Disappearance of Zebb Quinn (Jan 2, 2000)

[RMK]

This disappearance of Zebb Quinn is one of my favorite unresolved mysteries, and it's perhaps more obscure than it deserves to be.  I first heard about it in the early 2010s.  Granted, a lot of the mystery evaporated between 2015 and 2017, when it became pretty clear than Quinn was a victim of foul play, and that his friend Robert Jason Owens--the last person known to have seen Quinn--was somehow involved.

But, the case nonetheless remains a real DOOZY because the ancillary details surrounding Quinn's disappearance are just plain bizarre!  Read the linked Wikipedia entry and you'll see what I mean!  Pay attention to the connections between the page Quinn got on his beeper on the night of his disappearance, the girl he liked, that girl's boyfriend, Quinn's paternal aunt, and the location/condition/contents of Quinn's car when it was found 4 days after his disappearance.

[KFinn]

That is truly bizarre!

[RMK]

For more background info, here is a piece from SPIN magazine in 2001, which includes interviews with Zebb Quinn's family and friends.

There's no recent news on the case.  Robert Jason Owens has been indicted for Quinn's murder and is awaiting trial (which got delayed because of the pandemic).  However, one thing I recently learned (it's not news, but it is new to me) is that, from jail, Owens wrote a letter to his former neighbors in which he claims he witnessed his uncle Gene commit murder in January of 2000.  Is he trying to pin Quinn's murder on someone else?

[RMK]

Update:  Robert Jason Owens is negotiating a plea deal concerning the disappearance of Zebb Quinn.  Further, he claims that one of his relatives (who has not yet been named in any official documents) killed Quinn, and dismembered and burned Quinn's body.

Will that relative turn out to be Owens' uncle Gene?  What else about this case might Owens explain?

[RMK]

See here and here for updates.  Robert Jason Owens pleaded guilty to accessory after-the-fact of first-degree murder.  He says that his now-deceased uncle, Walter "Gene" Owens, was the one who killed Quinn by shooting him in the back of the head.  He admits that he lured Quinn to the murder site and that he helped his Uncle Gene dispose of the body.  The motive for the crime?  Gene Owens was acquainted with the boyfriend of the girl that Zebb Quinn liked, and that boyfriend asked Gene to do something to keep Quinn away from her.

There don't seem to be any answers regarding the contents and condition of Quinn's car when it was found after his disappearance.

It is not clear to me from the articles whether or not law enforcement has found any mortal remains of Zebb Quinn at this time.

[Manti]

Something is fishy about this.

Shooting someone in the head for that reason, especially if it's not your girlfriend but a friend's, seems extreme.And pointing at someone who is now deceased...

I wouldn't be surprised if Robert is lying both about the motive and the murderer.

[RMK]

I agree, Manti.  I don't completely believe Owens' story.  However, it was "good enough" for the district attorney, as well as Quinn's family, to approve the plea deal.

According to the DA's full statement to the press, available here, they did not find any mortal remains of Zebb Quinn, but Owens' plea is supported by other non-circumstantial evidence.

[Ehtnisba]

What about that puppy in the car? Omg!

[RMK]

What about that puppy in the car? Omg!

I know, right??