MYSTERY: Stephanie Wasilishin

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. 

Thank you to this week’s sponsors!

Give yourself the luxury you deserve with Quince! Go to Quince.com/moms for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns.

Stop putting off those doctors appointments and go to Zocdoc.com/MYSTERIES to find and instantly book a top-rated doctor today. 

Start your hair growth journey with Nutrafol. For a limited time, Nutrafol is offering our listeners $10 off your first month’s subscription and free shipping when you go to Nutrafol.com and enter the promo code MOMS. 

Indoor cats and indoor humans agree - Pretty Litter helps my house smell fresh and clean. Go to Prettylitter.com/moms  to save 20% on your FIRST order and get a free cat toy. 

Check-out bonus episodes up on Spotify and Apple podcast now!

To advertise on the show, contact sales@advertisecast.com or visit https://www.advertisecast.com/MomsandMysteriesATrueCrimePodcast. 

Listen and subscribe to Melissa’s other podcast, Criminality!! It’s the podcast for those who love reality TV, true crime, and want to hear all the juicy stories where the two genres intersect. Subscribe and listen here: www.pod.link/criminality 

Check-out Moms and Mysteries to find links to our tiktok, youtube, twitter, instagram and more. 

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