Cristie Schoen Codd and Husband Murdered in North Carolina; Pregnant Star of 'Food Network' Dead, Suspect in Custody

The remains of "Food Network Star" contestant Cristie Schoen Codd, 38, and her husband Joseph Codd, 45, were found recently in Leicester, North Carolina, after they were reported missing on Sunday.

On Monday, Robert Jason Owens, 36, a contractor the couple sometimes hired to do work, was arrested and charged with their murders. He is now in custody at the Buncombe County Detention Facility. This was not the first time Owens has been accused of murder. In 2000, he was a primary suspect in the disappearance and presumed killing of Zebb Quinn.

Cristie, who was once a contestant on a Food Network show, was five months pregnant when she disappeared along with her husband.

Cecilia Owens, who knew the couple and often watched over their dogs, discovered that they were missing when Cristie's father asked her to check on them. She alerted the police when she could not find them, and noticed that their dogs had been left unattended and had defecated and urinated in the house.

Joseph and Cristie still maintained their connections to Hollywood after moving to the rural community in Leicester where they were married last year.

The couple was reported missing on Sunday when both of them were scheduled to go on separate business trips but did not turn up at their offices. Police investigators who were called to the couple's home said they appeared to have been killed on Thursday last week.

After his arrest, Owens was produced in court on Tuesday before Judge Julie Kepple in the district court. Owens was informed that he faced three murder charges including that of Cristie's unborn child, and that he could be sentenced for life with parole or even get the death penalty. Owens was also charged with larceny and breaking into the couple's home. Investigators believed that after killing the couple on Thursday, they broke into their home on Sunday to steal jewelry, a laptop, and a gun.

Cristie was a contestant on the show "Food Network Star" and had catered for various film productions including "Terminator." She was also a stunt performer in a number of movies, including the upcoming "Terminator Genisys" and Kate Bosworth's horror film "Before I Wake."

Joseph also worked on various movies and TV series, including the HBO's "Carnivale," as a grip.

The couple met when they worked on "Without a Trace" for four seasons.