►
Description
For more information about the Buncombe County Sheriff's Office you can visit buncombecounty.org/sheriff.
A
A
Patrol
officers
contacted
the
Detective,
Division
and
detectives
responded,
detectives
attempted
to
obtain
contact
information
for
friends
and
relatives
and
make
some
determination
if
the
cards
could
be
located
safely.
When
detectives
were
unable
to
locate
the
cards,
a
missing-persons
investigation
was
started
immediately,
detectives
prepared
and
executed
several
search
warrants
and
preservation
orders
for
cellphone
telephone
data
detectives
process
the
residence
throughout
the
evening
and
into
the
following
morning.
On
Sunday
evening,
the
Sheriff's
Office
received
a
report
of
suspicious
activity
on
Donna
Drive
in
the
Candler
community.
A
Deputies
responded
and
recovered
items
belonging
to
Christie,
showing
Cod
detectives
were
able
to
identify
Robert
Jason
Owen
as
the
person
who
had
left
those
items
and
interviewed
him.
In
the
early
morning,
hours
of
Monday
March
16th
on
Monday
March
16
detectives
contacted
the
Leicester
Fire
Department
and
a
ground
search
was
organized
for
the
property
at
87,
hookers,
Gap
Road
and
that's
the
shown
residence.
The
cod
residence,
the
ground
search
was
conducted
the
afternoon
of
Monday
March
16th
and
nothing
was
found.
A
Today,
detectives
have
prepared
and
executed
multiple
search
warrants,
conducted
dozens
of
interviews
and
seized
numerous
items
of
evidence.
The
human
remains
have
been
delivered
to
Wake
Forest,
Baptist,
Medical
Center
for
analysis.
Robert
Jason
Owens
has
been
charged
with
two
counts
of
first
degree:
murder
and
the
death
of
JT
Cobb,
Kristi's,
Shoen
Cod
and
the
murder
of
their
unborn
child.
The
investigation
continues
and
detectives
are
actually
actively
gathering
information
in
relationship
to
the
investigation.
A
Now
today,
before
you
arrived
search
warrants
will
return
to
the
magistrate's
office
here
in
Buncombe,
County
I.
Think
many
of
you
have
received
packets
of
what
those
search
warrants
contained
once
those
search
warrants
are
released.
The
information
in
those
search
warrants
become
public
record,
and
what
I'm
here
to
do
today
is
to
discuss
some
of
the
details
around
that
without
getting
into
extensive
investigative
details.
A
Once
again,
let
me
stress
my
number
one
goal
at
this
point
in
time
is
to
make
sure
that
our
agency
follows
up
with
a
very
detailed,
thorough
investigation
and
also
not
to
do
anything
that
would
Edge's
or
cause
problems
for
the
prosecution
on
down
the
road.
So
with
those
rules
in
place
and
thinking
about
moving
forward
and
what
our
ultimate
goal
is,
we
will
take
questions
shortly,
but
I
do
want
to
discuss
a
couple
of
things
about
the
search
warrants
that
that
you
are
going
to
find
and
actually
probably
the
best
way
to
do.
B
A
A
Ok,
this
call
started
at
3:23
p.m.
on
Sunday
afternoon
bill
showing
who
was
Christie's
father
called
in,
because
she
was
supposed
to
be
in
Mississippi
on
Sunday
and
they
had
not
been
able
to
make
contact
with
her.
So
the
Buncombe
County
Sheriff's
Office
went
out
to
do
a
check
on
the
welfare
of
at
the
residence
there
at
87,
hookers
Gap
Road
deputies
arrived
and
they
were
able
to
look
and
and
clear
around
the
residence
didn't
see
anything
suspicious
at
the
time.
A
Shortly
thereafter,
we
were
able
to
locate
a
neighbor
who
had
a
key
who
came
out
to
let
us
come
into
the
residence
and
we
went
in
at
that
time.
There
were
things
when
we
entered
the
residence
they.
Let
us
know
that
there
would
probably
some
some
things
that
weren't,
quite
as
they
should
be
when
we
went
into
the
residence.
So
at
that
time
a
missing
persons
report
was
filed
and
we
started
trying
to
locate
the
cause
later
on
that
afternoon.
A
Late
evening,
Sunday
or
early
morning
Monday,
we
received
a
call
from
an
individual
that
reported
suspicious
activity
around
Donna
driving
canler.
They
identified
that
someone
had
come
out
and
in
a
very
suspicious
way,
had
left
things
in
a
dumpster
there
at
Donna
Drive.
We
responded
and
at
that
point
in
time
we
were
able
to
locate
items
which
we
knew
belong
to
Christie,
showing
car.
A
We
followed
up
from
that
point
and
were
able
to
locate
Robert
Jason
Owen
and
do
an
initial
interview
of
him
at
that
time
he
did
admit
to
taking
items
from
the
cod
residence
and
some
of
those
we
had
recovered
from
Donna
drive
about
midday.
We
secured
warrants
for
mr.
Owens
and
went
out
and
attempted
to
serve
the
warrants.
It
took
us
some
time
till
the
late
afternoon
to
be
able
to
locate
him,
which,
at
that
time
he
was
arrested
and
brought
here
for
an
interview
we
interviewed
mr.
A
Owen
and
after
that
interview
we
went
to
the
magistrate's
office
and
secured
three
first-degree
murder
warrants
for
Christie,
Shawn,
Cod,
JT,
Cod
and
also
the
unborn
child.
Some
of
the
things
that
have
been
asked
about
bodies,
recovering
bodies
and
and
those
type
details
and
I
we've
been
very
closed.
A
A
A
You
will
go
through
those
search
warrants
and
you
will
see
items
attached
and
you
will
probably
have
further
questions,
but
that's
probably
where
we
have
to
stop
anything
about
investigative
detail.
I
know
you're,
probably
going
to
want
to
ask
me
about
how
did
he
say,
method
of
killing
motives?
Any
kind
of
that
thing,
and
those
are
things
that
we
can't
get
into
at
this
press
conference
at
this
time.
We're
going
to
open
it
up
for
questions
shortly,
but
I
want
to
turn
it
over
to
the
district
attorney.
C
You
sheriff
my
name
is
Todd
Williams
I'm,
the
elected
District
Attorney
of
Buckham
County
I
want
to
address
first
what
the
duties
of
a
prosecutor.
What
a
lawyer
in
North
Carolina
is
charged
with
in
ensuring
fairness
in
our
system
and
I
want
to
read
directly
from
our
rules
of
ethical
conduct.
Rule
3.8
requires
that
a
prosecutor
in
all
criminal
cases
shall
refrain
from
making
extrajudicial
comments
that
have
a
substantial
likelihood
of
heightening
public
condemnation
of
the
you
accuse.
That's
number
one
and
the
second
rule
is
rule
3.6.
C
A
lawyer
who
is
participating
in
litigation
of
a
matter
shall
not
make
an
extrajudicial
statement
that
the
lord
knows
will
be
disseminated
by
means
of
public
communication
to
have
a
substantial
likelihood
of
materially
prejudicing
and
a
dude
adjudicative
proceeding.
So
those
are
our
two
rules
of
ethical
conduct
here
in
North
Carolina
that
apply
in
every
case,
that
is,
that
is
filed
in
Buncombe
County
Courthouse,
not
just
this
case,
but
this
is
a.
This
is
a
guiding
principle
for
our
office.
In
every
case.
C
That's
litigated
criminally
in
Buncombe
County,
so
I
want
you
all
to
understand
that
I'm
very
limited,
therefore,
and
what
what
I
could
say?
This
is
an
ongoing
investigation
and
we
want
to
be
very
careful
about
how
we
proceed
next.
I
want
to
address
the
posture
of
these
cases.
As
you've
heard,
there
are
two
counts
of
first-degree
murder
and
one
count
of
murder
of
an
unborn
child.
C
I
didn't
state
that
correctly.
Actually,
in
the
in
the
two
first-degree
murder
cases,
there
are
two
possible
punishments:
life
without
parole
or
death
and
the
murder
of
an
unborn
child
case.
The
maximum
possible
punishment
is
life
without
parole.
Now,
North
Carolina
law
gives
the
office
of
the
district
attorney
discretion
to
declare
a
case
capital
or
non-capital.
It's
my
policy.
C
It's
the
policy
of
the
District
Attorney's
Office,
not
to
make
that
determination
until
we
have
all
the
information-
and
the
case
has
been
submitted
to
our
office
for
review
now,
as
you've
heard
from
sheriff,
Duncan
items
have
been
submitted
for
further
laboratory
analysis
and
investigation.
We
are
subject
to
the
timelines
of
that
lab
and
those
other
investigative
agencies
at
this
country.
I
can't
make
any
forecast
as
to
win
we'll
be
in
a
position
to
make
the
determination
about
how
we
proceed
at
this
time.
C
That's
I
do
plan
on
making
a
careful
judicious
review
of
the
file
once
it
is
submitted
and
at
this
time,
we're
serving
as
an
advisory
capacity
to
law
enforcement,
which
is
part
of
our
constitutional
duty
as
the
office
of
the
district
attorney
and
at
this
time
that's
my
statement,
I'm
pretty
much
going
to
let
it
let
it
stand
there.
Thank
you
and.
A
Those
are
parts
of
those
investigative
details
that
that
we
can't
discuss.
You
were
correct
part
of
what
was
released
in
the
warrant
was
storing
and
destroying
those
bodies,
and
we
knew
there
would
be
some
question
around.
Why
couldn't
we
say
we
had
located
the
bodies
and
I
think
those
questions
are
at
least
in
part
answered
now
as
to
why
we
couldn't
say
that
we
absolutely
have
located
and
identified
the
the
Qods
earlier
on.
B
B
A
A
A
Those
are
parts
of
the
details
that
I
can't
get
into
what
sabians
talking
about
is
during
the
wife's
interview
she
did
and
what
is
contained
in
the
search
warrant
make
the
statement
that
he
said
that
he
had
killed,
JT
Cobb
and
had
struck
him
with
a
vehicle.
That's
that
that's
all
things
that
are
contained
in
the
search
warrants,
which
you
guys
had
pockets
out.
A
C
A
One
thing
I
was
asked
early
on:
is
this
the
same
Robert
Jason
Owens
that
was
looked
at
as
a
suspect
during
this
therebetween
homicide
investigation
is
not
our
case
and
I
can't
make
reference
to
anything
about
that
case,
but
what
I
did
do
was
confirm.
Yes,
that
is
the
same
Robert
Jason
Owens
that
that
is
mentioned
in
that
case
and
APD
sergeant.
Dave
Romek
is
here
today
for
any
of
those
questions
and
he's
also
very
limited,
because
this
is
an
ongoing
investigation
and,
once
again,
I
want
to
really
stress
our
primary
goal.
Right
now.
B
A
Couple
things
I
really
didn't
that
I
can't
allude
to
today
was
was
what
he
talked
about
in
that
interview
and
also
discuss
any
possible
motives,
because
we
are
still
working
this
case.
Doing
interviews,
processing
evidence
and
what
we
know
right
now
might
not
be
exactly
what
we
know
in
a
week
or
two
weeks
from
now
surrounding
motives
or
anything
having
to
do
with
that.
Can.
A
D
E
It's
definitely
a
significant
event.
The
fact
that
he
has
been
arrested
on
three
counts
of
murder,
that
that
is
a
huge
event
in
the
zebb
Quinn
case
and
we're
going
to
continue
on
following
up
on
all
investigative
leads.
I
can't
go
into
any
detail
as
to
what
those
are,
what
we're
going
to
be
doing,
but
it
is
a
big
event.
D
A
Well,
the
dogs
were
there,
it
was
obviously
they
hadn't
been
taken
care
of
like
they
are
normally.
We
were
taken
care
of,
and
that
kind
of
thing
just
things
that
would
lead
us
to
believe
that
we
needed
to
investigate
further.
You
know
we,
the
sheriff's
office,
receives
hundreds
of
check
on
the
welfare
of
individuals.
The
vast
majority
result
in
folks.
You
know
nothing,
nothing
Bad's
happened
to
them,
but
just
kind
of
out
of
pocket
couldn't
contact
relatives.
This
was
one
when
we
went
in
we
we
knew
that
we
had
to
follow
up
on
further.
A
A
No
ma'am,
no
ma'am
I,
don't
remember
anything
about
the
the
Donner
Drive
is
where
the
dumpster
was
located.
That
I
had
mentioned
earlier
that
we
went
out
about
somebody
suspiciously
dumping
things
into
the
dumpster
there,
Donna
Drive
I,
don't
recall
anything
about
any
kind
of
anything
burning
it
on
the
ground.
B
C
A
C
C
B
A
What
what
I
have
disclosed
with
you
today
is
we
did
recover.
What
we
believed
to
be
human
remains
from
a
wood
stove
at
that
location
there
Owens
cage-
that's
that's
really
about.
As
far
as
I
want
to
go
to
go
into
that,
we
did
correct
everything
that
we
thought
to
be
a
value
and
it
has
been
sent
for
forensic
evaluation.
D
A
I
didn't
say:
I
said
human
remains.
We
did
you
know
in
all
honesty,
brawn.
We
don't.
You
know,
that's
the
reason
why
a
lot
of
times
you
know
it
seems
like
law
enforcement
ought
to
be
able
to
step
forward
and
tell
you,
but
in
our
business
we
don't
know
what
we
know
till.
We
absolutely
know
it,
and
a
lot
of
that
will
come
with
the
forensic
examination
of
that
and
the
testing
of
those
things.
So
we
think
we
did
recover.
D
A
A
I
would
what
I
would
say
to
that
is
one
of
the
first
things
we
did
in
the
investigation
was
secure
those
records,
so
whatever
text
from
those
phones
were
sent,
we
have
I
would
also
say,
as
the
detectives
worked
and
as
you
read
the
warrants
it
says,
honor
about
some
of
this
is
not,
as
we
know,
is
not
could
not
be
precise
and
exactly
as
you
think
it
might
be
able
to
be
the
honor
about
that.
Thursday
is
when
we
believe
that
two
of
the
curve-
it's
not
outside
the
not
outside
the
realm
of
possibility.
B
A
Did
not
discover
the
break-in
until
Sunday
we
did
not
discover
there
had
been
a
break-in
until
Sunday
and
I'm
not
really,
and
I
really
didn't
review
the
warrant
for
the
B&E.
So
I
don't
know
that
it
that
it
alludes
to
a
timeline
in
that
warrant.
But
if
it
does
you'll
be
able
to
find
that
in
that
document.
B
B
A
A
D
A
A
Think
after
today
and
after
hearing
the
rest
of
these
details,
you
understand
why
we
could,
but
this
time
we'll
we'll
go
ahead
and
release
the
press
conference
and,
once
again,
I
appreciate
y'all
for
coming
today
and
being
patient
to
where
we
could
get
in
front
of
you
in
a
collected
record.
Thank
you.