‘Food Network Star’ Contestant: Suspect Charged In Murder Of Cristie Codd, Husband JT

A Food Network Star contestant has been killed, and a suspect has been charged with her murder. According to The SpreadIt, Robert Jason Owens has been arrested and charged after Joseph Codd, 45, and his pregnant wife, Cristie Schoen Codd, 38, went missing last week. Although their bodies have still not been found, Owens has been charged with three “very serious crimes,” and the DA says that seeking the death penalty is a real possibility.

“Owens faces three Class A felony murder charges in the case, with each carrying a maximum penalty of death or life in prison without the possibility of parole. He also faces charges for breaking and entering, and larceny after breaking and entering, with each of those charges carrying a maximum penalty of 39 months in prison,” said Buncombe County Sheriff Van Duncan.

The Food Network Star contestant knew the now-charged suspect because he had been doing work in the couple’s home. A possible motive seems unclear at this time, as the DA is still collecting evidence and putting this case together.

“An arrest warrant, obtained by the paper, accuses Owens of breaking into the couple’s home Sunday and stealing a laptop, jewelry, and a Glock handgun. When the couple’s family reported them missing that same day, responding deputies described finding only their two dogs and cars at the property.”

According to the New York Daily News, firefighters did find two bodies at a nearby Black Mountain cabin that had been on fire, but the medical examiner has not confirmed the identities. Authorities say that the fire is “not suspicious,” but are working to investigate the case completely before ruling anything out. Some sources say that the two cases are completely unrelated, but given the proximity and the timing, it seems plausible that the two bodies found inside the cabin could be the bodies of Cristie and JT.

As previously reported by the Inquisitr, Codd is known for competing in Food Network Star back in 2012. She worked as a chef and caterer on movie sets in Hollywood, and she also did some acting in her spare time. Her husband, JT, worked as a key grip on movie sets. Many couldn’t say enough wonderful things about the two.

The couple would have welcomed their first child together later this year.

As for Owens, he was a primary suspect in the January 2000 disappearance of teen Zeb Quinn, also from Asheville, North Carolina. According to Fox Carolina, that case is still unsolved.

[Photo courtesy of Facebook]