Handyman admits murdering and dismembering pregnant Food Network chef and her husband, burning their bodies and selling their belongings to cover it up - before taking his wife to dinner with the proceeds

• e-mail

A handyman has admitted to killing and dismembering a pregnant TV chef and her husband before burning their bodies in a wood stove.

In a vain effort to make it look like a robbery gone wrong, Robert Jason Owens stole items belonging to his victims - Cristie Schoen Codd, her husband Joseph 'JT' Codd, and their unborn child Skylar - and sold them.

He used the proceeds to buy gas, and took his wife out for dinner, a court in North Carolina heard on Thursday.

Scroll down for video 

Robert Jason Owens admitted to killing Cristie Schoen Cobb, her husband Joseph 'JT' Codd and their unborn daughter Skylar in court on Thursday

Cristie Schoen Codd, her husband Joseph 'JT' Codd and their unborn child, Skylar, were killed by Owens in 2015

While their deaths were undiscovered, Owens sent messages from Cristie's phone to family members claiming she and JT were unwell, WDAM reports. 

Cristie, 38, had been a contestant on season eight of The Next Food Network Star, while her husband worked in the film industry. The newlywed was five months pregnant when she was killed.

Her family described her as 'much more than some Hollywood type'.

Owens (pictured in court on Thursday) later disposed of the couples' bodies and then sold their possessions. He used some of the money to treat his wife to dinner

Above, the Codd's home is taped off for investigators after their murders in 2015

He claimed to have accidentally run over the couple with a truck, but opted to cover his tracks because he was banned from driving and did not want to be jailed.

The killer claimed they were trying to help him after his vehicle became stuck in a creek, and he accidentally hit the accelerator.

He claimed to have tried to save Cristie's life before she died, but found JT was already dead.

It still unclear what caused Owens to murder the couple. He claims to have accidentally ran them over with his car when they stopped to help him with a car issue

Cristie, left, was five months pregnant at the time of her death. Her husband, right, worked in the film industry

The couple were reported missing on March 15, 2015, and investigators learned that Owens had been dumping items belonging to the couple in a dumpster 

Owens burned JT's body in a wood stove in his double-wide trailer, but returned Cristie's body home, where he cut her up in the shower, placing the parts in plastic bags before burning her as well.

Addressing the killer, WLOS reports, Cristie's brother said: 'You robbed our family - you robbed future generations.'

In a statement after Owens' guilty plea, District Attorney Todd Williams said the murders 'are among the most disturbing killings in Buncombe County history'.

He continued: 'Because there are no surviving witnesses and Jason Owens had exclusive control of the crime scene for several days, and he had nearly completed the gruesome project of cremating his victims’ remains, we will never know many of the facts surrounding the Codds’ deaths.'

Cristie, 38, had been a contestant on season eight of The Next Food Network Star, and was five months pregnant when she died

He said the pleas amounted to a punishment 'tantamount to a sentence of death in prison'.

Owens admitted three counts of second-degree murder and two of dismemberment

Owens admitted three counts of second-degree murder and two of dismemberment. He was sentenced to a minimum of 59.5 years in prison.

The couple were reported missing on March 15, 2015, and investigators learned that Owens had been dumping items belonging to the couple in a dumpster. 

He had also sold the couple's possessions at a pawn shop and flea market.

Owens, who is understood to have told police he was 'not a bad guy', told the families of his victims: 'I want you to know that I am sincerely sorry because of the loss of you love ones, the pain and suffering that has caused you.'

Owens has also been linked by police to the disappearance of an 18-year-old man, Zebb Quinn, in Ashville in 2000.