A North Carolina man facing murder charges in the death of a “Food Network Star” contestant had human remains in his woodstove, authorities say.
Robert Jason Owens is accused of killing former contestant Cristie Schoen Codd, 38, and her husband, Joseph Codd, 45.
Cristie Codd was five months pregnant, according to CNN affiliate WHNS in Greenville, South Carolina.
Owens was a contractor and had worked at the couple’s home in Leicester, a community 15 miles west of Asheville, authorities said Friday.
Relatives reported the Codds missing Sunday after they could not reach either of them.
When authorities went to their home, some things looked out of place, which prompted an investigation, according to Buncombe County Sheriff Van Duncan.
He did not elaborate on what was unusual, but authorities had said earlier that the couple’s cars and dogs were at home.
Suspicious activity
A day after they were reported missing, authorities received a call about suspicious activity around Owens’ home in Candler.
“They (caller) identified that someone had come out and very suspiciously had left things in a Dumpster,” Duncan said. “We responded and were able to locate items that we knew belonged to Cristie Schoen Codd.”
When investigators did an initial interview with Owens, he confessed to taking items from the victims’ home, authorities said.
Remains in woodstove
Duncan said they obtained a warrant to search Owens’ home and found human remains.
“Parts of those were recovered from a woodstove at that residence,” Duncan said.
Those remains, he said, are undergoing a forensic analysis to determine whether they belong to the Codds.
Confession to wife?
In addition to the remains, Owens’ wife told investigators that her husband confessed to killing Joseph Codd, according to the sheriff.
Duncan declined to provide details on the motive or whether the suspect confessed to killing Cristie Schoen Codd as well.
“From that point, there’s not really a whole lot of detail we can get into,” he said, citing an ongoing investigation.
Owens faces various charges, including two counts of first-degree murder, murder of an unborn child and breaking and entering, according to WHNS. It said Owens allegedly broke into the couple’s house and stole a laptop, gun and jewelry, citing investigators. It’s unclear who his attorney is.
Cristie Codd was a finalist on season eight of “Food Network Star,” which airs on the Food Network.