People Magazine Investigates on ID: Where and how was Joanne Witt murdered?

In 2009, Joanne Witt, a single California mother, was found stabbed to death in bed at her home where she lived with her teenage daughter, Tylar Witt, and her 19-year-old boyfriend, Steven Colver. The teen couple was nowhere to be found after deputies made the grisly discovery.

An investigation revealed that Joanne was murdered after she accused Steven of committing statutory r*pe. The 47-year-old victim did not approve of their relationship, which was likely the murder motive. Reports state that the youngsters fled the scene after committing the crime and were arrested a couple of days later. At first, the duo blamed each other, but Tylar later pleaded guilty and testified against Steven, who was convicted in 2011.

People Magazine Investigates is set to revisit Joanne Witt's stabbing death at her California home in an upcoming episode, titled Star Crossed Killers, this Monday, September 11, 2023, at 9 pm ET on ID.

The official synopsis of the episode reads:

"After a single mother fails to show up for work, police find her brutally stabbed and her daughter missing from their home in an affluent gated community; everyone fears she's in danger, but what they uncover is darker than they could have imagined."

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Joanne Witt had been stabbed at least 20 times and was found in a grisly crime scene at her California home

According to a People Magazine report, the El Dorado Hills Sheriff's deputies found Joanne Witt's in bed at her house on June 15, 2009. She had been stabbed to death and was discovered lying in bed on the blood-stained sheets. The single mother had been stabbed at least 20 times and only died after her throat was slashed.

The ensuing investigation revealed that Joanne resided in the house with her 14-year-old daughter, Tylar, and her boyfriend, Steven Colver. Both were nowhere to be found when deputies made the horrifying discovery. This ultimately prompted a manhunt for the teen couple.

ABC News reported that Tylar and Steven first met in 2008 at a nearby coffee shop and became fast friends before their bond developed into a s*xual one. Joanne only allowed Steven to move into their home after the duo convinced her that they shared a brother-sister relationship. However, things soon escalated as the teens got involved in drugs.

The outlet reported that Joanne even caught Tylar naked in the Steven's room, following which she kicked him out and highly disapproved of their four-month-long relationship. The mother also opened a statutory r*pe complaint against the boy over his relationship with her daughter.

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The suspects in Joanne Witt's stabbing death, including her daughter, were arrested near San Francisco

After Joanne Witt was murdered, police suspected that her daughter and Steven Colver plotted to kill the 47-year-old. They believed the statutory r*pe complaint was the motive so she couldn't file official charges against Steven.

The People Magazine report mentioned that El Dorado County Sheriff Jeff Leikauf used Steven's abandoned car, which was at an impound lot in San Francisco, to track down the teen couple during the subsequent manhunt.

An NBC report stated that Tylar and Steven were arrested by San Bruno police at a strip mall at least 15 miles south of San Francisco a couple of days later. Immediately after, the duo blamed each other for Joanne's stabbing death

Tylar eventually pleaded guilty to a second-degree murder charge and agreed to testify against Steven, who was found guilty in 2011. Key evidence against him included male DNA from under Joanne 's fingernails and Tylar's testimony. Steven was sentenced to life in prison without parole. The daughter's deal got her a life sentence with parole after 15 years.

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Joanne Witt's murder case will be revisited on ID's People Magazine Investigates this Monday.