Overview

Date last seen: April 12, 1988
Location last seen: Sitka, Alaska

Main circumstances:

• Scott Michael Coville, 26, disappeared from Sitka, Alaska, in April 1988.
• Family members became concerned after they were unable to contact him around his birthday.
• For more than two decades, the case remained an unsolved disappearance.
• Investigators eventually determined Coville had been murdered inside the couple’s trailer.
• His wife, Jane Reth (formerly Jane Coville), admitted to killing him, dismembering his body, and disposing of his remains.
• Despite the confession and conviction, Scott Coville’s body has never been recovered.

Detailed Case Breakdown

Scott Michael Coville (1988): The Alaska Cold Case That Ended in a Murder Conviction Without a Body

Brief Summary

Date last seen: April 12, 1988
Location last seen: Sitka, Alaska

Main circumstances:

• Scott Michael Coville, 26, disappeared from Sitka, Alaska, in April 1988.
• Family members became concerned after they were unable to contact him around his birthday.
• For more than two decades, the case remained an unsolved disappearance.
• Investigators eventually determined Coville had been murdered inside the couple’s trailer.
• His wife, Jane Reth (formerly Jane Coville), admitted to killing him, dismembering his body, and disposing of his remains.
• Despite the confession and conviction, Scott Coville’s body has never been recovered.

Scott Michael Coville Disappearance and Murder Case

Scott Michael Coville was a 26-year-old fisherman and marine biology enthusiast living in Sitka, Alaska, when he vanished on April 12, 1988. At the time, he had been married for less than a year and was living with his wife, Jane, in a trailer in Sitka. His disappearance initially appeared to be a missing persons case, but it ultimately became one of Alaska’s most notable no-body homicide prosecutions.

According to investigators, Coville’s mother became alarmed after repeated attempts to reach her son went unanswered. After failing to hear from him around his 26th birthday, she reported him missing in May 1988. Despite extensive efforts over the years, there was little physical evidence to explain what had happened, and the investigation stalled for decades.

The case took a dramatic turn more than twenty years later when Alaska State Troopers reopened the investigation. As detectives re-interviewed witnesses and gathered new statements, they concluded that Scott Coville had never voluntarily disappeared.

Prosecutors alleged that Jane Reth shot her husband while he slept inside their trailer. Investigators said she then dismembered his body and disposed of his remains in locations that have never been identified. Because no remains were ever recovered, the prosecution relied heavily on witness testimony, admissions, and circumstantial evidence.

In 2010, Jane Reth was charged with first-degree murder and tampering with physical evidence. Rather than proceed to trial on those charges, she later pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. During the proceedings, she admitted killing Scott while he slept and acknowledged dismembering and disposing of his body. The guilty plea brought legal resolution to a case that had remained unanswered for more than two decades.

Although the conviction answered the question of what happened to Scott Coville, one significant mystery remains unresolved: his body has never been found. Investigators have not publicly disclosed the location where his remains may have been discarded, leaving his family without the opportunity to recover or bury him.

Latest Investigation Information

The homicide investigation is considered legally resolved following Jane Reth’s guilty plea to second-degree murder. There have been no publicly announced developments indicating that Scott Coville’s remains have been located. His disappearance continues to be listed in historical case databases because his body has never been recovered, despite the murder conviction.