The Hottest Cold Case Around

Sitka, Alaska, sits on Baranof Island in the Alexander Archipelago, in the southeastern panhandle of the state. It can only be reached by boat or plane and has about 14 miles of road. The episode tells the story of Scott Covill, a young man who went to Alaska for adventure.

Scott studied biology at La Sierra College (now La Sierra University), a Seventh-day Adventist school in Riverside, California, after a year as a student missionary in Micronesia. this part of the story is covered for now They became friends and then a couple. details of the account remain covered until revealed He was fired from the mill for smoking weed on the job. the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it In summer 1987, after her graduation, Scott proposed and she accepted. They married in Sitka on 24 October 1987, which James found in the Daily Sitka Sentinel, and lived in a poor trailer on the edge of town. this part of the story is covered for now

The marriage was soon in trouble. In February 1988 they held a formal church ceremony in San Diego, but Scott told his mother, Rita Covill, that they argued constantly, describing the relationship as fire and ice. In March 1988 the couple phoned Scott's parents after a big fight. details of the account remain covered until revealed After that, they heard nothing.

On 12 April 1988, Scott's 26th birthday, Rita could not reach him; the phone rang unanswered and later the number was disconnected. Scott missed a court date for a speeding ticket on 14 April. A friend said he had not seen Scott since April. the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it A cheque she had sent for his birthday was never cashed. this part of the story is covered for now Rita reported him missing on 30 May 1988, and police did not take it seriously, assuming a free-spirited fisherman had left town. A notice appeared in the Sentinel on 8 June. details of the account remain covered until revealed Scott's truck was at the Sitka airport but there was no record he had bought a ticket. the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it Months later she phoned from San Diego, saying she wanted to go to a party and asking to send a friend to find a cocktail dress in their closets. Scott's father refused. The Sentinel ran a divorce notice by publication on 21 June 1989. The case went cold. this part of the story is covered for now

details of the account remain covered until revealed In 1998 she met corporate jet pilot Chris Reth. They married in July 2000, moved to Maple Park, Illinois, and divorced in 2005. In 2007 Chris sought a Catholic annulment. the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it this part of the story is covered for now

details of the account remain covered until revealed the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it She first said Scott was abusive and used drugs, then that he wanted a divorce. She said that on the night of 12 April 1988 he told her in bed he wanted a divorce. When he fell asleep she took a .357 from the trailer and shot him in the neck at close range. She then used a long axe to dismember him, put the remains in garbage bags and, with the cut-up mattress, in the trash, which the city incinerated. She cleaned the trailer. Without a body or physical evidence, police let her go. They then traced the old trailer, got a search warrant and pulled up the master bedroom floor to the sub floor, where they found a large blood stain. DNA matched Scott, using his wisdom teeth that his mother had saved.

this part of the story is covered for now Her neighbours knew her as a friendly woman who checked IDs at the pool, worked at a social service agency in Aurora and was studying for a master's in social work. details of the account remain covered until revealed the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it At the 24 November 2010 hearing she took part by phone from Juneau and described the killing. this part of the story is covered for now

details of the account remain covered until revealed the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it Friends and family said Scott was not violent and there was no record of domestic violence. this part of the story is covered for now details of the account remain covered until revealed Oxygen's Snapped covered the case in 2013. the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it Scott's body was never found.