The Disappearance of Zebb Quinn

For this case, I watched an episode of Disappeared. It’s season 5 episode 15, titled ‘Just a Nice Guy.’

This episode actually has a few answers, unlike some of the other cases I’ve covered, but it’s still VERY confusing and I don’t think all of the questions have been answered.

Background

Zebb Quinn was born on May 12, 1981. He was an 18 year old, living in Asheville, North Carolina, at the time of his disappearance.

He was very close with his mom, Denise and his sister, Brandi. His mom and sister were the main talking heads of this episode. They described Zebb as hard-working and responsible. Zebb was working at Walmart, in the electronics department and loved his job. His mom said he spent more time at Walmart than he did at home.

Zebb struggled to fit in due to a learning disability, but it didn’t seem to bother him. He had the things he liked to do, and was close to a few friends and his family.

The Disappearance

On January 2, 2000, Zebb clocked out from his job at 9pm. He was going to look at a used car, that he had been saving up for. His friend Jason Owens came into Walmart, and they left together. A few of Zebb’s co-workers remembered seeing them leave together.

Zebb and Jason both went in their own vehicles. Zebb apparently got a page that night and flashed his lights to signal to Jason to pull over. Since it was 2000, neither Zebb or Jason had cell phones, so Jason suggested that Zebb go to a gas station to use a pay phone.

Zebb returned 15 minutes later, and Jason would later tell the police that Zebb was so agitated that he re-ended him and left, saying he had to go home. This was the last time Zebb was seen.

Timeline

Denise, Zebb’s mom, was trying to get a hold of him that night and she even called Walmart. They told her that Zebb had clocked out around 9pm. Denise thought maybe Zebb had gone out with friends, and didn’t call her, but she kept paging him and still didn’t get any answers by 10:30pm. Denise said she was up all night, trying to page Zebb. She called the police when she didn’t hear from him the next afternoon, and filed a missing persons report.

On Tuesday, January 4, Zebb was supposed to go into work at Walmart. Patty King, Zebb’s supervisor received a call from someone, they said they were Zebb and that they were calling in sick, but Patty knew it was not Zebb. Patty, being a smart person, kept the caller on the line and asked them questions about the shift Zebb was supposed to work. Patty was also interviewed in this episode, and she said that the caller didn’t know any of the information she was asking about.

Patty then called back, after the caller hung up. This time she used *67, and traced the call. Patty traced the call to a local construction company where Jason Owens worked. The police went to question Jason.

Jason’s Story

Jason told the police that he was with Zebb on January 2. He said before they went to go look at cars, they stopped at a gas station to buy sodas. The police eventually confirmed this, and saw the two boys buying their sodas, and leaving the gas station.

Jason then said Zebb got that page, went to use a pay phone and returned. He said Zebb was agitated and rear ended him, and left. Before he left, he promised Jason that he would take down his information for the damages another day.

Jason also confirmed that he did call into Walmart, but that Zebb had asked him too. He said he received a call from Zebb, but hadn’t actually seen him since January 2.

The police were suspicious, but they didn’t have any evidence to arrest Jason.

Misty Taylor

Another suspect came to light, when the police found out that Zebb had a new friend in his life, a woman named Misty Taylor.

Misty and Zebb had met at a Christmas party, and Zebb had become attracted to her. They constantly talked on the phone, even after Misty confessed that she had a boyfriend and a baby. Zebb’s family didn’t approve of this “relationship,” after they found out. Zebb had even taken the family truck one day without his mom’s permission, and went on an outing with Misty and her child.

On New Year’s Eve, three days before Zebb disappeared, Misty told Zebb on their phone call that her boyfriend, Wesley had found out about their phone calls.

The police asked Misty where she was on the night of January 2. She said she was at home with her boyfriend, child, mom and dad, and Zebb’s estranged aunt was there too. This woman’s name was Ina Ustich. I’m still a little confused about how Ina met Misty and her family, but apparently they were going into business together.

Denise said Zebb wasn’t in contact with his aunt, or anyone from his dad’s side of the family. But it was determined that Ina had paged Zebb on the night he disappeared.

Zebb’s Car is Found

A few days after Zebb’s disappearance, Denise got a call from someone she worked with at the hospital, Denise was a nurse. This woman had gone to high school with Zebb, and recognized his car. Zebb’s car was parked in a restaurant parking lot, adjacent to the hospital parking lot. The police were called in.

Zebb’s Mazda Protege was in fact found in the parking lot, and a lot of strange things were found as well. There was a pair of lips and an exclamation mark on the back windshield, it looked like it could have been drawn in lipstick. There was also a Labrador puppy in the front seat, a few drink bottles, a jacket that was not Zebb’s and a hotel key card.

It was almost as if the puppy was put in the car and put in the hospital parking lot, where Zebb’s mom and sister worked, to be found.

The police received a tip the next day from a couple, who had seen Zebb’s case on the news. They said they had seen the same car in downtown Asheville a few days prior to it being found in the restaurant parking lot. The police asked them if they saw the driver, and they said yes. They had a composite sketch done, and the sketch resembled one of their suspects: Misty Taylor.

*The composite sketch, probably one of the creepiest sketches I’ve ever seen.*

Further Investigation

The police went back to speak to Misty, and she said she didn’t know what happened to Zebb. They had no evidence to arrest her.

The police also came up with a dead end with the hotel key card. It didn’t have a logo on it, and they went to several hotels around the area for information.

There was also no evidence that Zebb’s estranged aunt, Ina, had anything to do with his disappearance. Zebb’s case went cold for a few years.

Jason Owens Returns

In the fall of 2001, the police tried to pull over a driver. However, the driver didn’t pull over and sped up, starting a high speed chase. The driver also pulled out a gun and started shooting at the police.

No one was injured, and they were able to catch Jason when he tried to flea.

Jason was charged with a DWI (driving while intoxicated) and several other charges. He was sentenced to four years in prison.

Zebb’s case again went cold, but this wasn’t the end of Jason.

Arrest and Indictment

On March 17, 2015, Jason Owens was arrested for being involved in another disappearance and eventual murder. This time, it was a woman named Cristie Schoen from the show Food Network Star, her husband J.T., and their unborn baby.

Jason pleaded guilty, and said he ran them over by accident. He also pleaded guilty to two counts of dismembering human remains. He was sentenced to a sentence of 60-75 years in prison.

At this point, the police believed that Jason had killed Zebb, because he was the last person to see him that night in 2000.

In June 2015, the police searched Jason’s home and property. The police said they found “fabric, leather materials and unknown hard fragments,” under concrete. They also found “numerous plastic bags containing possibly pulverized lime or powered mortar mix.” It wasn’t confirmed or denied being Zebb’s remains.

On July 10, 2017, Jason Owens was indicted on the charge of first degree murder of Zebb.

As of 2021, Jason Owens is awaiting trial.

FINAL THOUGHTS

All I can say is wow. I’m very confused by the case. Yes, there are answers and someone has been arrested and charged with the crime, but I still have questions. Why would a witness say a woman had been driving Zebb’s car? Did Jason know Misty or her boyfriend, Wesley? What was Jason’s motive? Clearly, he had no motive and was probably just a violent predator.

There may never be any more of these questions answered, but Jason Owens deserves to rot in prison for killing three people and a unborn baby. I hope he rots.

I wonder if Zebb’s family think there is more to the story, or if they are satisfied with this arrest and indictment.

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Zebb_Quinn

https://www.grunge.com/230962/the-unsolved-disappearance-of-zebb-quinn/

https://the-line-up.com/zebb-quinn-disappearance

https://www.jhmoncrieff.com/update-owens-charged-zebb-quinns-murder/