Robert Jason Owens indicted in Zebb Quinn homicide

ASHEVILLE - One of the region's longest running murder mysteries, the Zebb Quinn case, took a major step toward resolution with the indictment of Robert Jason Owens on a murder charge.

A Buncombe County grand jury returned the indictment Monday. It charges Owens, in prison for a double murder, with first-degree murder for the death of Zebb Wayne Quinn on Jan. 2, 2000.

The Asheville Police Department said the indictment is the result of years of investigative work and persistence by detectives, as well as ongoing partnerships with members of the Quinn family and the Buncombe County District Attorney’s Office.

Quinn's mother, Denise Vlahakis, declined comment Monday night.

More:All our coverage of Owens, the Codds and Quinn

Timeline: From Zebb Quinn disappearance to Robert Jason Owens charged

Owens is serving an active prison sentence for the murders of Cristie and Joseph Codd in March 2015, a gruesome killing that drew national media attention.

Buncombe County District Attorney Todd Williams said Monday night that all defendants who are indicted have a right to a first appearance in court, and that will be the case with Owens.

He also said he will not pursue the death penalty in the Quinn case.

“We do intend to file a notice on Tuesday that the state intends to proceed non-capitally in this matter,” Williams said

Williams stressed that he cannot speak specifically about the Quinn case, but he said that generally speaking, seeking the death penalty would require a prosecutor to provide “proof of certain statutory aggravating factors to a standard of ‘beyond a reasonable doubt.’”

A conviction on a first-degree murder charge can carry the death penalty or life in prison.

Williams noted that in general when indictments are returned, those cases will involve the defendants and their attorneys discussing their cases and deciding how they want to proceed in their defenses, which could include pleas or going to trial.

In April, Owens, 37, admitted killing Cristie Schoen Codd, 38, Joseph “J.T.” Codd, 45, and their unborn child in March 2015. He also pleaded guilty to two counts of dismembering human remains.

In a plea deal his attorneys reached with Williams, Owens will spend a minimum of 59.5 years to a maximum of 74.5 years in prison without the possibility of parole.

Sean Devereux, one of two defense attorneys who represented Owens during the Codd-Schoen case, said he had no idea an indictment against his client was coming.

“We had dealt in good faith with the district attorney’s office, and we’re disappointed they chose not to do the same with us,” Devereux said Monday night. “They've handled this whole thing in a bush league manner.”

Devereux said Owens' initial interview with the police regarding the Quinn case took place several months before the plea and sentencing in the Codd case in late April. Devereux said he believes law enforcement, acting at the direction of the district attorney's office, attempted to conduct a second interview with Owens regarding the Quinn case the day after the Codd sentencing, without Owens' defense attorneys present.

Owens refused to speak without his attorneys present, Devereux said.

"I'm unable to respond at this time," Williams said, in response to Devereaux's claims. "As with any case, the district attorney's office speaks through our filings in court, through the court process."

The Quinn case first brought Owens' name to prominence, as the case spawned national media attention.

Owens and Quinn had known each other after working together at Wal-Mart on Hendersonville Road and would occasionally play pool together.

The night of the disappearance, Quinn clocked out of his job at 9 p.m. with plans of checking out a new car with Owens.

Owens offered that he knew of one for sale in Leicester.

The pair stopped at a convenience store at 9:14 p.m. to buy soft drinks, and soon after Owens' truck passed the gas station pumps followed by Quinn's Mazda Protégé, according to surveillance footage released by city police in 2004.

Quinn followed Owens along Long Shoals Road, and Owens later told police Quinn had signaled for him to stop by flashing his lights. When the two stopped, Quinn said he received a page he needed to answer and left to find a pay phone, according to Owens' account.

He returned 10 minutes later and bumped into Owens' truck. Quinn promised to pay for the damages, then said he had to leave, according to Owens. Investigators have said that was the last time anyone reported having seen Quinn.

Two days after the disappearance, a Wal-Mart supervisor received a call from a man claiming to be Quinn, saying he would not be at work. When she dialed *69 she found the call had come from Volvo Construction Equipment, where Owens was then working.

Owens told police Quinn asked him to make the call.

Two weeks later, Quinn's car turned up in the parking lot of Little Pigs Barbecue on McDowell Street with a puppy inside and a large pair of lips drawn in lipstick on the rear window.

Quinn took no clothes, no contact lens solution, no extra money — nothing that would indicate he was going away. He liked his job and always stayed in close touch with his mother and sister.

Shortly after, investigators considered Owens a top suspect in the case.

In the months and years that have followed Quinn's disappearance, police have received hundreds of tips and leads. Most recently, a pair of searches linked to the Quinn case took place in March and in May of 2015.

Check back at CITIZEN-TIMES.com for updates.