Jana Carpenter-Koklich Disappeared After an Eric Clapton Concert in 2001 — What Happened?

On Aug. 17, 2001, Jana Carpenter-Koklich went to see Eric Clapton at the Staples Center (now Crypto.com Arena) in Los Angeles, Calif. She attended the concert with a group of friends who later told police she didn't drink at all that evening, as she was meeting with her personal trainer early the next morning. When Carpenter-Koklich didn't show up, that was the first indication something was not right. She was never seen again. What happened to Jana Carpenter-Koklich? Here's what we know.

Carpenter-Koklich's mother was concerned about the fact that her daughter didn't make it to the gym that day. She hadn't skipped a personal trainer session in two years. After leaving several unanswered messages on her daughter's answering machine, Janeth Carpenter's dread continued to grow.

Bruce Koklich worked with his wife at RE/MAX International Inc.'s Seal Beach Office in California, and began worrying about Carpenter-Koklich when she didn't show up for work on Monday August 20. When speaking with police, Koklich said he had a busy weekend and hadn't notice when his wife skipped her training session, claiming he saw her that Monday morning between 6:00 and 6:30 a.m. By 11:00 a.m. when she hadn't arrived at work, that's when Koklich began to worry.

She was reported missing but authorities could find no evidence of foul play until Carpenter-Koklich's abandoned car was found on Aug. 27. Teenagers had stumbled upon it a week prior and took it for a spin. The windows had been rolled down, and her purse as well as a gun were inside. They ditched the purse and sold the gun, then alerted cops a week later when they realized the vehicle was part of an investigation. When police were able to take a look, they found the backseat covered in blood.

This was a high profile case as Carpenter-Koklich was the daughter of Democratic state Sen. Paul Carpenter of Cypress, per the Los Angeles Times. Ten days after she went missing, Koklich agreed to take a polygraph test but he never showed up. This roused suspicion in police who were already curious about Koklich's theory that his wife's car had been carjacked.

After police found trace amounts of Carpenter-Koklich's blood in the couple's bedroom, they arrested Koklich on Jan. 31, 2002 and charged him with murder. It would later be revealed that Koklich took out a $1 million life insurance policy on his wife. Her parents were aware of the fact that Koklich had engaged in various affairs with sex workers, which is why Carpenter-Koklich wanted a divorce. If that happened, he stood to lose 51 percent of their business.

Koklich was eventually convicted and sentenced to 15 years to life in prison. As of the time of this writing, he is incarcerated at the California Institution for Men. Koklich's next parole hearing is tentatively scheduled for sometime in June 2028. Carpenter-Koklich's body was never found, which was particularly devastating for her mother who told the Los Angeles Times, "There are no words to describe the loneliness I feel without Jana’s presence in my life."

For more on this story, watch Homicide: Los Angeles which is currently available to stream on Netflix.