Stephanie Stephens (September 12, 1967 - October 14, 2006), was serving a life sentence for the first-degree murder of her heart surgeon husband by filling his insulin pump with etomidate.
Early life, education, and marriage Born Stephanie Tate, she lived in Bogalusa, Louisiana. After graduating high school she was a married mother of two daughters and after college she took a job as a nurse at Forrest General Hospital in Hattiesburg, Mississippi where she met heart surgeon David Stephens. Shortly after Stephanie started working at the hospital, she and David began an affair, even though both were married. After learning of the affair some time later in 1995, Stephanie decided to call Dr. Stephens’ house and his wife Karen was devastated. David's wife Karen decided to shoot herself in front of him, but David was able to talk her out of it. While she was walking back into the house with the gun, however, she reportedly slipped, fell, and discharged a round into her head. Karen Stephens was rushed to the hospital with a gunshot wound to the head. For three months, she lived in a coma, until one night, she died on April 28, 1995. Her death was ruled as a suicide. David and Stephanie were married on May 13, 1996, about a year after Karen's death. Stephanie had landed herself the catch she wanted. In 1999 David Stephens had to give up his medical license because he was diagnosed with Hepatitis C and he had diabetes. On May 1, 2001, Dr. Stephens, 59 years old, died in bed with Stephanie by his side. The doctor was sick; on an insulin pump, he suffered from several ailments. Three weeks after Dr. Stephens’s death, test results from a sample of blood taken from his body proved he had a considerable amount of the anesthetic Etomidate in his system. She told police that he had been suicidal and wanted to die. After her husband's death she had remarried in Las Vegas to a handyman named Chris Watts. In July 2002, autopsy results revealed that atracurium, a drug used to paralyze muscles during surgery, was also in the doctor’s system. Investigators claimed that a nurse could easily obtain it in a hospital. When questioned by police about the drug, she told them she was unaware what it was but investigators found it hard to believe she had never heard of the drug. On September 12, on her 35th birthday Stephanie was charged with her husband’s murder.
Trial In September 2003, Stephanie Stephens' murder trial was one of the most sensational ever in Forrest County. It was widely covered by the media, including CBS News' 48 Hours program, which aired a lengthy segment on the murder and the trial. It was the first major trial in Mississippi in which cameras were allowed in the courtroom. During her trial, prosecutors argued that she killed her husband for his money. Defense attorney Ray Price tried to convince the jury that the husband had killed himself. David's daughter Kristen took the stand and told the court that he was not a suicidal kind of guy and she wouldn't believe it no matter the evidence. Dr. Stephens’s estate was estimated at about $3 million. After a week of testimony it took the jury only 90 minutues to convict her of murder. She was sentenced to life in prison and after serving 30 years of her sentence she could petition for parole in 2033.
Death On Saturday, October 14, 2006, 39-year-old Stephanie Stephens died of double pneumonia at the Central Mississippi Hospital just outside of Jackson, Mississippi. She had been brought to the hospital that day from prison. She had served only three years of her life sentence at the Central Mississippi Correctional Facility in Pearl, Mississippi. Her family was not notified about her death until the next day. Coroner Jimmy Roberts claimed that she had died around noon that Saturday. She is interred at Hillcrest Cemetery in Petal, Mississippi. Since then her 2 daughters still live with their biological father and Kristen Stephen's has named her children after her late parents.
Aftermath In 2005, Stephanie's life was profiled on Snapped, a tv series on Oxygen.
I have no sympathy for her. She caused David Stephens' first wife to shoot herself (albeit accidentally) and she murdered him when he could no longer provide for the lifestyle she coveted.
Guest
2. 10-01-2010 23:34
As a classic gold digger and homewrecking tramp, Stephanie never loved David - only his money. When the big bucks were gone, she wanted him gone too. I know it sounds cold, but I couldn't feel sorry for her either. At least now she's being punished by the ultimate judge for her cold, selfish misdeeds. It was karma at work.
Guest
3. 24-05-2010 06:22
I love how people of this society judge others as if they know all of their thoughts and actions. You never knew her, or him. You may think what you want. But do not call my mother names. I'm glad you both have no sympathy. She would not want it. I do not want it. Please think before you speak. You never know who you may hurt.
Guest
4. 23-06-2010 03:22
My stepfather,Dustin Thomas, prosecuted this case with D.A.Kieth Miller.That woman was brutal and as cold as a snake.She has been judged by the ultimate authority for sure.If you have any questions please ask and I'll tell you or try to find out.
Guest
5. 23-06-2010 03:32
We got to see who your mother was in the trial.A surgical nurse not knowing what Atricurium and Etomidate is?Come on.She showed no emotion throughout the trial until she was found guilty.Your mother ruined more than one life.Think about them.You know she was guilty.I know you had nothing to do with it and I truly am sorry for your loss.I know it takes two to tango.But your mom saw a target and went after it.She got it for a while but things tend to catch up to you as they did with your mother.I hope the apple fell far from the seed in that way.
Guest
6. 10-09-2010 21:04
she got what she deserved in the end
Guest
7. 26-11-2010 11:13
No reason to bring her family in to this, her daughter is a good person. Any mistakes Stephanie made in life, she made on her own. It was a tragic situation. It's easy to be roused to anger when reading the page above, but it's important to remain sympathetic to the innocent parties involved. I'm very sorry for what you've had to endure Krys.
Guest
8. 15-12-2010 03:35
Judge not and tho will not be judged It would not be the first time the so called justice system got it wrong?
Guest
9. 03-01-2011 08:03
I went to school with Stephanie. I am shocked!!! She was a beautiful, out-going and fun-loving person. Never did she show a sign of brutality and she was definitely not classified as a tramp.
I'm sorry but this does not sound like the person I knew.
Guest
10. 01-08-2011 02:37
i use to thump steph on the fore head with my dingus.. oohh how she loved a good spanking under the bleachers in high school!!!
Guest
11. 21-11-2011 02:17
The Justice system definately got it right this time Bernard. I didn't judge her. She was judged by 12 jurors of her peers and then by God. Those of you that really "knew her". Were you in contact with her when she became a gold digging killer? Money changes people. Come on! Are you people really this gullable? She may or may not have been a bad person in High School. If she wasn't, she definately changed didn't she. She was a surgical nurse and didn't know what atricurium and etomidate were? I knew what they were after my first semester in nursing school. And all of you who say not to judge. Aren't ya'll judging Dr. Stephens by proclaiming her innocence. You are pretty much saying that Dr. Stephens killed himself with that statement. Stephanie saw a way to live a richer life by being with a Cardiac surgeon that made a million a year and you see her true colors when she called David's wife and told her of the affair. Dr. Stephens wasn't a saint by any means, but an affair and a murder are big differences. I'm glad his children got the estate. They have lost both parents due to Stephanie. I truly believe what goes around, comes around. Look at the facts of the case. Not what she was like in school.
