Naman Shrestha
Christopher Denoyer went missing in early 1984, launching an extensive search for the teenager. However, it turned into a homicide case when the remains of the 16-year-old were discovered in 1998. The entire case and all the intricate details of the investigation are explored in a detailed manner in Investigation Discovery’s ‘A Body in the Basement: Aroma of Death,’ which also features interviews with Christopher’s loved ones and the officials linked to the investigation.
Christopher Denoyer’s Remains Were Found by New Owners Over a Decade Later
Born on December 26, 1967, in California, to Michael “Mike” F. DeNoyer and Dale DeNoyer Villarta, Christopher Allen DeNoyer was described as a compassionate and cheerful person. After his parents’ divorce, he and his sister Cherie Maia Tinsley moved in with their mother and her second husband, Jackson Villarta, in the house on Navajo Drive in North Salinas, California. Dale and Jackson also raised three other children alongside Christopher and Cherie. At school, Christopher was popular among his peers not just because of his academic achievements, but also due to his involvement in the school’s football team. He also had a girlfriend named Carlotta Davis.
With a bright future ahead of him and a lot to look forward to, Christopher’s life came to a sudden halt on the fateful day of January 13, 1984. He was supposed to meet with Carlotta, who had visited his house to let his family know that he had never shown up for their meeting. Worried about her son’s whereabouts, Dale contacted his best friend and other friends in order to ask them if they knew where he was. That same night, she reported Christopher missing to the police. During the search, his photo was also on milk cartons. A few days later, Dale received a telegram from him, apologizing for running away suddenly and “for being very rude” and telling her that he was living in Los Angeles. Although many family members and friends did not believe that Christopher had sent the telegram, the police declared him a runaway and dropped the case.
That didn’t stop Dale from continuing to search for her son as she shared flyers with his picture in the neighborhood. In the weeks that followed Christopher’s disappearance, the family noticed an unbearable stench in the house, but they attributed it to a pet snake that had recently died. Several years later, they moved out of the house and left the neighborhood. On January 28, 1998, a new resident of the house discovered human remains in the crawl space while renovating the house. When the authorities were informed, they recovered the remains and several bullets. It was determined to be the remains of Christopher Denoyer, whose cause of death was multiple gunshot wounds — two in the back and one in the head.
Christopher Denoyer Was Killed by One of His Family Members
During the homicide investigation, the authorities concluded that Christopher Denoyer’s killer was someone who had been living with him, which raised suspicions against his family. At first, they reached out to his sister, Cherie, in Ohio, and broke the news to her. While interviewing her, she told them that Christopher didn’t have an amicable bond with their stepfather, Jackson Villarta, who had been strict with him and other children. She also claimed that he didn’t get along with their mother, Dale. This revelation led the interviewers to Dale, who was brought in for questioning. Upon learning about her son’s remains being found, she was visibly upset and corroborated Cherie’s claims of his volatile relationship with Jackson.
The detectives then interviewed Jackson, who admitted to having a strained relationship with his stepson, Christopher, but claimed that he believed that the teenager had run away from home. When they told him that they had found his remains underneath the family house, he reportedly expressed no shock. He claimed that he had not noticed any foul odor in the house following Christopher’s disappearance, despite the fact that every other family member had. Meanwhile, another team of investigators conducted a thorough search of the family’s house, where they recovered a receipt that suggested the telegram sent in Christopher’s name was charged to the family’s phone bill.
They also found a revolver and ammunition, both of which matched the bullet found alongside his remains. In the days following Christopher’s murder, Jackson reportedly attempted to sell the murder weapon but failed to make the sale. Having enough evidence against him, on February 6, 1998, the police arrested him for the murder at his Pacific Bell work site. As per reports, Jackson Villarta shot his 16-year-old stepson, Christopher, in January 1984, and made it seem like he had run away after hiding his remains in the crawlspace of the house on Navajo Drive in North Salinas, California.
Jackson Villarta Has Been Out on Parole After Multiple Parole Denials
In May 1999, Jackson Villarta stood trial for killing his stepson, Christopher Denoyer. The prosecution theorized that the two possibly got into an altercation when other members of the family were not at home, which resulted in the defendant shooting the teenager to death. They also told the jurors that Jackson then sent the telegram himself to make it look like Christopher had run away from home. However, the case ended in a hung jury. A few months later, Jackson stood trial for the second time on January 31, 2000. After a single day of deliberation after a week-long trial, the jury reached a final verdict and convicted him of second-degree murder.
About a couple of months later, on April 4, the convict was sentenced to a total of 17 years to life in prison — 15 years to life in prison for the murder charge and an additional two years for the weapons charge. Additionally, he was ordered to pay $10,000 in restitution. Throughout the two trials and in the following years, he maintained his innocence and denied having anything to do with the murder. However, at a parole hearing, he eventually admitted guilt, hoping to be released on parole. By November 2023, Jackson Villarta had been denied parole thrice, as on November 14, he received a three-year denial from the board. According to reports, Jackson was granted parole in late April 2025 and has been staying out of the public eye since then.
