Naman Shrestha
Five months into her pregnancy, 27-year-old Charli Scott suddenly vanished on the island of Maui in 2014. Her family members, alongside the authorities, led an extensive search of certain parts of the island to get some clues about Charli’s whereabouts. Investigation Discovery’s ‘Disappeared: Missing in Maui: A Disappeared Special’ covers the intricate details of the entire case, including the pieces of evidence that the investigators found in different parts of the island, making the search all the more complicated. The episode also includes interviews with Charli’s loved ones, who share a detailed account of her life and the investigation.
Carly “Charli” Scott’s Remains and Burned Car Were Found on the Maui Island
Carli Joann “Charli” Scott was brought into the world by Robert and Kimberlyn Scott on November 24, 1986, in California. Accompanied by four sisters, including Phaedra Wais, Brooke Scott, and Fiona Wais, while growing up, she also owned two dogs Zoey and Nala. Completing her education with seemingly flying colors, she worked at Hui No’eau Visual Arts Center and was about to earn a certification in Cosmetology at the time of her disappearance. In 2009, Charli got into a relationship with a guy named Steven Capobianco, who was three years younger than her.
The couple lived together for a couple of years but Steven allegedly told his friends that they were nothing more than roommates. Even after breaking up and knowing that he did not care about her, she still loved him. Soon, Steven began dating another girl while Charli found out that she had become pregnant with his child. He wanted her to abort the child as he allegedly was not happy about the pregnancy but Charli decided to keep the child. Looking forward to giving birth and raising her unborn son, she had even decided to name him Joshua Aiden. Five months into the pregnancy, on February 9, 2014, Charli stopped by her family’s house in Haiku for dinner at 6 pm. After spending time with her family, she bid them goodbye at around 8 pm and started to drive towards her home.
However, she was called by her ex-partner to help retrieve him and his car as it had broken down around 8:30 pm. Steven claimed that after she helped him with his truck, they went their separate ways but he lost sight of her as they were driving away from each other. That was the last time anyone saw her alive. When her family members and friends could not get in touch with Charli, they became concerned and began an extensive volunteer search of the island of Maui, led mainly by her stepfather Johnny Pipkin. They even contacted the authorities to help locate the missing 27-year-old. As the volunteers dug deeper into the case, they discovered that the last GPS ping from her phone came from the Keanae peninsula, about 20 miles away from her house.
The investigators drove to the Keanae peninsula to search the area, hoping to find anything related to Charli and the case. Sooner rather than later, they found her blood-stained clothing on the peninsula. The searchers and police discovered human remains along with a skirt, shirt, and bra that belonged to Charli. Later, as the search for Charli intensified, the detectives came across her vehicle 1997 Toyota 4Runner, which was completely burned and abandoned, in an area called Pe’ahi, located on the island’s north shore. During their search, the authorities even found her jawbone and her fingertips, which not only ended hopes of finding her alive but also linked her ex-boyfriend Steven Capobianco to the case.
Kimberlyn Scott, Charli’s mother, believed that Steven was responsible for the murder of her daughter. She told CBS News, “I’m confident that we’re doing the right thing, I’m confident that we have the right person.” Apart from finding her daughter’s remains, she also prioritized making killing a fetus a crime as the state of Hawaii did not consider a fetus a person when it came to a homicide. Since Steven was the sole primary suspect in the case, on July 14, 2014, the authorities charged him with second-degree murder of Charli and third-degree arson for setting her car on fire.
Steven Capobianco is Serving His Sentence While Maintaining His Innocence
In June 2016, Steven Capobianco stood on trial for the murder charge of his ex-girlfriend, Carly “Charli” Scott. During the trial, prosecutors claimed that the evidence showed that he stabbed her abdomen area multiple times, proving the fact that he made her suffer. But throughout the trial, he maintained his innocence and pleaded not guilty. After six long months of trial, in December 2016, the jury returned with a guilty verdict and convicted the 27-year-old man of second-degree murder. In addition, he was convicted of second-degree arson for setting Charli’s car ablaze in an attempt to destroy any evidence against him.
When the time of his sentencing arrived, the judge concluded that Steven lured Charli to her death by making up the story about his broken-down vehicle. The prosecutor even called him self-centered because he resorted to killing Charli and their future son just because he wasn’t ready to become a father. Finally, in March 2017, Steven received a life imprisonment sentence with the possibility of parole for the murder and an additional ten years for the arson charge, both of which he was ordered to serve consecutively. Three years later, he appealed his conviction. But the court rejected his appeals and affirmed his murder conviction. Currently, he serves his sentence behind bars at the Saguaro Correctional Center at 1250 East Arica Road in Eloy, Arizona.
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