he panicked at the prospect of facing more jail time he
took JT's body back to his property where he burned it in a wood stove the next day he returned to the
couple's home and dismembered christe's body in the shower he then used garbage bags to transport the pieces back to his
place and burned those too Jason claimed he tried to cover the accident up as a robbery gone wrong he
stole some of the couple's belongings and sold them at local flea markets and porn stores using the money to take his
wife out for dinner Jason also admitted to using Christy's cell phone to send text messages to some
of her friends to make it look like she was still alive the friends who received these
messages had been immediately suspicious as the texts didn't sound like christe at
all Jason Owens reiterated that he didn't mean to hurt JT or Christie insisting to the
detectives I'm not a bad guy they were two of my best friends they were I loved them cuz they loved me JT and
christe didn't have friends they had family and just like that I was part of their
family it was true that the couple had treated Jason with nothing but kindness he'd even attended their wedding where
he stood out to the other guests like a sore thumb one guest later told People magazine there was a gut feeling when I
looked at this guy and I avoided him this was one person I definitely did not want to
meet a search of Jason owens's Property turned up enough evidence for police to charge him with two counts of
first-degree murder and one count of murder of an unborn child if convicted he faced the death
penalty Jason was denied bail as the investigation continued then in the early morning hours of
Friday March 20 4 days after Jason Owens was taken into custody panicked calls started coming through to
911 one caller told the dispatcher to send fire and law enforcement to Owens Cove Road immediately
exclaiming somebody's setting fires to everything up here on this mountain hurry First Responders arrived at Jason
owens's property to find a a mobile home that sat roughly 50 yards from his primary place of residence Up in
Flames by the time the blaze was extinguished the entire trailer had been burned to the
ground arson investigators confirmed that the fire was suspicious but they wouldn't say what had caused it
investigators on the sh and cod case declined to confirm whether the wood oven stove Jason used to cremade his
victim's remains had been located inside the mobile home Jason Owens was behind bars at the time
of the blaze which raised the question who started the fire and why theories began to circulate that
Jason could have had an accomplice within his family who was trying to destroy evidence but there was a more
pressing question on everyone's lips with the Jason Owens now charged with murder what did this mean for the Zeb
Quinn investigation if he was capable of committing one brutal crime did this also mean he'd
committed the other the Asheville Police Department confirmed that Jason's arrest was a
significant event for their investigation into zeb's Disappearance in a statement zeb's
mother Denise asked the public not to overshadow Christy shaan and JT cod's heartbreaking deaths with statements
posts and questions about her son quote we acknowledge and appreciate the Abundant support we have always received
from our friends and community and trust you will all give the Cod Shan families
the same gift Denise told reporters for the Asheville citizan Times that while she
viewed the show and cob murders as totally separate from zeb's case quote I'm hopeful with what Jason Owens is
facing eventually whatever information he may have been holding back he may decide to go ahead and let it
go but if Jason Owens intended to reveal anything about zeb's disappearance someone else beat him to it 10 days
after Jason's arrest his uncle Jean Owens contacted the police on his own valtion having heard how his nephew had
disposed of JT and Christy's bodies Jean told the police maybe that's what happened to Zeb
Jean told the police that back in 1999 there was an area on Jason Owen's property that Jason had dug out to burn
things in something Jean claimed Jason loved to do the pit was approximately 8 ft long
and 8 ft wide sometime after January 2000 the month that Zeb Quinn went missing Jason allegedly filled the area
with concrete explaining that he was going to turn it into into a fish pond instead he then abandoned the project
and covered the concrete with dirt instead with that a warrant was granted for police to search the property for
zeb's remains several areas were excavated and the police managed to find fabric
leather materials unknown hard fragments and several plastic bags filled with white
powder samples were tested but they revealed no indic of bone fragments or human
remains meanwhile Jason Owens came forward with a story of his own Jason claimed that his uncle Jean
was responsible for zeb's murder and was throwing him under the bus to deflect attention from
himself after 15 years of Silence he was finally ready to tell the truth about what
happened according to Jason on the afternoon of Sunday January 2 2000 Jean had asked him for a favor zeb's Crush
Misty Taylor apparently wanted to meet with Zeb without her jealous boyfriend Wesley Smith finding out Jean asked
Jason if he could take Zeb out to Bent Creek a forest roughly 10 miles from downtown Asheville where Misty would be
camping overnight Jason did as he was told after Zeb finished his shift at Walmart the two headed out in their
separate cars according to Jason when they got to Bent Creek they found his uncle Jean
parked on the side of the road they all got out and Zeb asked to genan where Misty was he responded that she'd be
there any minute zebba turned to keep an eye out at which point Jason claimed that Jean
reached into his truck took out a 22 caliber rle and shot Zeb in the back of the
head in shock and fearing that he could be next Jason jumped back into his truck
but in his haste to speed off he crashed into zeb's car and his head slammed into
the steering wheel Jean ran over and assured Jason he wasn't going to hurt him Jason asked why he shot Zeb Jean
allegedly responded that Zeb had been putting his nose somewhere he shouldn't be and that someone needed to teach him
a lesson Jean warned Jason not to say a word to anyone otherwise he'd go down as
an accomplice to the murder terrified Jason fled the scene only to return later that night after he
couldn't get to sleep a few hundred yards from the side of the shooting he claimed he saw a
campfire burning his uncle Jean was tending to it and zeb's feet were sticking out of the
Flames Jean forced Jason to stay with him overnight where he continued to feed zeb's dismembered limbs to the
fire once his remains were cremated Jean put out the fire with water from the creek and Scattered the ashes in the
surrounding Forest Jason was supposed to start work at the Volvo plant at 6 a.m. their
employee policy stated that if a worker didn't show up without calling in beforehand they'd lose their
job Jean therefore told Jason to go to urgent care for the injuries he sustained when crashing into zeb's car
as this would give him a valid reason for not showing up at work too scared to speak out about what
happened Jason claimed he kept this to himself for 15 years all the while wishing he could tell zeb's family the
truth about what happened as for zeb's Mazda reappearing at the little pig's barbecue restaurant
Jason claimed this was as much of a mystery to him as anyone else while Jason Owens gave this account
to police his uncle Jean Owens was interviewed in another room Jean had admitted to waning several Firearms most
of which were 22 caliber rifles but he claimed to know nothing about what happened to Zeb
Quinn sensing his nephew might have implicated him Jean told the detectives that anything Jason Owens said was a
lie investigators weren't willing to take any chances they headed out to Bent Creek a densely vegetated area in piscar
National Forest known for its network of hiking trails taking Jason Owens with them nothing of Interest was
found if Jason's version of events was to be believed this wasn't surprising given the amount of time that had
passed investigators remained skeptical firstly the way Jason claimed his uncle had disposed of zeb's remains
bore remarkable similarities to the way he himself had disposed of JT and Christie's bodies he'd also admitted to
posing as Christie in texts to her friends just like he'd been caught doing in the phone call to Walmart just days
after zeb's Disappearance in addition investigators found inconsistencies in Jason owens's
story that cast doubt on its credibility they therefore declined to speak with him any further about the
matter but at the same time some were perplexed by his admission Jason hadn't asked for
anything in exchange for his story such as leniency of any kind in the show and cob murders or immunity in Seb Quinn's
case so if his version of events wasn't true why make it up Jason owens's defense team
investigated their client claims Jason agreed to undergo a polygraph test in which he stuck to his
story that he watched his uncle Jean Owens shoot Zeb Quinn and burn his Remains the test showed no signs of
deception according to documents released by the defense the police declined to disclose what alleged
inconsistent they found in Jason's Story nor did they give him a chance to address these
inconsistencies the defense team looked into Gene owens's background and found that he'd hovered suspiciously close to
the Zeb Quinn disappearance according to their findings when Jason Owens was arrested
for the high-speed chase back in 2002 Jean appeared at his Hospital bedside and cautioned the police not to ask his
nephew anything about the Quinn matter the defense also highlighted the questionable timing in which Jee Owens
came forward with details about the fish pond on the Owens property their findings revealed that
the so-called fish pond had actually been dug up and turned into a retaining wall years before zeb's disappearance
information that Jean was well aware of as far as the defense were concerned with the Jason Owens arrested for the
show and cob murders Jean was likely nervous that his nephew would finally be forthcoming with the truth about what
happened to zeab he therefore crafted the fish pond story to misdirect the investigation and
to further discredit Jason there was also the lingering question of who set the fire to the
trailer on the Owens property Jason and Jean had lived on the same property for many
years did someone other than Jason know something and feel compelled to destroy evidence Jason's lawyers defended his
decision to remain silent for so long citing a combination of fear of his uncle and the fear that his story
wouldn't be believed a concern they found valid according to court documents a former detective for the Asheville
Police Department had confided in one of the defense lawyers saying Asheville Police had tunnel
vision about the Zeb Quinn matter they wanted to believe that Jason Owens killed Zeb and they did not want to
consider any other possibility the district attorney allegedly told the defense team that
they were prioritizing the investigation into JT and Christy's murders and would
address the Quinn matter once the other case was closed their main roadblock with the
Shen Cod case was that Jason Owens had done such a thorough job of cremating their remains that investigators
couldn't deter determine how the couple and their unborn child were killed while they didn't believe a word
of Jason's story about the car accident with no contradicting evidence to suggest otherwise they felt the version
of events he'd given was the closest they'd ever get to knowing what really happened in April
2017 just over 2 years after JT chrisy and baby Skyler were killed Jason Owens accepted a
deal mean aining the deaths had been an accident he pleaded guilty to three counts of second degree murder and two
counts of dismembering human remains in exchange the death penalty was taken off the table and he was
sentenced to a minimum of 59 years and a maximum of 74 without the possibility of
parole a statement released by the district attorney said because there are no surviving
Witnesses and Jason Owens had exclusive control of the crime scene for several days and he had nearly completed the
gruesome project of cremating his victim's remains we will never know many of the facts surrounding the
deaths JT and christe's loved ones had mixed feelings about the ple deal while they were relieved that Jason Owens had
been held accountable and would be removed from society they felt there was no punishment that fit his crime in a
statement Christie's family said we can only hope that he suffers for the remainder of his life on Earth and again
as he rot in hell less than 2 and A2 months later 66-year-old Jee Owens passed away from
natural causes he maintained his innocence in Zeb Quinn's disappearance until The Bitter
End 2 days later and allegedly with no warning given to his lawyers Jason was formerly charged with the first-degree
murder of Zeb Quinn he maintained that his uncle Jean was the real killer but with the Jee now
gone and 17 years passing since zeb's disappearance it was Jason's word against a dead
man one key element remained unclear Jean Owens had no known link to Zeb Quinn his Crush Misty Taylor or her
boyfriend to Wesley Smith as such Jean had no reason to lure Zab out to the forest under the guise of
having a rendevu with Misty just to murder him as revealed in the documentary a good kid Jason claimed to know the
missing piece of the puzzle and that missing piece was a man named Adam Wright according to Jason it was Adam
Wright who introduced his uncle Jean to Wesley Smith while Jason didn't know the
the circumstances of their relationship he assumed that Wesley had told Jean about zeb's unwanted affection towards
Misty Jean had agreed to remove Zeb from the picture in a prison interview Jason told
the producers of a good kid that the motive had to be money he said Jean never told me but he got something out
of it he wouldn't have done it if he didn't this story raised one more problem Adam Wright had passed away from
a drug overdose in 2010 there was no one left to vouch for Jason owens's version of
evance law enforcement remained unconvinced by Jason's assertions but there was no physical evidence to
confirm otherwise without something to present to a jury they knew that securing a
murder conviction would be a challenge eventually in July 22 prosecutors and asb's family agreed to a
plea deal Jason Owens pleaded guilty to accessory after the fact of first-degree
murder in exchange for an additional 13 years in prison the district attorney acknowledged that while many unanswered
questions remained at least the plea brought some form of closure to the Quinn family after over two decades of
not knowing for sure if Zeb was alive or dead in a statement the district attorney
said while we may never know the full truth these many years after zeb's disappearance my sympathies are with the
family and all who have suffered as a result although Misty Taylor and Wesley Smith were questioned by investigators
several times over the years they have never been formerly considered Persons of Interest in Zeb Quinn's
disappearance the mysterious page Jeb received from his aunt's house on the night of his murder has never been
explained some believe that the police were too focused on Jason Owens from the get-go and that a more resourceful
Police Department could have done a better job of exploring other leads especially given the many Clues left
behind in zeb's abandoned vehicle who left the car there and why is a question that will likely never be
answered Jason owens's lawyer told the documentary a good kid quote Jean Owens was the killer we don't doubt that Jean
Owens was the Killer and he's dead and whatever the arrangements were for Jean to kill Zeb Quinn those people have
never been charged others believe that Jason Owens is a compulsive liar who acted
alone whatever the truth it's a commonly held belief that if Jason hadn't been caught for the murders of JT christe and
their unborn child Zeb Quinn's case would likely still be unsolved some have criticized the courts
for accepting Jason owens's play deals in both cases given that prosecutors didn't fully believe his version of
events it raises the question of whether or not justice has truly been served for
his victims Christie's family are convinced that Jason didn't act alone in JT and
christe's deaths either in their statement after his play deal was accepted they
said although we know deep down that others in his family hold responsibility for these heinous murders there is not
much we can do in terms of justice for them we will attempt to heal and let go of some of the anger that we still have
we also have to say that we are so lucky to have met some of the most wonderful people through this tragedy those people
are the family of Zeb Quinn this family deserves just as much healing peace and closure as we do and we can only hope
they get a little bit of that the Quinn family asked for privacy in the wake of Jason owens's play deal
but at his hearing zeb's mother Denise spoke about her son's belief that you should always try to see the best in
people she reflected on a time when Zeb was in high school and she wasn't happy about some of the people he chose to to
hang around with Denise warned her son that he would be judged by the company he kept she
told the court quote Zeb looked back at me and said they have done nothing wrong to me
and have done nothing wrong around me and I will continue to be their friend this is the young man that was
taken from his family friends community and the world this is a young man that never
would have seen his end coming this is the young man who trusted his friend [Music]
[Music] Jason e

Case 279: Zebb Quinn

In early January 2000, residents of Asheville, North Carolina, were told to be on the lookout for 18-year-old Zebb Quinn after he failed to return home after finishing his shift at Wal-Mart. A co-worker of Zebb’s, Robert Jason Owens, claimed that Zebb had sped off after receiving a mysterious message on his pager.

Two weeks later, an unexpected breakthrough in the case presents some bizarre clues. But as twist after twist emerges, the prevailing question remains – did Zebb Quinn leave of his own accord, or was he the victim of foul play?

CREDITS

Narration – Anonymous Host Research & writing – Elsha McGill Creative direction – Milly Raso Production and music – Mike Migas Music – Andrew D.B. Joslyn

SOCIAL LINKS

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RESOURCES

For all credits and sources, please visit https://casefilepodcast.com/case-279-zebb-quinn

Brief Summary

Zeb Quinn disappeared in 2000; Jason Owens' involvement raises questions about a love triangle and unresolved mysteries.

Key points

The Mysterious Call. Zeb's supervisor receives a call from someone pretending to be Zeb, raising suspicions.
Zeb's Disappearance. 18-year-old Zeb Quinn goes missing after his shift at Walmart, raising alarm among family and friends.
The Discovery of Zeb's Car. Zeb's light blue Mazda is found abandoned with strange clues inside, deepening the mystery.
The Mysterious Page. Zeb received a mysterious page just minutes after leaving with Jason Owens, raising questions.
AA's Alibi. AA denied paging Zeb and claimed she was at dinner, but her story had holes.
The Search for Zeb. Denise Quinn's relentless search for her son continued, with no confirmed sightings.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

I just want to know my son is okay.

Denise Quinn expressing her worry about Zeb's disappearance.

14:18WatchApr 13, 2024

Tension

75/ 100High tension

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