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On June 15, 2009, Joanne Witt was found stabbed to death in her California home. Sheriff’s deputies in El Dorado Hills discovered her body in bed, covered by a blanket and lying on blood-soaked sheets. Witt had reportedly been stabbed at least 20 times.
As a murder investigation ensued, authorities learned the woman was living with her 14-year-old daughter, Tylar Witt, and the girl’s boyfriend, 19-year-old Steven Colver. But the teens were nowhere to be found when the grim discovery was made.
A manhunt was launched in search of the teenage couple, but was there enough evidence to determine whether they were capable of murder?
This case is the focus of the Monday, Sept. 11 episode of People Magazine Investigates, titled “Star Crossed Lovers.” The episode airs on Investigation Discovery (ID) at 9/8c and streams on Max.
(An exclusive clip is shown below.)
According to past reporting by PEOPLE, Joanne was murdered after she complained to police that Colver had committed statutory rape.
The 47-year-old mother opposed the four-month long relationship — which she had initially been told was just a friendship — after learning it had become sexual.
Things shifted once Tylar and Steven began using drugs together, including marijuana, cocaine and ecstasy, the documents state, per the outlet.
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“[Joanne] wanted [Steven] away from her daughter,” prosecutor Lisette Suder told CBS News. “But they couldn’t stand the thought of not being together.”
Tylar claimed Steven had a significant influence on her.
“He told me that he loved me and I realized that I felt the same way about him,” Witt said, per ABC News. “If he told me to jump off a bridge, I would have done it.”
The young lovers fled and were eventually taken into custody days later. However, they blamed each other for Joanne’s death, leaving investigators with more questions than answers.
People Magazine Investigates: Star Crossed Lovers airs on Investigation Discovery (ID) and streams on Max Monday, Sept. 11 at 9/8c.
