Timothy Stephenson, a Bay Area doctor who had been living an idyllic life in an affluent suburb, was sentenced to 16 years in prison for the 1998 murder of Randall Oliphant, a man he met at a Kansas City gay bar. The cold case was unraveled and brought to a guilty plea after an undercover operation spearheaded by Stephenson’s estranged husband.
On the night of the murder, Stephenson took Oliphant back to his Kansas City home where he shot him twice in the bathroom. The body was later found by fishermen in Benton County, Missouri, a location that Stephenson was known to be familiar with from visits to his father and grandmother. Despite suspicions and the discovery of blood traces in Stephenson’s Jeep Wrangler, which had parts of its carpeting suspiciously removed, the case went cold as DNA evidence was inconclusive at the time.
The critical break came roughly a decade later when Stephenson confessed the murder to his then-husband, Joseph Ginejko. Their relationship, which began in 2008, ultimately deteriorated, leading Ginejko to file for divorce in 2020. During the contentious process, Ginejko approached law enforcement with intimate details of the murder that had never been publicly disclosed. This action eventually led to the reopening of the case against Stephenson.
In the interim between the confession to Ginejko and the legal proceedings, Stephenson had seemingly moved on from his past. He practiced as a doctor, resided in a $2 million home with Ginejko, and they together raised twin daughters. Yet the dark secret of 1998 lay under this veneer of success and family life.
Investigators, armed with Ginejko’s testimony, planned an undercover operation. They equipped Ginejko with a hidden microphone for a meeting with Stephenson in April 2021. The evidence gathered during this encounter showed Stephenson becoming “paranoid” when the topic of the murder was broached and his subsequent confession was captured on audio and video. During this conversation, Stephenson contradicted himself, first denying the confession, then admitting to it while claiming it was a scare tactic to keep Ginejko from leaving him.
After the sting operation, further investigation ensued, and new DNA evidence was developed, allowing for a more concrete connection to be made with the forensic evidence from the Jeep. Following his arrest in December 2021, Stephenson was extradited to Missouri to face charges.
The case presents a tale of a past that refused to stay buried and a truth that was brought to light through the convergence of modern forensic science and the actions of an estranged spouse.
Relevant articles:
– He killed a man 26 years ago in Missouri. His husband secretly worked with investigators to get a confession
– Bay Area millionaire is convicted of 1998 cold case shooting murder of man he met at gay bar after killer’s husband set up sting to bring him to justice amid messy divorce, Daily Mail, Sat, 30 Mar 2024 13:30:51 GMT
– He Killed a Man Who ‘Pleaded for His Life’ 26 Years Ago — And Was Caught After Husband Secretly Helped Police, PEOPLE, Sun, 24 Mar 2024 12:00:00 GMT
– Gay Dad From Danville, Turned In By His Husband For 1998 Murder, Sentenced to 16 Years, SFist, Fri, 29 Mar 2024 19:09:10 GMT