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Mar 2025
48m 47s

MYSTERY: Stephanie Wasilishin

Not Your Mom Media
About this episode

 

On July 9, 1993, just after 1:40am Russell Peterson of Sedona, AZ called 911 and reported that there had been a very bad accident during an argument with his wife, Stephanie. When asked to elaborate, Russel said that his wife had been shot and she was hurt very badly, though Russel couldn’t give a straight answer when it came to WHO shot her but he suggested that she may have shot herself. Suspicions arose later when the couple’s 4 year old daughter told investigators that it was her dad who fired the fatal shot. 

 

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Main source: police documents

 

 Other sources:

  1. Lum, Justin and Keating, Joe. “Unsolved in Sedona: Decades Later, Family Members Frustrated at Lack of Progress in Cold Case.” Fox10. June 15, 2022.  https://www.fox10phoenix.com/news/unsolved-in-sedona-decades-later-family-members-frustrated-at-lack-of-progress-in-cold-case

  2. Eland, Ron. “Sedona Police Department Adds More Pieces to Puzzle in 1993 Death.” Red Rock News. July 27, 2020. http://www.redrocknews.com/2020/07/27/sedona-police-department-adds-more-pieces-to-puzzle-of-1993-death/

  3. “My Mothers Case is ‘in a Review Phase’ Feb/2023.” Change.org. February 25, 2023. https://www.change.org/p/demand-a-complete-homicide-investigation-for-the-murder-of-stephanie-marie-wasilishin/u/31345140 

  4. Letter to Lt Dana Schmidt from Chief Deputy James H. Landis. July 30, 1999. https://drive.google.com/file/d/16oadMeBpwtNRotFk7V2rIYXoGHIYkG9U/view?usp=sharing, https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YCZ_tisi7aOBnXTx0OCplco-wOCbwYs1/view?usp=sharing 

  5. Letter to Chick Hastings from Jim Landis. November 9, 1993. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GoG8SslTgIauNmoXLB2HbXdA77DHAzHL/view?usp=sharing 

  6. “The Death of Stephanie Wailishin: Sedona mother’s murder unsolved 30 years later (PART 1).” FOX 10 Phoenix. June 15, 2022. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXOV0coC5fk 

  7. “The Death of Stephanie Wasilishin: A changing alibi, and why charges were never filed (PART 2).” FOX 10 Phoenix.June 16, 2022.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n97i-p69kSc 

  8. TikTok video @nicolewasilishin. December 27, 2023. https://www.tiktok.com/@nicolewasilishin/video/7317348757526351134 

  9. TikTok video @nicolewasilishin. December 15, 2023. https://www.tiktok.com/@nicolewasilishin/video/7312731883673079070 

  10. Harry’s obituary https://www.newspapers.com/image/117712007/?article=124794b1-bc6a-40a1-89e0-7228f6321acc&focus=0.3382629,0.85013527,0.441506,0.97445124&xid=3355 

  11. Steven and Stephanie’s birth announcements https://www.newspapers.com/image/524233395/?article=9fd0bbe4-9557-4953-b6c0-294a28c13ca4&xid=5905&terms=Steven_Waiilishin 

  12. Article about Steven’s death https://www.newspapers.com/image/524254018/?article=629f1a10-cc20-4ddc-b116-0c77387c1dde&xid=5503&terms=Stephen_Harry_Wasilishin 

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