Summary
Overview
This episode covers the 2011 double murder of Bill and Peggy Stevenson, a retired couple found dead in their Florence, Kentucky condo. The crime scene contained bizarre staging and ritualistic elements that baffled investigators for over a decade. In an exclusive update, Detective Coy Cox reveals that a partial fingerprint from the scene was recently matched to a man in a western state who knew the victims, moved away right after the murders, and is now refusing to cooperate. The case remains unsolved with multiple persons of interest still under investigation.
The Discovery of the Crime Scene
On May 29, 2011, Memorial Day weekend, Beth Victor's parents Bill and Peggy Stevenson failed to show up for church services where they were regular fixtures. When Beth's husband Claude went to check on them, he discovered a crime scene so brutal it would haunt him forever. Detective Coy Cox arrived to find what he calls a '1% crime scene' - the kind most detectives never see in their entire career. Both victims had been posed in strange positions with household objects arranged around them in very specific ways, suggesting either a ritual killing or staging meant to look like one.
- Bill and Peggy Stevenson, both 74, were regular church attendees - Bill was a deacon and Peggy played the organ
- The couple failed to show up for church on May 29, 2011, which was highly unusual
- Claude Victor discovered the bodies after entering through an unlocked sliding glass door
- Detective Coy Cox describes it as a '1% crime scene' - extremely rare and brutal
- Both victims had multiple wounds showing 'overkill' and were posed in strange positions
- Household objects were arranged around the bodies in very specific ways
" what he saw that day was so brutal that it haunts him in a way he can't even describe. I mean, literally, Beth told us that even 15 years later, he couldn't bring himself to tell us about what he saw. "
" the kind of case that you get once in a career if you ever get one like this at all "
The Bizarre Crime Scene Evidence
The crime scene revealed disturbing elements that went far beyond a typical homicide. Detective Cox found household items moved or arranged in strange ways throughout the condo, with some items bearing markings that seemed to indicate who the killer liked or didn't like. The killer appeared to have spent as long as eight hours at the scene, confirmed by a timed device found there. While DNA and a partial fingerprint were recovered, investigators weren't certain whether this evidence was genuine or deliberately planted by the killer to mislead them.
- A medical device on one victim recorded the exact time of death in the early Sunday morning hours
- A timed device indicated the killer was there for up to eight hours, or left and returned
- Nothing valuable appeared to be missing from the home
- Household items throughout the condo were moved or changed in strange ways, like finding a pen in the refrigerator
- Some items had markings suggesting the killer was indicating who they liked and didn't like
- DNA and a partial fingerprint were found, but investigators suspected evidence might have been planted
" he doesn't think that he walked into the original crime scene. He thinks he walked into the scene that the killer or killers wanted him to find. "
" some of the items had markings on them that may have been left by the killer and that the items seemed to be connected to specific family members or friends and that like the way that they were arranged seemed like the killer was indicating who they liked and who they didn't like "
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