Zebb Quinn was born on May 12, 1981, in Asheville (North Carolina, USA). The teenager worked at the local Walmart in the electronics department. It was, however, a temporary occupation. Quinn got on a course for soldiers (ROTC) and saw his future in the service of the American army.
On Sunday, January 2, 2000, at around 9:00 PM, the teenager finished his shift. Then he wanted to go to Leicester with his colleague Robert Jason Owens to buy a new car. The men met in the Walmart parking lot, then got into their cars and headed off to inspect the vehicle. Video surveillance footage at a nearby gas station indicated that they had bought sodas at the store around 9.15pm.
According to Owens, after leaving the gas station, Zebb signaled him by flashing his headlights to pull them over to the side of the road. Quinn then told a colleague that he had received a pager's summons and needed to make a call. So he made his way to the phone booth, and when he returned, Robert noticed that the 18-year-old was acting strange, as if he had gone mad. Quinn said he had to cancel the early plan. Then he unexpectedly started his car and crashed into Owens' vehicle. A few hours later, Robert was hospitalized with a rib fracture and a head injury. The man claimed to have sustained injuries in a second car accident that occurred that evening. However, no police report of the incident has been found that would corroborate this.
The following afternoon, Quinn's mother, Denise Vlahakis, reported her son missing. Two days after the teenager was last seen, a man claiming to be him called Walmart where he was employed. He told Quinn's associate who had picked up the phone that he would not be coming to work due to illness. The colleague, however, thought that the voice sounded unfamiliar and it was probably not a Zebb. In the end, it was later determined that the phone was made from the Volvo factory where Owens worked. The man admitted that he actually called the 18-year-old's workplace. He claimed to have done his friend a favor after asking him to do so.
During the investigation, the police questioned Misty Taylor, a girl Quinn liked. They met a few weeks before the teenager disappeared. Their relationship was complicated as the woman was in a relationship with Wesley Smith and she also had a child. Before his family and friends went missing, Zebb had mentioned that Misty's partner had threatened him when he found out that they were dating. Taylor and Smith, however, denied having any involvement in the disappearance of Quinn. Nor have any connections been found between Owens and the couple.
Investigators determined that the message Quinn received on the evening of January 2 was sent from the phone of his paternal aunt, Ina Ustich. The boy, however, did not maintain a closer relationship with his relative. The woman also claimed that she had not contacted her nephew. Ustich also testified that she had had dinner that evening at her friend Tamra Taylor's house. The name seems familiar? That's right, it was Misty's mother, who was also present at dinner with her boyfriend. Interestingly, Ustich later reported to the police that her house had been broken into that evening. While nothing was stolen, she reported that several photo frames and other items were rearranged.
On January 6, 2000, Vlahakis received a call from an ex-classmate of Quinn who was also her colleague from work. The women were nurses at the Asheville hospital. The mother of the missing person heard from a co-worker that she had noticed Zebb's car, a Mazda Protegé, in the parking lot of the restaurant which was adjacent to the hospital. Police investigated the car, which was left with the headlights on. A mouth and an exclamation mark were drawn with lipstick on the rear window, and a three-month-old black Labrador puppy was found alive inside. A plastic hotel card was also discovered in the vehicle, but investigators were unable to trace exactly where it came from. Several soda bottles and a jacket that did not belong to Quinn were also found. The police collected forensic evidence from the car but found no new leads.
The missing person's mother believed that the vehicle had been placed there by someone who knew she, the boy's grandmother, and the boy's sister were working nearby. According to the woman, the perpetrator wanted one of them to find the car. Several people later reported to local police that they saw Quinn's car driving in downtown Asheville. A memory portrait of the person driving the vehicle was created. Police later noted that the sketch was strikingly similar to Misty Taylor.
In 2010, one of the investigators retired. He then found out that the Labrador found in the Zebba car was still in the shelter he had been sent to 10 years earlier. The officer took in a bitch who reminded him of the unsolved case of Quinn's disappearance.
On March 17, 2015, fifteen years after Zebb Quinn's disappearance, Owens was arrested in the case of the disappearance and murder of Cristie Schoen. The woman was a participant in the Food Network Star television show. Her husband, J.T., also died with her. Codd and their unborn child. Owens later confessed to killing the family as a result of accidentally running over them with a car and dismembering the bodies of the victims. On April 27, 2017, as part of a settlement his lawyers reached with Buncombe County Attorney Todd Williams, he was sentenced to 60 to 75 years' imprisonment without parole.
On March 31, 2015, a search warrant was issued for Owens' home. In June, detectives investigating Quinn's disappearance announced that they discovered "fabric, leather and unknown hard fragments under the concrete layer on Owens' property." Investigators also found an unknown white powder substance, as well as pieces of metal and concrete. In another part of the property, authorities found "numerous plastic bags possibly containing powdered lime or a powdered mortar mixture." Authorities have not commented on whether human bones have been found, citing the ongoing investigation.
On July 10, 2017, a Buncombe County Jury officially charged Owens with first-degree murder. According to the Asheville Police Department, it was the result of hard work and persistence by detectives, as well as support from members of the Quinn family and the Buncombe County District Attorney's office. Owens is currently awaiting trial for the alleged murder, a date yet to be set. However, no information was made public to the public that would confirm that the accused had committed the crime.
But was it really Owens who killed the boy? Or was Misty Taylor and/or her jealous boyfriend involved? Was Aunt Quinn involved in all this? A few more similar questions could be asked, but they remain unanswered. To this day, the body of Zebb has not been found (or at least the police have not given such information). Therefore, the matter of his disappearance remains unclear.
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