MURDERED: Bill & Peggy Stephenson
Click HERE to view the CCTV footage of the unidentified man at the truck stop.
Bill and Peggy Stephenson
Source: Family Photo
Peggy and Bill Stephenson
Source: Facebook
Peggy and Bill on their wedding day
Courtesy: Nicole Anderson
Peggy Stephenson
Courtesy: Doug Stephenson
Bill Stephenson
Courtesy: Doug Stephenson
The Stephenson’s condominium
Courtesy: WLWT-TV Cincinnati, All Rights Reserved
The truck stop chapel where Bill volunteered
Courtesy: Beth Victor
Charles “Stevie” Stephenson
Source: Boone County Sheriff’s Office
CCTV image of the unidentified man at the truck stop
Source: Boone County Sheriff’s Office
Timeline:
Witnesses see an unidentified man banging on the truck stop ministry chapel door asking for Bill Stephenson.
Bill and Peggy are last seen alive at their granddaughter’s graduation.
Early morning
Bill and Peggy Stephenson are murdered inside their Florence condominium.
Afternoon
Claude Victor discovers Bill and Peggy deceased inside their condominium and calls 911.
Boone County Sheriff’s Office releases a photo of an unidentified man seen at the truck stop and names him a person of interest.
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Charles “Stevie” Stephenson voluntarily provides fingerprints and DNA, but neither matches the crime scene evidence.
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Detective Cox distributes copies of the partial fingerprint to crime labs in all 50 states for future comparison.
Indiana State Police contact Detective Cox after Stevie becomes a suspect in the murder of Leigh Jennings.
Stevie is charged with the murder of Leigh Jennings.
Detective Cox presents the case to the Vidocq Society in Philadelphia and experts conclude the ritualistic elements of the crime scene were likely staged.
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A crime lab technician in a western state identifies a match to the partial fingerprint collected from the crime scene.
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Detectives obtain search warrants, collect his DNA and fingerprints, and confirm his fingerprint matches the crime scene while his DNA does not.
The Stephenson's Condominium
Where Bill and Peggy lived and were found murdered.
Florence Baptist Temple
Where Bill and Peggy unexpectedly missed Sunday services, prompting concern among family and church members.
Florence Baptist Temple Truck Stop Ministry
Where Bill volunteered at a truck stop ministry and where an unidentified man was seen looking for him two days before the murders.
Aurora, Indiana
Where Charles “Stevie” Stephenson was later charged and convicted in the murder of Leigh Jennings.
Tips:
If you have any information on the murders of Bill and Peggy Stephenson, please contact the Boone County Sheriff’s Office’s tip line for this case at 859-334-8496, or you can reach out to us by emailing [email protected].
We’d love to speak with you and see how we can support.
If you’re a law enforcement agency or family member of one of the people we mentioned in this episode, or if you’re looking for more coverage on a case, please reach out. You can email us at:
Episode Source Material
- Original reporting by Sam Anderson, Lorelai Sykes, and Mallika Dhaliwal.
- Amber Hunt, “Backstory: Detective vows brutal slayings of Florence couple won’t go unsolved,” Cincinnati Enquirer, Aug. 26, 2020.
- Boone County Sheriff’s Office. Press release regarding the killings of Bill and Peggy Stephenson, May 29, 2011.
- “Funeral held for slain couple,” WLWT-TV, June 3, 2011.
- “Stephenson sentenced to life in prison for beating friend to death,” WLWT-TV, July 3, 2013. Accessed March 2, 2026.
- Original video of Stephenson family news conference, August 2012: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpe2V_dX-Oo
- Boone County Sheriff’s Office. Press release regarding the Vidocq Society. November 29, 2012.
- “Smells Like a Gruesome Puzzle: The Stephenson Murders — With Special Guest Detective Coy Cox,” Episode 147.
- Erica Finke, “Court documents describe Delphi murders as a ‘ritualistic sacrifice,’” News Channel 3, September 2023.
- Max Lewis, “Kentucky detective investigating possible connection between 2011 double murder and Delphi case,” WXIN-TV (Fox 59), March 2023.
- “Trial continues for murder of Indiana woman,” WXIX-TV (Fox 19), May 6, 2013. Accessed March 2, 2026.
- “Guilty verdict in beating death of Indiana woman,” WXIX-TV (Fox 19), May 20, 2013. Accessed March 2, 2026.
- “Man gets life in prison without parole in Indiana woman’s murder.” WXIX-TV (Fox 19), July 2, 2013. Accessed March 2, 2026.
- Jessica Knoll, “No justice decade later in Stephenson murders,” Spectrum News 1, September 28, 2020. Accessed March 2, 2026.
- “Murder suspect charged; used pepper grinder, skillet.” 99.3 FM (Eagle Country Online), May 10, 2012. Accessed March 2, 2026.
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