0:02

Voices for Justice is a podcast

0:04

that uses adult language and discusses

0:06

sensitive and potentially triggering topics including

0:08

violence, abuse, and murder. This

0:12

podcast may not be appropriate for younger

0:14

audiences. All parties are innocent

0:16

until proven guilty in a court of law. Some

0:18

names have been changed or omitted per their

0:21

request or for safety purposes. Listener

0:23

discretion is advised. My

0:27

name is Sarah Turney and this is

0:29

Voices for Justice. Today

0:35

I'm discussing the case of Stephanie Wasilician.

0:38

At about 2am on July 9th,

0:41

1993, 10-year-old Nicky Wasilician is deep asleep

0:43

under the covers of her bed when

0:45

she's woken up by a flashlight in

0:47

her face. It's an

0:49

officer from the Sedona, Arizona Police Department.

0:52

He tells her that her parents have gotten into an

0:54

altercation and she needs to come with him. As

0:57

she's escorted out of her room and through

0:59

the front door, she sees her mother's boyfriend,

1:02

Russell Peterson, on the couch. He's

1:04

rocking back and forth and his hands are covered

1:06

in blood. When the

1:08

officer finally gets Nicky in the police car,

1:10

she's met by her three-year-old little sister, who

1:12

is repeating the same thing over and over

1:15

again. Poppy Killed Mommy. Poppy

1:18

Killed Mommy. This

1:20

is the case of Stephanie Wasilician. Sedona,

1:24

Arizona has been coined one of the most

1:26

beautiful cities in the world. People

1:29

from all over the globe travel there to

1:31

see the breathtaking red rocks that surround the

1:33

small city center, to visit one of its

1:36

world-famous vortexes, or just to get away for

1:38

a while. So when

1:40

Stephanie Wasilician and her boyfriend, Russell

1:42

Peterson, are offered an opportunity to

1:44

move from Phoenix to Sedona, they

1:47

jump. They were each

1:49

offered positions to help open a new

1:51

Italian restaurant. Russell would work as the

1:53

executive chef and Stephanie as the pastry

1:55

chef. Soon the couple would

1:57

find an adorable home on Coffee Pot Drive for

1:59

their young family of four. Ten-year-old

2:02

Nikki was the result of Stephanie's previous

2:04

relationship with a man named Craig, and

2:06

together Stephanie and Russell also had a

2:08

three-year-old daughter. At this

2:11

point, Stephanie's 32 and is so proud

2:13

of making this move. Sedona

2:15

is not a cheap city to live in.

2:17

Basically, the couple had made it. For

2:20

this episode, my team and I reviewed about 200 pages

2:22

of case file. I also

2:24

spoke to Stephanie's daughter Nikki and one

2:27

of her closest childhood best friends, Lori.

2:29

Lori explained to me that Stephanie had

2:32

a rather rough upbringing that was at

2:34

times abusive. So going to Sedona

2:36

wasn't only a huge step up for her,

2:38

but a fresh start in a new city.

2:41

Stephanie spends a lot of time decorating

2:43

their new home meticulously. Nikki told me

2:45

that her mom made sure to position

2:47

the couch not only to see the

2:50

TV, but also the gorgeous red rocks

2:52

of Sedona out their large living room

2:54

windows. Nikki told me

2:56

that her mom was that mom. She always

2:58

made sure Nikki's hair was perfect and her

3:00

outfit was on trend before sending her out

3:03

for the day. There was always something yummy

3:05

baking in the oven, and at this time

3:07

she was saving all the extra cash she

3:09

could to take the kids on their first trip to

3:11

Disneyland. But despite this

3:13

seemingly picture-perfect setting, the fresh start

3:16

wasn't working out as planned, and

3:18

things were deteriorating between Stephanie and

3:20

Russell. It seemed that

3:22

living together and working together was too much

3:25

for the young couple. According to

3:27

statements from those who worked with Stephanie

3:29

and Russell, Stephanie was growing increasingly upset

3:31

with how much Russell was working, saying

3:33

he needed to pay more attention to

3:35

her and the kids. But

3:38

it seems that things really escalated when Russell

3:40

was accepted to attend a 10-day cooking

3:42

school at Cornell University in New

3:44

York. He was scheduled to leave on July

3:46

10th to help pay for the

3:48

trip Russell had to dip into their Disneyland fund,

3:51

and Stephanie was not happy about that, and

3:54

before that day could come things came to

3:56

a head in the relationship. two

4:00

days before Russell is set to leave for

4:02

this big trip, both he and Stephanie work

4:04

a shift at the restaurant. One

4:07

of Stephanie's coworkers, Catherine, reports that Stephanie

4:09

was not having a good day. It

4:12

was pretty clear to everyone that she was really

4:14

irritated that Russell decided to go on this trip,

4:17

but Stephanie makes it through the work day and leaves

4:19

for home just after 5pm. Russell

4:22

gets a ride home from a coworker who reports

4:25

that he was in great spirits and really excited

4:27

about going on his trip to New York. Stephanie

4:30

gets home closer to 11pm. Now

4:32

that night before Russell gets home, Stephanie makes

4:34

a few phone calls. First

4:37

to her sister Wendy just after 7pm. Here

4:40

she expresses more frustration with Russell,

4:42

not being attentive, taking the Disneyland

4:44

money, everything I've explained previously.

4:47

She also starts drinking. They

4:49

speak for about 45 minutes. After

4:52

this, Stephanie speaks with her ex, Nicky's

4:54

dad, Craig. Nicky told me that

4:56

her dad remembers this conversation 30 years later. While

5:00

normally they would speak for about

5:02

10-15 minutes just trying to arrange

5:04

things for Nicky, this conversation was

5:06

much different. The pair speaks for

5:08

close to an hour and a half. Stephanie

5:11

is upset about Russell. She says

5:13

he's drinking too much. Again, the

5:15

same complaints I've discussed. Now

5:18

while Craig had been in a long-term

5:20

relationship previously, he and his partner had

5:22

recently broken up. So eventually

5:25

Craig offers for Stephanie and both girls

5:27

to move back to Phoenix and into

5:29

his home. Which according to

5:31

Craig, was the plan. Craig

5:33

and Stephanie eventually hang up. And

5:35

Stephanie calls her sister Wendy again. Wendy

5:38

would later tell the police that she didn't

5:40

know why but during this call Stephanie was

5:43

much happier for some reason. She

5:45

would later find out the plans Stephanie had with

5:47

Craig and assumes her sister didn't

5:49

tell her because she just wasn't Craig's biggest

5:51

fan. During this second call

5:53

they speak for about 35 minutes until around 11pm when

5:55

Russell gets

5:58

home. What we know So next

6:00

is really from Russell's point of view. At

6:03

around 1.40am on what was now

6:05

July 9th, Russell calls 911 and

6:08

tells the operator, quote, Uh,

6:11

I need help. When asked what

6:13

he needed help with, Russell replied, quote,

6:16

Uh, there's been a very bad accident. Uh,

6:19

me and my wife, we were in an argument.

6:22

And uh, she's hurt. She's hurt very bad.

6:24

I need help. The

6:26

operator asks what happened and Russell said

6:28

that she'd been shot. When

6:31

asked who shot her, he replied, quote,

6:34

I don't know who I might have. She

6:36

might have shot herself. The

6:38

operator then asks where she'd been

6:40

shot and Russell said, quote, It

6:42

looks like she's been, she's been shot in

6:45

the neck or, or the test. The

6:48

911 operator then dispatches police to the

6:50

house while the fire department gives Russell

6:52

directions on how to perform CPR. When

6:55

police arrived, they entered through the front door

6:58

and announced themselves while standing in

7:00

the living room. Officers said that

7:02

anyone inside the house needed to reveal

7:04

themselves. Russell begins walking towards

7:06

the living room. He still had the phone in

7:08

his hand on the line with the 911 operator.

7:12

From there, he led officers to his and

7:14

Stephanie's bedroom. There officers

7:16

saw Stephanie. She was lying on

7:19

her back on the floor near the closet and

7:21

the TV stand. She had a gunshot

7:23

wound to her throat. They check for

7:25

a pulse but Stephanie is gone. Officers

7:28

also noted that Russell and Stephanie's three year old

7:31

daughter was in the bedroom. She

7:33

was on the bed saying, that's my mommy. Both

7:36

she and Russell were taken to the living

7:38

room while the other officers secured the rest of

7:40

the house. In the lower

7:42

level garage that had been converted into

7:44

a bedroom at the opposite end of

7:46

the house from Stephanie and Russell's bedroom,

7:48

officers find 10 year old Nikki who

7:50

is still asleep. Here's

7:52

Nikki to tell you what happened next. What

7:56

I remember and the cops waking me up

7:58

at 2 a.m. and then hustling me. So

8:00

fast within minutes from my room to the

8:02

cop car and that'll be the last time i'm ever

8:04

in that house But when they're hustling me by I

8:07

see russell in

8:09

the same spot where my mother was hours earlier

8:11

on the couch Rocking he's

8:14

rocking and there's cops standing all over

8:16

him and now I know what they were doing They

8:18

were interrogating him as a little child. I

8:20

had no idea what was going on. There's cops there I

8:22

thought the cops were taking me away. I thought I did

8:24

something wrong. I didn't know why I was being put into

8:26

a cop car I was asking where my mom was they

8:28

kept telling me that my mom and russell got into a

8:30

fight and my mom was at My aunt's house. I

8:33

believed it They put me in the cop car

8:35

with my little sister where my four year old

8:37

three four year old sister's repeating poppy killed mommy

8:40

Poppy killed mommy poppy killed mommy because she's four

8:42

and she doesn't understand what she just saw So

8:44

she's saying it like she's a disneyland character and

8:46

like here I am i'm 10 and i'm like

8:49

What's the cops here? I know there's something

8:51

wrong. My sister's telling me that my her

8:53

dad killed her mom And

8:56

I just see I remember cherries

8:58

and blueberries just Blue and

9:00

red off the garage of my home for

9:02

I felt like we were in that cop car for

9:05

Hours before they finally got

9:07

him and they put him in the same cop car

9:10

And they drive us away from my home and that was

9:12

last time and as they're driving us away He's

9:15

sitting in between me and my sister and he's

9:18

hugging and squeezing on me and he's

9:20

whispering in my ear I want to

9:23

keep the family together and I love

9:25

you and stuff like that Like just

9:27

the mere fact that he was

9:29

involved in a domestic homicide They put him in the

9:31

same car as the children and then let him touch

9:33

me It like blows my mind

9:36

Blows my mind so that

9:39

that's what I remember from the night and the

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11:24

Russell was questioned away from the kids. He

11:26

said he worked at the restaurant until around 11pm. When

11:30

he got home, he found out that Stephanie had been

11:32

drinking and that she'd been on an

11:34

extended phone call with her ex Craig. Russell

11:37

said that he and Stephanie talked for quite some

11:39

time in the living room. But then

11:41

their conversation turned into an argument. Russell

11:43

explained how he'd been accepted into the

11:46

cooking school and how to get to

11:48

Cornell, Russell had to buy a plane ticket to New

11:50

York. He says Stephanie was

11:52

upset about this and that's what started the

11:54

argument. Russell tells officers that

11:56

while he and Stephanie were arguing in the living

11:58

room, got up and

12:01

grabbed Russell's handgun from their bedroom closet.

12:04

Russell confirmed that the gun was loaded in

12:06

a holster on the top shelf under some

12:08

belongings. He says he was sitting

12:10

on the couch, and then after Stephanie grabbed the

12:12

gun, she came back to the living room and

12:14

pointed it at him. She said

12:17

she was going to, quote, blow his

12:19

head off or words to that extent.

12:22

From here, she fires a single round at

12:24

Russell, but the bullet misses him. He

12:27

then gets up off the couch and meets Stephanie

12:29

near the hallway between their bedroom and the living

12:31

room. Now, Russell's

12:33

statements about what happened next are vague. He

12:35

only said that the fatal shot to Stephanie

12:37

was fired in their bedroom. He would

12:40

provide more detail in future interviews with detectives,

12:42

which we will talk about in just a

12:45

minute. But following

12:47

his short interview with officers, Russell and

12:49

both girls are transported to the police

12:51

station. At the station, investigators interview

12:53

both girls. When they ask Stephanie's

12:55

three-year-old what happened, she said she

12:58

heard one shot, woke up, and

13:00

saw her dad kill her mother,

13:02

quote, with a gun, and then

13:04

she bleated. Now,

13:07

we have to remember that she's three, but

13:10

upon further questioning, she said that she

13:12

didn't witness the actual shooting because she'd

13:14

been in her room sleeping. She

13:16

said that after she heard one shot, she

13:18

walked to her parents' bedroom. There, she saw

13:20

Stephanie on the floor bleeding, face down, while

13:23

Russell was sitting on the bed. She

13:26

said that Russell told her he shot the gun and

13:28

that it's, quote, hopeless, then

13:31

he cried. She said she

13:33

then saw Russell take the gun out of the closet.

13:36

When detectives speak to 10-year-old Nikki, she says

13:38

that she was asleep during the shooting and

13:41

didn't witness anything. After

13:43

the kids are interviewed, detectives go to Russell and ask

13:45

if it's okay if the kids are temporarily placed

13:47

in a foster home. He agrees and that's

13:50

where the girls go for the night. And

13:53

now this is when they finally get to speak

13:55

with Russell in depth about the shooting. They

13:58

Asked him to walk them through everything that

14:00

happened starting on the morning of July Eighth,

14:02

all the way up to the shooting. He.

14:05

Said of as a pretty normal morning

14:07

and seventy Woke up around eleven thirty

14:09

am and had some coffee. And

14:11

around noon they went to work at the restaurant.

14:13

He says there are no incidents at work that

14:15

day. Seventy. Leaves around five

14:18

thirty and he leaves closer to eleven

14:20

he says. Once he got home he

14:22

gave Stephanie a cast then took a

14:24

shower. After the shower he began talking

14:26

to seventy in the living room. He

14:28

or she tells him about the to

14:30

our telephone conversations he had with her

14:32

ex crag that evening. But.

14:34

He says that this wasn't where they began

14:36

to fade. It was only when Russell began

14:38

talking about going to New York that their

14:40

conversation. Started the heat up. The.

14:42

Russell does Tilted activists that he wasn't

14:44

really concerned about this argument because it

14:47

wasn't uncommon for Stephanie to become upset.

14:49

But. Then Stephanie got up, walked to their

14:51

bedroom, and came back with a gun in

14:54

her hands. Are. Full reiterate that

14:56

he was sitting on the couch at

14:58

this point. He says Stephanie said quote

15:00

Russell, I'm going to shoot you. Then.

15:03

She cocked the hammer back. Stephanie

15:05

shot a gun and miss Russell.

15:07

The bullet went above him. He

15:09

then got up and followed her down

15:11

the hall into their bedroom while talking

15:13

to her the whole time. Once they

15:15

were in the bedroom, seventy stood in

15:17

front of the closet, cocked the gone

15:19

back again and said a quote, russell

15:21

I'm Going To Kill You. He

15:24

says. He then grabbed Stephanie his wrist and they

15:26

struggled as he tried to get the gun out

15:28

of her hand. When. Investigators person

15:30

asked him what happened during the

15:32

struggle. Russell says that he can't

15:34

really give specific details because it

15:36

all happened so fast. He says

15:38

the struggle maybe lasted fifteen to

15:40

twenty seconds, but he tells detectives.

15:42

That the struggle ended when the gun went

15:44

off and seventy dropped the floor face down.

15:47

He couldn't believe what happened and he

15:49

panicked. He rode stephanie his head to

15:52

look at her. Then he picked up the gun

15:54

and put it back in the holster which was

15:56

on the floor. Russell. Then place

15:58

the gun and the holster. On the. Fifteen.

16:02

To twenty seconds later he realized that he shouldn't

16:04

have moved the gun. So he took the gun

16:06

out on the holster and lean back on the

16:09

floor. Russell said that's when

16:11

he noticed. There. Are three year old daughter was in

16:13

the hallway. He says he didn't go to

16:15

her. Instead he went to the bathroom and

16:17

when he came out he noticed. That Stephanie

16:19

was still on the ground. This is when

16:21

he called Nine One One and asks for

16:23

help. After telling

16:25

investigators when he remembers about that night,

16:28

they ask him about their relationship as

16:30

a whole and Russell says quote. I

16:33

mean, we love each other. I mean, you

16:35

can talk to people. You can do whatever

16:37

you want to do. We have a theory.

16:39

We. Had whatever a good

16:41

and semi bad relationship, That's.

16:44

Just how relationships go. Following.

16:47

The Interview: Russell signed a consent form for

16:50

police to search his house. That.

16:52

Night Russell's also taken back to the

16:54

house with detectives is as to change

16:56

and hand over his clothes. He

16:59

is then taken back to the season. And

17:01

this is one investigators find in

17:03

the house. In the living room

17:05

they find a bullet on the wall between

17:07

the window and the front door. on the

17:10

and table next to the couch. Investigator find

17:12

a partially full glass of beer on the

17:14

coffee table. There was an empty glass of

17:16

red wine in the trash. They find a

17:18

wine bottle and a beer bottle. Investigators

17:21

also looked over wrestling Stephanie

17:23

bedroom or seventies body was

17:25

still lying above seventies right

17:27

shoulder. They recover a ruger.

17:30

Red Hawk Forty Four Magnum Revolver, which

17:32

was partially on top of a brown

17:34

leather holster. There were four bullets still

17:37

remaining in the gun. There.

17:39

Was a boy in the bedroom. Long and

17:41

bullet fragments on top of the T V

17:43

and on the floor area. Investigators

17:45

took note of seventies Bonnie and the way

17:47

it was positioned in the room. She.

17:50

was wearing a night sir which was

17:52

torn in the upper front button area

17:54

a pair of ran eyeglasses three yellow

17:56

chains and a locket were partially entangled

17:58

in the right of Stephanie's hair. A

18:01

gold-colored chain was under Stephanie's right

18:03

arm, and a much smaller piece

18:06

of a similar gold chain was

18:08

found near the doorway to the

18:10

bedroom. When investigators were done examining

18:12

the bedroom, Stephanie's body was then taken

18:14

to the medical examiner's office for an

18:16

autopsy, which was completed that same day.

18:19

The autopsy concluded that

18:21

a single bullet entered the upper portion

18:23

of the left side of Stephanie's throat.

18:26

The muzzle of the gun had been in contact

18:28

with her neck when the shot was fired.

18:30

The bullet passed through the left part

18:32

of Stephanie's neck and exited below her

18:35

skull on the right rear portion of

18:37

her neck, at about the bottom of

18:39

her hairline. Gunpowder residue

18:41

tests were conducted on Stephanie's hands. It

18:43

was determined that she only had residue

18:45

on her left hand. There was none

18:48

on her right hand. Stephanie

18:50

was right-handed, so this meant that if

18:52

she did pull the trigger, she did

18:54

so with her non-dominant hand. Stephanie's

18:57

blood alcohol content came in

19:00

at .17, just over double the legal driving limit.

19:03

At this point, the medical examiner

19:05

waits to make an official determination

19:07

about Stephanie's manner of death pending

19:09

further investigation. While

19:12

waiting in the final autopsy reports, detectives

19:14

interview as many people as they can

19:16

just trying to figure out what exactly

19:19

happened here. They speak with

19:21

Stephanie and Russell's neighbors. One couple

19:23

says that for the most part, they were

19:25

quiet. In the last year and a half,

19:27

they had heard Russell and Stephanie arguing a

19:29

couple of times at night, but they'd never

19:31

seen any violence. Detectives

19:34

also looked for prior police reports of

19:36

domestic violence, but there were none there.

19:39

As I discussed earlier, they also extensively interviewed

19:41

the crew at the restaurant that both of

19:44

them worked at. Catherine, the one

19:46

who was speaking to Stephanie in the parking

19:48

lot before she left, was asked what Stephanie

19:50

and Russell were like at work. She

19:52

said Stephanie was always pushing Russell's buttons,

19:55

but he wouldn't respond to her threats. He

19:57

just ignored them. She says she never saw.

20:00

Any acts of physical violence between the

20:02

couple. They. Speak to another

20:04

coworker named Suzy. She says he has

20:06

seen Stephanie get pretty angry with her

20:08

kids, but she never heard her threaten

20:10

Russell. She also says he never saw

20:13

Russell get upset with Stephanie or threaten

20:15

her. They. Talked to the

20:17

restaurant owner Peter. He says he never heard

20:19

Russell see any mean words or complain about.

20:21

Seventy. On. The other hand,

20:23

he said he had heard Stephanie quote

20:26

speak quite badly in the detrimental manner

20:28

of at the time Russell spends his

20:30

his occupation. Now Peter says

20:32

that after all this happened, he can have rallied

20:34

of all of his employees and spoke to them

20:36

about what they saw on the eighth. And

20:38

the consensus seems to be that Stephanie was

20:40

very upset that day and they all felt

20:42

like the things she was upset about was

20:44

Russell's ten day trip to New York. Detectives.

20:48

Of course. Also, speak to Russell's parents.

20:50

They describe their son as a very

20:52

passive person who was busy pursuing his

20:54

life goals. The South. They.

20:56

Said he was very talented and looking forward

20:59

to going to the program at Cornell. They.

21:01

Reiterate that he's a very non aggressive

21:03

person. They could never believe that he

21:06

would purposely hurt Stephanie. They.

21:08

Added that there were times that seventy would

21:10

get nasty with Russell. They. Described

21:12

seventy as someone who was tormented who

21:14

came from an alcoholic and. Abusive

21:17

background. Investigators

21:19

also speak with seventies families who

21:21

paint is very different picture of

21:23

that relationship. Stephanie. His

21:25

mother, Bernie's described their relationship

21:28

as quote not smooth. She

21:30

added that Seventy told her on

21:33

more than fifty occasions that Russell

21:35

was abusive, both physically. And

21:37

emotionally. Before the

21:39

interview is over, Bernice told detectives that Russell

21:41

called her and told her. About what happened

21:43

the night that seven he died. He.

21:46

Said Stephanie shot herself not that they have

21:48

been wrestling over the gun and the gun

21:50

went off. On

21:52

these li things just aren't adding up. From.

21:55

Here detective speak with Stephanie sister

21:57

Wendy. She. Tells them that her

21:59

sister and mom the wire and was afraid

22:01

of does. She doesn't believe she would. Have

22:04

ever completed suicide? She.

22:06

Also tells detectives that seventy told her

22:08

that Russell was. Abusive and the he

22:10

we get drunk and you're in a

22:12

all over the residents. She.

22:14

Confirms that yes, They spoke on the

22:16

phone multiple times. That made the first

22:18

was around seven fifteen pm seventy cold

22:20

and was not in a good mood.

22:23

She explains that seventy told her that

22:25

her in Russell hadn't had sex and

22:27

seven months but seat arrange for. The

22:29

kids to be gone so she and Russell could

22:31

be alone. When. He says that

22:33

when they spoke again and around ten thirty

22:35

pm, Stephanie was happy. Detectives.

22:38

Also, speak with Stephanie, his older

22:40

sister Kathleen, she said and the

22:42

six months before her death seventy

22:44

have been unsure and increasingly unhappy.

22:47

Stephanie. Told Kathleen that Russell was

22:49

physically abusive toward her. She. Said

22:52

that she was thinking about leaving Russell. That

22:54

was hesitant. Because of their daughter. Kathleen

22:56

told detectives that she even offered to

22:59

help Stephanie leave Russell. Before

23:01

the interview was over, detectives as Kathleen

23:03

if she had witnessed any abuse. The.

23:08

Last seventy is that Texas interviewed

23:10

was her brother lands and told

23:12

detectives the seventy was not suicidal.

23:14

When asked about seventy and Russell's

23:17

relationship. He said seventy and trying

23:19

to make their relationship work, but they

23:21

didn't have sex and Russell was physically

23:23

abuse as. Now. I'm

23:25

Kathleen and Wendy Land says that he

23:27

witnessed this first hand. This.

23:29

Was a few years prior when Russell

23:31

i'm Stephanie lived in Phoenix plants as

23:33

the he was other apartment when he

23:35

saw Russell's shown and scream and Stephanie.

23:38

Plant. Stepped in and nothing further

23:40

happened. And of

23:42

course they want to speak to Crag. They want

23:45

to talk to the guy that was on the

23:47

phone with her for almost two hours. That made

23:49

crank says that Stephanie had an average temper. She.

23:51

Would say things like i'm going to kill you

23:53

but he knew that she was just joking. He.

23:56

Described seventy as a quote. very

23:58

strong willed girl. As you

24:00

never. Talked about suicide. When.

24:03

Asked if he owned any guns, Gregg

24:05

said yes. Detectives as the seventy ever

24:07

shot them and greeks it. He didn't

24:09

think so. But. Then he did

24:11

change his mind and see maybe she did. A

24:13

couple a times. Detectives of

24:16

course, also as Craig about seventy and.

24:18

Russell's relationship. He. Explains

24:20

that Seventy had confided in him that

24:22

Russell drink a lot and she hinted

24:24

that he may be roster up. Before.

24:27

The interview is over Detectives ass Crack about

24:29

the call he had with Stephanie on the

24:31

night of the eighth. He says that they

24:34

talked about a variety of things: wrestling, stephanie,

24:36

problems when Crack was going to pick up

24:38

next next and the all times. Detectives.

24:41

Also interview seventies ten year old

24:44

daughter Nicky again. Now I

24:46

will say that now that Nicky's older

24:48

and an adult in able to reflect

24:50

back a little bit differently on the

24:52

situation, her opinion has changed. But at

24:55

ten years old, this is what she

24:57

says. During. The interview she's

24:59

asked about seventy and Russell's relationship. She.

25:02

Says that they got along fine and that they

25:04

were best friends. Of

25:06

Russell ever hit Stephanie Nick he

25:08

replied no way She told detectives

25:10

that her mom quote. Police.

25:13

Russell the so nice to her the he

25:15

would never hit her. Think. He

25:17

reiterated that Russell wasn't mean to her or

25:20

her sister and was a nice guy. Nikki.

25:22

Also said that she thought her mom one of

25:24

told her of Russell and hit her because. They

25:27

were friends. They. Have to

25:29

make a of her. Mom ever had Russell

25:31

and she says yes she had seen her

25:33

mother hitting Russell. They. Seem to argue

25:35

about him working too much that he wasn't

25:37

spending enough time with the family. Like he

25:39

said that, her mom was a little upset

25:41

the wrestlers spending money to go to the

25:44

cooking school. When detectives

25:46

as if Russell drink a lot, she

25:48

said she didn't think so. But.

25:50

He might have at work. she wasn't

25:52

too sure. Like he added that when

25:54

Russell drink too much, it would bump

25:56

into things. Detectives as Nikki

25:59

to walk them. What happened on the

26:01

able? To recall her mom yelling

26:03

at her and her sister to go to

26:05

their rules because she was talking to crack, making

26:07

arrangements, For an Akita Cm. Make.

26:09

A toast to Texas that her mom may have had a

26:11

couple. Beers during this time. She.

26:13

Says later that night she her mom

26:15

and her three year old sister all

26:17

much tv and played Hide and Seek

26:19

together. Leaders. Stephanie send the

26:22

girls to their rooms and around eleven

26:24

pm Nicky kiss Stephanie good night then

26:26

went to bed. She. Says

26:28

that she heard Russell get home that

26:30

night about fifteen minutes later, but then

26:32

she went to sleep and and witness

26:34

the shooting or hear anything. At.

26:37

This point it really seems like detectives are

26:39

just. Trying to get a cage on

26:42

this relationship and really figure out

26:44

if seventy me is completed? Suicide.

26:47

Now. I just wanna say that I

26:49

know this is a hot topic and

26:51

it feels absolutely worth mentioning and really

26:53

only ethical to mention that we know

26:56

that people do complete suicide without showing

26:58

any signs beforehand. That. Being

27:00

said, detectives can only work with what they

27:02

have an this is the reality of how

27:05

this case transpired. I

27:07

think one of the hardest part about

27:09

covering this case is that the only

27:11

people in the house that survived that

27:13

night or Russell and two children who

27:15

as honest as they may be, just

27:17

aren't the most reliable witnesses. Really?

27:20

It's basically Russell's word vs witness

27:22

statements and evidence and at the

27:24

scene. So after completing

27:26

only his interviews they go back to

27:28

Russell again. And this time he

27:30

changes a. Major part of his

27:32

story. Now. He says me being

27:35

there was no fight over the gun. During.

27:40

Another indepth interview with investigators. Russell says

27:42

that he had a drink at work

27:44

before he got driven home. He says

27:46

when he got inside the house he

27:48

found out that seventy have been drinking.

27:50

After he took a shower they shared

27:52

a bottle of wine. Russell tells detectives

27:54

that he might have gotten quote slightly

27:56

impaired. And. know russell search to go

27:58

a little bit more in depth about what happened

28:00

between Stephanie and Craig on the phone that night.

28:03

He says Stephanie told him that she and

28:05

Craig talked for two and a half hours.

28:07

Craig invited her to go stay with him

28:09

and see if they could patch things up.

28:12

But Russell tries to clarify with detectives that

28:14

Stephanie was not threatening to go back to

28:16

Craig or anything like that. She was just

28:18

filling him in on the call. Of

28:21

course, detectives ask Russell how he feels

28:23

about this conversation. He admits that it

28:25

did make him uncomfortable, but says

28:28

that because Craig is the father of Nicky,

28:30

it didn't really bother him. Russell

28:32

further says that he didn't really have a problem

28:34

with Stephanie talking to Craig, but he

28:36

was surprised with how long they talked that night.

28:39

He says it wasn't normal for them to talk

28:41

for two and a half hours. Normally,

28:43

they'd spend less than 15 minutes on

28:45

the phone going over money and other

28:47

things related to Nicky. Then he goes

28:50

into what happened next. He says,

28:52

quote, It all happened so fast.

28:55

I told you this the other night. I mean,

28:57

the next thing I know there was not a

28:59

heated conversation. There was nothing where

29:01

we were like eye to eye blows

29:04

to blows looking for something confrontational. I

29:06

was sitting there. She was sitting there. Next

29:09

thing I know she got up. Russell

29:11

says that Stephanie didn't say anything when she got

29:14

up. She just goes into the bedroom and

29:16

comes back out with a gun. Then

29:18

saying, quote, Russell I'm

29:20

going to shoot you. Russell says at this

29:22

point he puts his hands up and says, quote,

29:25

Steph, what are you crazy? No,

29:27

no, no. Russell tells

29:30

detectives the body was looking at Stephanie. She

29:32

shot the gun off once. Then

29:34

she turned around, re cocked the gun and

29:36

walked to the bedroom. Russell says

29:38

he sat on the couch for a moment

29:40

or two just trying to absorb everything that

29:42

happened. Then he went to the bedroom where

29:44

Stephanie was with the gun. Russell told detectives

29:47

that he didn't think Stephanie said anything to

29:49

him when he got in there. Russell

29:51

says the gun was never in his hand. There

29:54

may or may not have been a scuffle. He

29:57

thought they may have scuffled a little bit. Then

29:59

the gun went off and Stephanie dropped to

30:01

the floor. Russell said the

30:03

gun fell to the ground. Then he looked to

30:05

the hallway and saw their three-year-old daughter.

30:07

She looked right at him

30:10

and said, quote, You killed

30:12

Mommy. Mommy's dead. Russell

30:14

says he tells her daughter that he didn't

30:16

kill Mommy and that she needed to go back

30:18

to her room. Russell says from

30:20

here he picks up the gun and puts

30:22

it in the holster, which he says was

30:25

already in the closet or it could have

30:27

been on the bed. He wasn't sure. Detectives

30:29

write in their report that at this

30:31

point in the interview, Russell, quote, got

30:33

very nervous. Now that

30:35

Russell was done telling his version of events, detectives

30:37

asked him outright if he was the one

30:39

who shot Stephanie. Here we

30:42

get another conflicting version of events. Russell

30:44

said he didn't think so. All he

30:47

remembered after Stephanie shot the gun off in the living

30:49

room was walking down the hallway. Russell

30:51

said that as he went through the bedroom

30:53

door, he heard another shot and Stephanie dropped.

30:57

He said he picked up Stephanie's head and set

30:59

it back down. Then he noticed their daughter in

31:01

the hallway. Russell told

31:04

detectives again that he never had possession of the

31:06

gun. He said the only time he

31:08

touched the gun was after Stephanie was already on the

31:10

ground. Russell said that he got very

31:12

nervous and didn't know what to do. So he

31:14

picked up the gun. He told detectives, quote,

31:16

I put it in the closet. I put

31:19

it in the holster. No, I

31:21

put it in the closet. The holster,

31:23

it does not make sense. I

31:25

put it back down and I called 911. I said there had been a

31:28

very bad accident. So

31:30

detectives ask Russell what he thinks happened to

31:33

Stephanie that night in the bedroom. He

31:35

says that after taking some time to think about

31:37

it, he believes that Stephanie completed

31:39

suicide. Detectives then brought

31:41

up how many people shared that Stephanie didn't want

31:43

Russell to go to New York. In

31:46

response, Russell said, quote, maybe

31:48

this was her way. I mean, in

31:50

some in a sick manner, this was

31:52

the one and only way. From

31:56

here, they asked him about his and Stephanie's

31:58

experience with guns. Russell says

32:00

that he'd shot them twice in his life. He

32:03

only owned a gun because his father had gifted it to

32:05

him a few years prior. He again

32:07

reiterates that Stephanie's ex Craig had a bunch

32:09

of guns around, but he wasn't sure how

32:11

many times Stephanie had shot them. So

32:14

detectives ask Russell to tell them just about

32:16

who Stephanie was as a person. He

32:19

describes her as loving, saying that she loved

32:21

Russell and their two children. Russell

32:24

also says that he had taken Stephanie

32:26

out of abusive environments with Craig. He

32:29

also explains that Stephanie had confided in him

32:31

about abuse from her family. But

32:33

he says that Stephanie was never physically aggressive,

32:36

but she was verbally aggressive.

32:39

Before the interview was over, Russell was asked about

32:41

his sex life with Stephanie. He

32:43

told detectives, quote, We had our

32:45

moments, and it was always very comfortable, and it

32:47

always seemed good for her. There

32:49

were certain lapses there for a few weeks at a

32:51

time, maybe. But it was nothing out

32:54

of the ordinary. The

32:56

next day, Russell reaches out to detectives and asks

32:58

them to meet him at his house. He

33:00

wants to show them what happened during the shooting. And

33:03

here, Russell goes over the events of what happened that

33:05

night again. He explained that he was

33:07

sitting on the couch in the living room when Stephanie came

33:10

out of the bedroom with a gun and shot at him.

33:12

He stayed on the couch for about a minute before

33:14

he got up and followed Stephanie into the bedroom. Russell

33:17

then told detectives that he did not think there was

33:19

a struggle for the gun inside of the bedroom. He

33:22

says he knows this because he remembers seeing her

33:24

fall, hit her head on the corner of a

33:27

table near the closet, then come to rest under

33:29

the table. Russell said

33:31

that he was nervous and in another state of mind,

33:33

so he put the gun back in the closet. Then

33:36

he realized that was a mistake, so he took the

33:38

gun out of the closet and put it back on

33:40

the floor. Russell

33:42

said that at some point in time, he realized that

33:44

his daughter was in the hallway. He told

33:46

her to go back to her room, then he called 911. Before

33:50

the interview was over, detectives asked Russell again

33:53

if he wrestled with Stephanie for the gun.

33:56

And he told investigators that he'd come to

33:58

the conclusion that he did not wrestle Stephanie.

34:01

He said, quote, if there was any

34:03

kind of wrestling match, the first thing

34:05

to do would be possibly make the

34:07

gun point down, point up, point somewhere

34:09

where it's out of harm's way, which

34:11

would have then necessitated a second shot being

34:14

fired into the ground or the wall or

34:16

to somewhere else. He says that

34:18

when that fatal shot was fired, he was in

34:20

the door jam area. According

34:23

to detectives, after this interview, Russell

34:25

cancelled numerous appointments for a polygraph,

34:28

a reenactment, and more follow up

34:30

interviews with detectives. Then

34:32

on July 30th, Stephanie's sister Wendy called

34:35

detectives to say that she spoke with Russell

34:37

four days prior. Russell said that

34:39

Stephanie took a shot at him, then went into

34:41

the other room. When he came around the corner,

34:43

she was on the bed dead. He

34:46

never heard the shot. Wendy

34:48

added that during this conversation, Russell told

34:50

her that the police said they didn't

34:52

need to do an official reenactment or

34:54

polygraph because they had enough evidence and

34:56

information. Wendy asked Russell

34:58

if he would do both of those things

35:00

and he replied, yes. Now,

35:04

my team and I have over 150 pages of case file and

35:07

detectives note in their report that they never told

35:09

Russell that he didn't need to do a

35:12

reenactment or a polygraph. By

35:14

early August, it's decided that they need

35:17

to do this reenactment. They need to

35:19

figure out exactly how this happened because

35:21

at this point, Russell had given conflicting

35:23

statements. Sometimes there was a struggle,

35:26

other times there wasn't. Basically, in

35:28

order to figure out if charges needed

35:30

to be filed, detectives had to figure

35:32

out if either scenario was possible. To

35:34

do this, detectives used a handgun of

35:36

the same model and size. They

35:38

also had a woman with the same arm

35:40

and hand measurement stand in as Stephanie. Russell

35:43

did not help with the reenactment, so an

35:45

officer stood in for him. During

35:47

the reenactment, both of Russell's statements were

35:50

tested. They wanted to see if Stephanie's stand-in

35:52

was able to pull the trigger of the

35:54

gun with her left hand at the same

35:56

angle as the bullet had entered Stephanie's throat.

36:00

But when no one struggled with the stand-in, she

36:02

was not able to pull the trigger in the

36:04

same location. Only

36:06

when an investigator struggled with the

36:08

stand-in was she able to discharge the

36:10

gun. They had their answer. After

36:13

the reenactment was over, detectives took those

36:16

results to the medical examiner. Around

36:18

a week later, the examiner ruled Stephanie's

36:20

manner of death as a homicide. Join

36:26

me next week for Part 2 of Stephanie's

36:28

story. But as

36:30

always, thank you, I love you, and

36:32

I'll talk to you next time. Voices

36:38

for Justice is hosted and produced by

36:40

me, Sarah Turney, and is a Voices

36:42

for Justice media original. This episode contains

36:45

writing and research assistance by Hailey

36:47

Gray. If you love what we do

36:49

here, please don't forget to follow, rate, and review

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