The Murder of Stephanie Wasilishin
Introduction
On July 9th, 1993, around 1:40 a.m., three officers from Sedona Police Department in Sedona, Arizona, were dispatched to Coffee Pot Drive after a 911 call from a man named Russell Peterson came in. A young mother of two died during a domestic altercation.
Officers arrived at the home around 1:43a.m., and observed 32-year-old Stephanie “Stacy” Marie Wasilishin deceased on the floor of the master bedroom with a large-caliber gunshot wound to her neck. Sitting on the bed was Russell and Stacy’s three-year-old daughter, who kept repeating, “that’s my mommy.”
Paramedics arrived on scene at 1:55 a.m., and were unable to find a pulse. Russell was notified of Stacy’s death, but their three-year-old daughter, and Stacy’s 10-year-old daughter from her previous marriage, Nikki, were not yet notified.
Above Stacy’s right shoulder, officers observed a Ruger Redhawk double action .44 magnum.
About Stacy
Stephanie Marie Wasilishin, who went by Stacy, was born on June 1st, 1961 in Chicago, Illinois. Stacy was a twin, her brother’s name was Stephen. In January of 1962, Stephen became ill with the measles, and unfortunately, when the family reached out for help, they were met with resistance, and Stephen passed away.
After Stephen passed away, the family moved to Phoenix and that’s where both Stephen and Stacy are buried. This ignorance and lack of understanding of infectious diseases, by ultimately the ambulance service, resulted in Stephen’s death, and according to Nikki, planted the seed of distrust towards law enforcement in her family.
Stacy went to Moon Valley High, and she was different. In the best way. Stacy was outspoken, blunt, and she wasn’t afraid to speak her mind. Stacy LOVED music, particularly, Tom Petty.
Stacy met Nikki’s father Craig in the early 1980’s, and Nikki was born in 1982. In the mid-to-late 1980’s, Stacy met Russell, the pair fell in love, and Nikki’s younger sister was born in 1989. Stacy, Russell, and the two children were a happy family until the early 1990’s, when the relationship between Russell and Stacy began to dissolve.
The Investigation Begins
On scene, Russell had a brief dialogue with police, and informed officers that he and Stacy had been together for six years. While the pair were not married, they had lived together for several years. They had one daughter together, and he was a “stepfather” to Nikki. Both Russell and Stacy worked at the same restaurant, where Stacy was a pastry chef, and Russell was the chef. Russell stated that he worked until around 11:00 that evening, and when he got home, Stacy had already been drinking. Russell stated that Stacy had a lengthy conversation with Nikki’s father, her ex-husband, Craig.
Russell told police that he was accepted into a cooking program at Cornell, and had a one-way plane ticket purchased, which upset Stacy. The pair began arguing in the living room, and according to Russell, out of nowhere, Stephanie went into the master bedroom, grabbed Russell’s handgun, and pointed it at him while he was sitting on the couch. Stacy allegedly fired a single round at Russell and told him she was going to blow his brains out. Stacy walked away towards the bedroom, Russell followed, and the second shot from the gun, which was fatal, was fired. This is the first of many different versions of events that Russell would tell police.
According to Nikki, she and her sister were placed in the back of the cop car with Russell following her mother’s death, and this is the first of many mistakes that Sedona P.D. will make in the investigation of Stacy.
Autopsy
Detective Brooks of Sedona P.D. attended Stacy’s autopsy, which was performed by Dr. Phillip Keene of the Maricopa Medical Examiner’s Office. The autopsy was conducted on July 9th, 1993 at 1:20 p.m.
Excerpt from Detective Brooks’ supplementary report
According to the autopsy report, the M.E. noted the type of death is listed as violent. The cause of death was noted as a gunshot wound to the neck, and the manner as homicide. Testing determined that gunpowder residue was only found on Stacy’s left hand, which was her non-dominant hand.
Excerpt from the autopsy report
Russell’s hands were never tested for gunpowder residue. On October 20th, investigators met at the county attorney’s office, where they reviewed the case with Attorney C. Hastings. Mr. Hastings suggested that a psychologist should review Russell’s various statements to police, and ask for an opinion. If no new information is revealed via the psychologist, Hastings stated he would consider the investigation complete and would make a charging decision at that time.
After the investigation by Sedona P.D., The Yavapai County Attorney’s Office would eventually refuse to press charges due to an alleged lack of evidence. Nikki’s younger sister went on to live with her father, Russell, and Russell moved on to have another family. On June 15th, 2020, Sedona Detective Dominguez met with Wendy, Stacy’s sister (Nikki’s aunt), regarding Stacy’s death.
Nikki and her aunt wrote to the Yavapai County Attorney’s Office, the Attorney General, and, the D.O.J., who sent an F.B.I. agent to Nikki’s aunt’s house. Unfortunately, they were unable to take over the case without the cooperation of Sedona P.D., who rejected their help.
To this day, Sedona Police have been unable to get in contact with Russell Peterson, as has Stacy’s family. No charges have ever been brought against him.
