Timothy Stephenson led a seemingly perfect life with his doctor wife and twin daughters in a $2 million home in a suburb of San Francisco. However, he harbored a dark secret from his past – he had shot and killed a man he met at a bar in Kansas City twenty years earlier. In 2021, his past caught up with him when he was arrested on murder charges and eventually sentenced to 16 years in prison. The arrest came after new information, provided by his estranged husband, helped authorities piece together what happened that fateful night in 1998.
Stephenson confessed to his husband, Joseph Ginejko, in 2014 that he had met the victim, Randall Oliphant, at a gay bar in Kansas City and then shot him twice in the bathroom of his house. Oliphant pleaded for his life before the second shot, but Stephenson’s motives remain unclear. After the murder, Stephenson remodeled the bathroom to conceal evidence of the crime. Oliphant’s body was found two months later in rural Missouri, where Stephenson had ties to the area through family.
Despite being interviewed by investigators in 1998, Stephenson denied any involvement in the murder and claimed he dropped off the victim at a bar. However, his phone records and the sale of his Jeep Wrangler, which had traces of blood in the cargo area, raised suspicions. It is unclear why Stephenson was not arrested in 1998, and authorities declined to provide further details on the case. It wasn’t until 2021, when Ginejko provided crucial details about the murder, that investigators were able to put together the pieces of the puzzle.
Ginejko filed for divorce from Stephenson in 2020, six years after learning about the murder through his husband’s confession. He had tried to research the killing online but found little information until he spoke to the police between 2020 and 2021. An undercover operation in April 2021, where Ginejko secretly recorded a conversation with Stephenson, led to his arrest and eventual guilty plea to second-degree murder. Stephenson’s conflicting explanations for the murder, including claiming he confessed to scare Ginejko into staying with him, ultimately led to his sentencing.
Stephenson’s 16-year prison sentence includes credit for time served. His once-idyllic life in San Francisco’s suburbs has crumbled, with his divorce and legal battle over custody of his children adding to his fall from grace. The case serves as a cautionary tale about the consequences of one’s past catching up with them, even after many years have passed. Despite maintaining a facade of normalcy, Stephenson’s secret came to light, resulting in a tragic outcome for both him and his family.
