The handyman charged with the murder of ex "Food Network Star" contestant, Cristie Schoen Codd, her husband, J.T. Codd, and their unborn child, has finally been convicted after pleading guilty in court. The 37-year North Carolina resident admitted to murdering and dismembering the bodies of the victims back in 2015.
One of the most disturbing killings in NC history
Cristie, who appeared in the eighth season of "Food Network Star," and her husband were reported missing when they did not show up for a planned business trip. After authorities were alerted, an investigation was then conducted.
Officers then received an anonymous tip, which led them to discover the remains of the couple and their unborn child on the suspect's wood stove oven.
The suspect, Robert Jason Owens, admitted in court that he tried to dispose of the evidence by cutting up the victim's bodies with an electric saw and then burning them inside the stove on his property. Owens then stole several of the couple's personal property to make it look like a robbery-gone-bad.
Caught in the act
Owens was arrested within the same year after he was caught red-handed trying to dispose of the remaining body parts. Owens was then charged with two counts of first-degree murder, one count of breaking, and one count of larceny, and one count of killing an unborn child.
Mysterious circumstances
The couple initially hired Owens as a contractor to help them with work on their home. The circumstances of why he had murdered the couple are still unclear as there were no real witnesses to what had happened. Owens was also caught a few days after the murder took place, which means that he had ample time to clean up the scene of the crime.
Owens initial statement was that he accidentally ran over the couple when they were helping him push his truck out of a ditch. However, without any evidence to back up his claim, the true circumstances that led to the murder still remains unclear.
Death penalty off the table
After a lengthy procedure, the suspect finally pleaded guilty to murdering the couple and disposing of their bodies.
Owens was then convicted of second-degree murder and two counts of dismembering remains. As part of his plea bargain, the death penalty was removed from the table and Owens will instead be spending 59 to 74 years in prison. The conviction was described by the state's District Attorney as tantamount to a "sentence of death in prison."
