A Psychic, a Warning, and a Halloween That Changed Everything | Stephanie Parze

A deadly illness. A deceased bird. Smudged handprints on the bathroom mirror. For a 25-year-old woman living alone, these were bad omens. They were signs that her house was haunted. She told her family she was scared to be living alone and that someone or something was watching her. Follow me. Destiny of deers. Fall never arrives all at once. First the air, then the light. And slowly the things you love begin to find each other. A jacket meets a dress. A hoodie slips beneath a blazer. An old cap finds a new scarf. Because you don't simply step into the season. You create it layer by layer until it finally feels like fall. Find fall your way at Ross. On Disney+. What are you waiting for? Hop on. The must-see galactic adventure comes home on Disney+. This is the way. Our only chance is to work together. I like this kid. Always wear your seatbelt. Star Wars The Mandalorian and Grogu. Now streaming on Disney+. Rated PG-13. It means the world to me that you tune in every single week. To hear these stories. And Halloween is my favorite holiday. Before I introduce you to Stephanie, I'm going to take you all the way back to the year I was born, 1982, when Edward Parrs met Charlene Quinn. Ed and Charlene were students at Freehold Township High School in New Jersey. Freehold is in the central part of New Jersey, about 45 minutes from the Jersey Shore, and 30 minutes from the beach. It's a commuter city, a centralized location between Newark, New York City, Philadelphia, and New York City. And it's a place where you can relax and relax. Philadelphia and Trenton. But with a population of 25,000 people in the 80s, Freehold was still small and tight-knit. It's known for the Freehold Raceway Mall, the third largest shopping center in the state, and the close proximity to apple-picking, historical buildings, and hiking trails near lakes and rivers. Ed Parrs was taking a high school art class with Mr. Riley, and the very first day, he noticed the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. It was infatuation at first sight, but no matter how. Ed tried to make eye contact, she just wouldn't look at him. So Ed got up, sat right next to her, and introduced himself, saying he didn't bite. The girl laughed and introduced herself as Charlene. It wasn't long before they were sitting next to each other in class becoming friends, and then going out on dates. They brought out the best in one another, always laughing and going to local events together. After graduation, Ed got a security job for Six Flags Great Adventure, and Charlene worked as an operator. They were engaged after five years together, and three years after that, the high school sweetheart said, "I do." Charlene and Ed's wedding was on September 15th, 1991, at the St. Rose of Lima Chapel in Freehold. Afterward, they partied at the Grand Marquis Reception Hall. It was clear to friends and family that Mr. and Mrs. Parrs were soulmates, and they would build a beautiful life together. And they did just that. Charlene was still working customer service, and Ed was still working for the New Jersey Bell Telephone Company. Charlene was still working customer service for the New Jersey Bell, and Ed was now a 911 operator for the Monmouth County Sheriff's Department. He also volunteered for an emergency first aid squad and started his own limousine company. Soon, Charlene found out that she was pregnant. On February 19th of 1994, the couple welcomed their firstborn, a baby girl named Stephanie Nicole Parrs. In the coming years, they would go on to have three more daughters: Brianna, who came four years later in 1994, and Emily, who came four years later in 1994. Then Carissa, two years later in the year 2000. And finally, baby Haley. Ed liked to joke that he was completely outnumbered by all the girls. But that didn't stop Ed from being the best girl dad around, opening his door to anyone who his daughters called a friend. During the school year, Stephanie and her sisters would have their friends over every day. The Parrs family loved competitive board game nights, and they would go on walks with their dog, Kylie. Now, during breaks from school, they went all out on family vacations, fishing and crabbing at the beach, week-long cruises, even a whitewater rafting event that they hosted every year. In 2013, they went to Disney World, stopping at the Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, and Epcot. The Parrs even did Christmas over the top. Every year, it took Ed two weeks to decorate the house with over 50,000 Christmas lights, and his dedication paid off. He was in the running for the most magical holiday light display in the country. The Parrs family lived in a cute little two-story home at the end of their street. It had a big front and backyard, including a pool. Now, growing up with this inciting environment, it shaped Stephanie's spunky and extroverted personality. A Jersey girl through and through. Friends and family called her a firecracker. She was confident enough to break into dance in public, and she was stubborn and independent, but also generous, loyal, and very positive. At Freehold High, Stephanie was always trying to make other students feel welcomed and included. There, she joined the softball team and excelled as a student athlete. She shared her passion for sports, with her father. They regularly attended New York Yankees baseball games, and cheered on the New Jersey Devils hockey team. Stephanie enjoyed shoe shopping with her mom, Charlene, adding to her growing collection. And she often went bowling with her sisters and friends. Sports were a way for her to connect with the people around her. But Steph's true passion was art. She loved drawing classes, painting ceramic sculptures, and doing horror movie-inspired DIY projects. And by the time she was in high school, Steph found a huge outlet in doing her makeup. Her dream career was one that could combine her passion for makeup, drawing, and horror. So after celebrating her prom and high school graduation at the Grand Marquis Reception Hall, Stephanie went on to attend cosmetology school and Monmouth County Vocational. It was a rigorous program, specializing in makeup, skin, nails, waxing, and hair services. In the state of New Jersey, you need 1,200 hours of instruction to get a cosmetology license. So this was a year of hard work, hard work, hard work, hard work. Stephanie was innately talented, but in cosmetology school, her creativity took off, shining not only just through her professional work, but her trendy fashion statements as well. She wore colorful sparkly outfits, chokers, hoop earrings, cartilage piercings. She dyed her hair rainbow colors and rocked the wing eyeliner, the cut creases, and bold lipstick colors. These trends had millennials in a chokehold from 2013 to 2016. I'm definitely guilty. This was during the rise of makeup influencers on YouTube. People could now make a living developing their own beauty brands and practicing new looks on camera. I don't know about you, but I loved watching all kinds of beauty videos. It's actually what inspired me to start my channel in 2010. So I have to ask you, who was your favorite YouTuber in the 2010s? Leave it in the comments below. For me, it was Carly Bybel. It was in cosmetology school that Steph met her boyfriend, Tom Senator, who was training to be a hairstylist. Tom was exactly her type. He had light blue eyes, dark hair, dimples, tattoos, and a tongue piercing. So he gave off that bad boy vibe while also being very sweet. They started dating in October of 2013, going to concerts and festivals, hanging out at the beach, getting drinks out on the town, and cheering on the Jersey Devils hockey team. Tom and Steph shared a passion for cosmetology, fitness, family, adventure, and nightlife, and they had a serious relationship, supporting each other in their careers and beyond. Steph then got a job at the Magic Nail Salon. You can tell by her acrylic design she posted to her Facebook that Steph was refining her techniques, and she had amazing imagination. She continued practicing makeup on her sisters, and in 2015, she attended the Toucrette School of Art, majoring in fine and applied arts. She started an Instagram page called Wild Rose Art, where she sold clay jewelry. Five of her pieces were nominated for the Spring Art Show and displayed in the Plainview Swain Galleries. At the same time, Stephanie was taking cosmetology refresher courses from the RFMA, the Robert Fience Makeup Academy, specializing in makeup artistry and special effects. She was very busy. In 2016, Steph was landing numerous esthetician gigs. She got a job working for Benefit Brow Bar at Ulta Beauty, specializing in hair and makeup. She also graduated from the R&B School of Art, specializing in brow and lash services like waxing, tinting, trimming, and extensions. And then, a dream come true. Steph was invited to do makeup for New York Fashion Week. Her career was exploding. This was a huge deal. She came home just so excited, almost in tears, that this had happened for her. And during this time, she created her own brand called SNP Creations for her initials. She did this so she could continue to experiment with special effects makeup, and as a result, she got her own brand. She also created her own brand, L'OCCITANE, in order to create her own brand. Her presence on Facebook and Instagram steadily increased as she grew her business, and Steph's goal was to one day be her own boss, doing what she loved. Now, Tom and Stephanie were still together. In 2016, Steph posted a picture of her and her boyfriend with herself cropped out saying, I don't know where to begin with you. This man has helped me through so much and has always been so supportive. I couldn't be more thankful and lucky to have such an amazing man be part of my life. Not only is he my boyfriend, but my best friend. We've been through a lot this past year with moving in with each other and helping each other achieve our goals. And there's plenty more to come, but I honestly can say without him, I don't know what I would do or where to start. You are my everything and you make me a stronger and better person. And I just want to say, I'm so thankful for everything you do for me. Times might be tough now, but together we can overcome anything. I love you, Tom Senator. To infinity and beyond, baby. And then she hashtagged relationship and stronger than ever. Despite some struggles moving in together, Tom and Stephanie celebrated their three-year anniversary in October. October of 2016, vacationing to Niagara Falls. Steph posted photos of them together on Facebook, posing by the waterfall, catching a firework show, having a nice dinner, and ending the night with slot machines at the casino. But after Valentine's Day in 2017, Tom and Stephanie broke up. Stephanie had envisioned spending the rest of her life with this guy, and she was devastated. Since she had been living with Tom, she now had to move in with her grandma, who was battling a terminal disease. She had to move in with her grandma, who was battling a terminal illness at the time. Steph was grandma's primary caretaker. So she threw herself into her grandmother and into school. But she also had another project on the horizon. In 2017, she launched the SNP Creations YouTube channel, where Steph would do tutorials on all kinds of makeup looks. She did a dark glam makeup featuring a glittery cut crease and black lipstick and time lapses, showing her dress up as Pennywise from It. She posted looks on Instagram. She posted a picture of herself in the same picture. She posted a picture of herself on Instagram and Facebook. Galaxy looks, mermaid looks, hyper-realistic body-painted black widow spiders, characters from Venom to Coraline, to the Joker and zombie looks during Halloween. Steph knew how to create the most realistic, grotesque wounds on people's faces and arms using special effects makeup. She was so talented. Stephanie continued working at Ulta, and in February of 2018, she started a job at Davy Nails. By June, she was doing additional waxing at the European Wax Center. She also worked as a makeup artist and manager at L.A. Artistry Salon in Jackson, New Jersey. And this entire time, she was working hard, going to school, doing all of this. Stephanie was also taking care of her ailing grandmother, who sadly passed away in 2018. Now, she left Stephanie her house to live in and her dogs to take care of. The home was located at 32 Meadowbrook, only an 11-minute drive from her parents' house, and it had a lot of space. Three and two bathrooms, a nice big deck outside, and a very sizable backyard, perfect for the dogs to play. It even had a finished basement down below, as well as hardwood floors and a fireplace. But despite getting to live in the home, it was an emotional time for Stephanie and the Parrs family. Stephanie took comfort in her animals, including her dog Jasmine, her two parakeets, and her pet ferret, as well as her boyfriend Mike, who she started seeing in 2017. Stephanie's new boyfriend, Michael Aranio, was a roofer and a hobby fisherman. He was tall, with brown curly hair and a big smile, and he shared Stephanie's love for hockey. Stephanie debuted a picture of Mike on her Facebook in August of 2018. It's a picture of them grinning on a boat with the caption, you are my greatest catch. Steph's family liked Mike. She was posting less on her makeup pages and sometimes going a month or two between posts, but that's because she was focused on her jobs and her weight loss journey at the time. But Steph started to focus on her job, having issues with Mike, and things ended in 2019. After the breakup, Mike insisted that he still loved Stephanie, but Stephanie did not feel comfortable staying with him. Even though she kept the posts about their relationship up on Facebook, that part of her life was over. She was once again feeling lonely and missing the support of a partner. So Stephanie turned to dating apps. Now her dad wasn't thrilled about this. Stephanie was jumping into the online dating scene. Now Ed worked for the sheriff's department, don't forget. So he worked for the sheriff's department. He was constantly thinking about how scary and unpredictable people can be. Charlene and Ed had a family policy. It was the Parr's family philosophy. It's called Next. If someone treats you poorly, touches you without your permission, hurts you in any way, degrades you in public, the list goes on. Next, move on. The family lived by these rules and also the rules to always text when you get home. You never let someone make you feel unimportant and you must be super careful on the internet. Stephanie told her dad she was getting old and she needed to find a guy soon. Ed understood her frustration and it was hard for him to argue with her since he met Charlene in high school. He assured Stephanie she was not old. She was 25. She had plenty of time to meet someone, but she wanted to be swept off her feet. Doesn't everyone? Ed would tell Stephanie, don't rush things because he felt like when you try to rush something or force something to work, that's when bad things can happen. So he told her dad, she was getting old and she needed to find a guy soon. Ed understood she was getting old and she needed to find a guy soon. So he told Stephanie, don't rush things because he felt like when you try to rush things, that's when bad things can happen. But Stephanie would post all the time on Facebook about how she couldn't wait to have a baby of her own one day. And of course, to do that, she needed to find a man. So Stephanie decided to go on Tinder and Facebook dating. She made profiles and swiped through men with her sisters, deciding whether they were hot or not. Stephanie liked the attention and she would light up when a man sent her a compliment. She did encounter a couple creeps, but it was worth wading through all the research and to try to vet her dating candidates for several weeks before they met in person. Now, part of the urgency was the fact that her younger sister, Brianna, was having a baby. In April of 2019, Stephanie posted that Brianna's water had broke and she was officially an auntie. Baby Mason stole her heart and being an aunt was Steph's greatest joy. She wanted so badly to have kids in a family of her own. And that feeling was only getting stronger with Mason's arrival. As a big sister, it was probably hard on Stephanie to see her younger 21-year-old sister reaching the milestones that she hadn't. And 30 was creeping just around the corner. But then, as luck would have it, Stephanie matched with a guy named John on Facebook dating. Stephanie and John struck up a conversation on Messenger. John Osbulgen was 29 years old, with dark hair and green eyes, and he worked as a stockbroker in Staten Island. He was romantic. He knew exactly what to say, how to act, to just sweep her off her feet. But Stephanie waited to meet John in person, making sure over the course of a few weeks that he wasn't just too good to be true. Well, when they finally met up, he was exactly what he advertised. A tall, handsome stranger with a stable job who could support himself and maybe her. Someone that maybe she could see a future with. But they just started getting to know each other. But from the beginning, he was checking off a lot of boxes. Stephanie and John began casually dating at first. They would go out for dinner or drinks or even date each other. But then they went on three trips to the beach now that it was summertime. And the sparks flew. John, however, was a little too emotional for Steph's taste. They didn't really see eye to eye on some things. And John would get upset with Stephanie about things that she thought were a little over the top. And after multiple outbursts, Stephanie decided it would be best to distance herself from him. And she hopped right back on Tinder. It's sad, but it's kind of how the story goes. Especially nowadays with dating apps, it's kind of like a revolving door of dates. Until you truly connect with someone. Steph wasn't phased. She picked herself back up and moved on. But then something pretty traumatic happened in August of 2019. Stephanie woke up in the middle of the night and she was unable to breathe. She called her mom frantic and her mom drove her to the Jersey Shore Medical Hospital where she was diagnosed with an infection and severe pneumonia in both of her lungs. Now for young adults, it's not that common for pneumonia to be fatal. But Stephanie nearly lost her mind. She was diagnosed with a severe pneumonia in both of her lungs. She was in the hospital for seven days. Ed, Charlene, Brianna, Carissa, and Haley were terrified. And Stephanie came out of this experience traumatized. Now I've seen a couple comments here and there, at least a few times, where a viewer may be upset when I relate to something that somebody went through in these cases. I don't try to add my personal thoughts. I purposely don't add personal thoughts that often. But relating to the people I discuss is what inspires me to talk about their cases to begin with. I want to relate, and I hope that you do too. And in this case, I can relate to the severe case of pneumonia. I almost died as well. And I know the feeling of being unable to breathe. I too was hospitalized just like Stephanie, and it's nothing to take lightly. On August 9th, Stephanie posted this image and video on Instagram, following up with an identical Facebook post on August 14th. Stephanie was wearing a hospital gown, electrodes on her body, and she was hooked up to an IV. She was holding up a device to regulate her breathing. This is what happened in Stephanie's own words. Quote, I'm warning everyone. I don't care if you want to judge. Go ahead. I almost lost my life vaping. It doesn't matter what kind. Juul, vapes, mods, carts, does not matter which one. It started off with a little tickle in my throat. Nothing that would seem abnormal. Maybe it was the weather. Maybe a little cold. I thought maybe it was my asthma acting up. I was wrong. One day is all it took to be affected. I woke up, my chest so tight, I could hardly breathe. I felt like I was being strangled and I couldn't stop it. Sharp pains throughout my body, hot flashes, cold sweats, nauseous and dizzy. My body drained. Every ounce of energy I had was gone. Dehydration kicked in. Couldn't eat or take a sip of water without heaving. I went into the hospital for them to tell me I had gotten severe pneumonia in both lungs within the amount of 24 hours. Main cause? Vaping. Lungs filled with fluid, feeling like you're drowning and can't get up for air. I've never been so scared in my life to have almost lost it. Seven days in the hospital, first three I was immobile. If I turned on my side, I choked and I had to press the emergency button because my breathing was stopping. Imagine watching your life pass in front of you every time that happened. I'm thankful to be here right now and the amazing medical care that I had to get me through this and the love and support of my friends and family. I'm still recovering. Very drained and weak. And it's going to take time to get back on my feet. But I'm not going to sit here and let it happen to someone else or loved ones. While I was in the hospital, two of my friends went in as well. And one is in ICU on life support. And today, two more of my friends have been affected but are catching it in time from me sharing my story. This is no joking matter. Vaping is killing. And I don't want anyone to go through or worse than what I've gone through. I don't want anyone to go through what I've gone through. I pray everyone takes this seriously and throws them out. Save your life before it affects you. From all this, I now have potential lung damage and future cancer. All because of a stupid jewel. Please share this to everyone. Please save a life. End quote. Now, I personally have never smoked or vaped, but people that I care about do. And it does worry me a lot. And this was a cause that Stephanie truly cared about. And it shows how compassionate and caring she has been to me. She didn't want anyone to go through what she went through. It was her rock bottom. But while all this was going on, John, you remember the guy she was seeing before? He heard about it. And he reached out. And he let Stephanie know that he wanted to be there for her. Just let him know and he'd be there. He stayed true to his word. Stephanie did need someone. And John was there for her. He actually came and sat with her at the hospital every day. He brought her flowers and food. And he listened to her fears. Stephanie realized she did care about him. And she didn't want to lose him. Concerns aside, John proved to be a stable and supportive partner who gave her the attention that she deserved. As Stephanie recovered, she and John went on a trip to Atlantic City the weekend of August 17th. They stayed at the Resorts Casino Hotel, ate a hibachi steak dinner, had a few drinks, and relaxed at the beach. It was a much needed vacation after everything she had been through. And Stephanie was there for her. And she didn't want to lose her. It was at this time, they're hanging out in the hotel room, when John asked Stephanie to go to the kitchen and get him a beer. When she did, she opened the refrigerator. And in the beer box, she found a handwritten note that said, Will you be my girlfriend? Now, even though I personally do love beer, I don't really consider this to be the pinnacle of romance. But Stephanie wanted proof of John's commitment. So to her, this was a very sweet and meaningful gesture. She was so excited that she actually shared it to her socials. So I'm going to play it for you right now. John told me to go get him another beer. Stephanie and John made it Facebook official on August 19th, but after this, Stephanie wasn't really posting new pictures and videos as much. This is how a lot of new relationships are. John was taking up a large amount of her life. And Ed and Charlene were not John's biggest fans. I'm just going to tell you that because they had very high expectations for their daughter. Ed had only met him twice. So to be fair, not that much time has gone by for him to really gauge everything about his personality. But the first time, he noticed that John had a weak handshake. The second time, the family went on a rafting trip. Ed had fallen into the water and John had not helped him out. Now, Ed clearly remembered that John was the closest person to him. But John just stared over the side of the boat, looking at Ed, and didn't reach out his hand. Ed was then helped back into the boat by someone else. And he couldn't shake the feeling that John just didn't like him. But Ed could not figure out why. It was like John was almost sabotaging the vacation. And Stephanie's relationship with her family. But then again, it was all very new. So of course, they wanted to give him a chance. Sometimes people are just nervous, and they don't know how to act. Ed and Charlene were honest people. So they told their daughter Stephanie, they didn't really like John. Stephanie assured Ed that John was just shy. He needed time to come out of his shell. However, she did value her family's opinion. But to her, she felt like the relationship with John was like a fairy tale. Even telling her sisters that. She said she had never been so in love before, and never had such a perfect guy. Things were going really well. Not only was her social media presence growing, but now her personal life was flourishing too. Her makeup skills were in high demand. She was getting noticed offline by subscribers and followers. Her talent speaks for itself. I really can't get over how artistic so many of these special effects looks are, especially the horror makeup looks. She even thought at this point she could possibly make a career out of doing YouTube. And as busy as Stephanie was, she had to get her priorities in order. And over time, the relationship with John once again kind of deteriorated. And a month later, Stephanie broke up with him and changed her Facebook status to single by the end of September. Again, like I said, getting to know someone is hard, but many times you have to go through things, put things to the test to know whether the person's right for you or not. After this, Stephanie decided to go back into caretaking. She landed a job as a nanny for a family nearby. She devoted more time to her own family and she was able to get a job at a and her new nephew. But in October, it's Halloween month and spooky things started to happen to Stephanie. So much so, she felt unsafe in her home. She called her mom and said that her grandma's house was haunted. She was certain the house was possessed by an evil spirit. And the reason Stephanie felt this way is because she'd returned home from work one evening and found multiple handprints on her bathroom mirror. They were smeared in a weird pattern. The fingers dragged down the floor, long and spindly, like the slender man's fingers. I'm going to be showing you a video that she shared to her social media accounts. Yeah, that is really, really odd, especially because she knew that she didn't do it. So needless to say, Stephanie was spooked. She didn't cause the handprints and she couldn't figure out who had. And living there alone made her feel very uneasy. She hoped that this was just like a one-off incident. Something happened. Maybe she was spooked. A couple days later, she came home to find one of her parakeets on the floor of its cage and it was ice cold. The poor bird was dead, but it hadn't showed any signs of health issues before it died. Questions went through Steph's mind. Was it a ghost? Was it just an old house with carbon monoxide issues? Or was the house haunted? Or was someone sneaking in, messing around with Stephanie's belongings, including her beloved pet? It was definitely scary to think that someone could have killed her bird. That would be going to an extreme. She called her sister, Brianna, and asked to borrow a baby monitor. So at the very least, she could point it towards the front door, especially at night, to see if anyone was coming in. That would make her feel just a little bit safer. Brianna was like, sure, if it makes you feel better, you can come by and pick them up whenever you want. But Steph never did. It could have been that it was a fleeting thought, or she just got busy and didn't have a chance. But Brianna kind of wondered if something else was going on that Steph wasn't sharing. I think it's a valid thought. Steph had gone through multiple breakups in the past few years, and a few that year. So it made sense that maybe she had a suspicion that someone was maybe watching her, or messing with her. So she was just being cautious. It was also October. It's a time of year that everyone's gearing up for horror and fright. But living alone in an old home during spooky season is another reason fear could be heightened. But Stephanie was so afraid that she told her family that her life might be in danger, which is quite unsettling. She was truly very terrified. So let's just fast forward to three weeks following the mirror and the bird incident. It was the day before Halloween, October 30th of 2019. Stephanie got to have some much-needed bonding time with her mom and her sisters. Charlene, Brianna, Carissa, Haley, and Steph packed into the car and drove to New Brunswick to see a medium show. It was a psychic show, something they had on their bucket list, to watch a medium make contact with the spirit world and predict their future, maybe. Stephanie posted a picture of herself in the mirror, and she said, posted a picture of her and her sisters in the car to her Facebook with a caption, quote, on our way to the Medium show. Can't wait to dive into the mystic world, end quote. It was the perfect event for Halloween, and they had a blast. Later, Stephanie was so excited, she posted again on Facebook, telling everyone that her sister got singled out by the Medium, saying, this is crazy. At the show, the Medium had called on Carissa in the audience, telling her that she would be successful in her future, but she would also experience a very challenging heartbreak. Carissa was doing well in school. She was dating a guy that she was serious about, so she kind of had no idea what the Medium was talking about. For people who aren't spiritual, this statement might sound pretty general. You're gonna experience a heartbreak. I mean, who hasn't? And it could apply to just about anyone. But for Carissa, this was a prediction that would later haunt her for the rest of her life, because that evening was the last night she would ever see her sister Stephanie alive. After the Medium show, the girls went back to their parents' home, and they spent a little time together, and then Steph kissed her mom goodbye and promised to text her when she got home. It wasn't a long drive from the Parrs' house to Stephanie's grandma's house, only six miles, about 10 minutes. And while driving, Steph used Snapchat, which was a great way to get to know her. She did often to snap a photo to her mom, Charlene, an image of the family's favorite restaurant. Charlene responded, but Stephanie never messaged back, not even when Charlene and Ed texted her several times to confirm that she got home okay. Now, Charlene and Ed felt confident that Stephanie might have just put her phone on silent for the Medium show and had forgotten to turn the ringer back on. She probably was exhausted. It had been a long day, and she was still recovering from her hospitalization. So she probably went to bed forgetting about her mom. The next morning, on Halloween, Charlene checks Snapchat again, and all the snaps she sent to Steph the night before were unopened. Now, that was unlike her. So she and Ed called Stephanie again, knowing that she would have to be at her nanny job by 7am. Stephanie didn't pick up. So Ed and Charlene drove over to her house, where they saw Steph's white Hyundai Sonata parked in the long driveway, meaning she was still asleep after the night out. So Ed sat in the car while Charlene went to the front door. She knocked. Didn't get an answer. And then Ed watched Charlene open the door, which was unlocked, and walk inside. He continued to wait outside in the car. And Charlene didn't exit the house for a long time, so he imagined that she was discussing something with Stephanie. But when Charlene emerged, she was shaking her head, and he saw the look on her face. And it was a look of worry and concern. First of all, the fact that Stephanie's front door wasn't locked was unusual, especially with the fact that she had been feeling, "I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, scared lately but then Charlene had found every single light on in the entire house. The attic light was on, both bathrooms, the garage light, and even the light in the basement. How creepy. It was almost like Stephanie had turned on every light looking in each room to make sure someone wasn't going to jump out at her in the dark. Now the house was silent except for the sound of Stephanie's dog Jasmine who was barking and when her mom followed the sound she realized that Jasmine had been shut inside the bathroom. That wasn't normal. Charlene let Jasmine out and then checked Stephanie's bedroom but Stephanie wasn't home. However, the coat and the shoes she wore to the medium show were next to the living room couch meaning Stephanie had gotten home. Maybe she went straight to bed and then rushed out the door the next morning but why was her car still there? Had she gotten a ride from her boss for her nanny's job? But why would she do that instead of just taking her own car? It was all very confusing and unsettling for her parents. Charlene and Ed then drove back home and asked Stephanie's sisters and friends to reach out to her as well. Stephanie didn't reply to anyone and she always had her phone on her. I mean we all do. So they were seriously getting worried. After a few hours Charlene returned to Stephanie's house with Carissa to find clues as to where she could have gone. They were checking everywhere around the house. Well then they went through Stephanie's drawers and then they checked her nightstand next to her bed and inside they found a large kitchen knife like the kind that you would use to chop vegetables. To them this proved that Stephanie was so scared. Scared enough by what was going on in that home that she felt safer sleeping with a knife a few feet from her head. And as a parent that gives me the chills. As I said before her coat and her shoes were near the couch. And also there was leftover food from the show the night before sitting on the piano. Now that didn't make sense. It's like they were retracing her steps into the house. She would come in the front door. She would go to the living room, take off her shoes and coat, place the food on the piano. And then what? Because it wasn't put back away. It wasn't eaten. Very strange. But Charlene couldn't locate her daughter's wallet, her phone or her keys. Had Stephanie left in such a hurry that she didn't even lock her front door? Or did something worse happen? At this point Charlene decided to use a find my iPhone type locator app to ping Steph's phone. And to her surprise the phone went off. They followed the sound and realized it was inside the couch cushions. In between the cushions of the couch. And that was scary. Carissa and Charlene knew that Steph would never willingly leave the house without her phone. They couldn't open the phone because it was password protected. Now Carissa tried to guess the password without any luck. However, they could see notifications on the lock screen. Stephanie had received many text messages including one from the woman she worked for at 7 a.m. asking where she was. Apparently Stephanie hadn't shown up for her nanny job. It was at this moment that Carissa remembered the medium's prediction. And she realized Stephanie's absence was the heartbreak. And that made Carissa feel even worse. Almost responsible for Steph's disappearance. As though it was her fate. There were a million questions going through both Carissa and Charlene's mind. Why wouldn't Stephanie have taken her phone with her? Why hadn't she shown up for work? Had she gone to someone's house the night before and somehow forgotten her phone? But then why wouldn't she have driven herself? It was all too much. And nothing was making any sense. Next the two of them met up with Ed and when they told him they found her phone. He got this very bad gut feeling that something terrible must have happened. Our phones really are our lifelines and as much as Steph relied on social media there was no way she would have left it behind on purpose. Brianna tried to stay positive. She told her family that everything was going to be okay. She was probably just with a friend and maybe they hadn't called that specific friend yet. So they called around to Stephanie's other places of work and they even got in touch with additional friends and people who knew her. But no one had seen or heard from her. The family then canvassed Stephanie's neighborhood hoping someone had seen her arrive home but nobody had. And there wasn't any ring doorbell footage from any of the neighbors that could help them. Ed was going to call the police but he knew that his daughter was an adult. And there is a belief even though it's incorrect that you need to wait 24 hours to report someone missing if they're an adult. But that's not true. Time is of the essence so it's important to inform the police as soon as you realize that someone might be missing. Bahar's family spent this waiting game doing detective work of their own and it was pretty impressive that Brianna managed to hack into Stephanie's Facebook account. And from there she decided to go through her messages. It was one of Stephanie's preferred communication apps and there was a number of messages from various people including some from her ex-boyfriend John. He was actually the last person that messaged her the night before. There were unread messages from him too and they were enlightening to say the least. It was clear that John was agitated. He was using a lot of emotionally manipulative language. He said things like "where are you?" "why are you ignoring me again?" Just a simple straight answer once in a while would be nice. And then he said "this is effing bullsh*t" "what an effing c-word". Yeah. And even broad generalizations blaming Stephanie for making their relationship bad. The messages just kept getting worse as the night wore on. And we know that Stephanie was out with her mom and her sister clearly she was unable to give John enough attention and they weren't even together. Brianna read all this knowing that Stephanie had broken up with John in September so all the red flags started to go up. She decided to innocently message John from her personal account. Now this was Brianna's account not Stephanie's. Brianna asked John if he knew where her sister was and John replied within the hour saying that he didn't know. But then he said that he had gone over to Stephanie's house on Halloween eve the night before and spent the night with her. Then they got up that next morning at 7 a.m on Halloween and as he walked out the front door he said Stephanie was running late for work but he hadn't heard from her since. Now this seemed to mean he would have been the last person to have seen her. But do we really buy that and did Brianna know? Not after she saw John's messages to Stephanie. They were angry messages calling her names and the last one had been late into the night. It couldn't be a coincidence that now Stephanie had disappeared. But Brianna didn't know John well and she really didn't want to jump to conclusions. She wanted to leave the case up to the professionals and that was when Charlene decided to call 9-1-1 the night of Halloween, telling the dispatcher she had last seen her daughter Stephanie at 10 p.m., but she never called or text to say that she arrived home safely. And then Charlene added that apparently her so-called ex-boyfriend said that he saw her the night before and he stayed the night there, and he also saw her getting ready for work the next morning, but he hasn't heard from her all day. At this point, she filed a missing persons report providing details about Stephanie Pars and her ex-boyfriend John. Now, I have this 9-1-1 call, and I want to play some of it for you now. I think they're very informative and very important in cases like this, so here we go. First the air, then the light, and slowly the things you love begin to find each other. A jacket meets a dress, a hoodie slips beneath a blazer, an old cap finds a new scarf. 9-1-1, where's your emergency? County, this is Hal with a 9-1-1 transfer. I have Charlene on the line. She is in freehold at number 14, route 33. She'd like to report her 25-year-old daughter as missing. Okay, Charlene, you there? Yes. All righty. So when did your daughter go missing? She left me at 10 o'clock last night. She was going back to my mom's house where she's staying, and I told her to text me or call me when she got home, and nothing, and I've been calling and texting her all day. I went over there at 4 o'clock, and her car was there, but she was supposed to be at work from 9 o'clock. 9 to 6. Went back there again, like, around 8, 9 o'clock, and I found her phone, which she never goes anywhere without her phone, and I can't get into her phone. I can't remember her password, but I was able to see one of her notifications, and her job text her saying, you didn't show up to work today. Is everything okay? And we still haven't heard from her. She's still not home. Okay, what's her name? Stephanie. And last name? Cars, P as in Peter, A-R-Z-E. I've reached out to almost every friend that she has and everything. I can't, there's. Okay, do you know what kind of car Stephanie has? She has a white Hyundai Sonata. It's still in the driveway. So she didn't leave in her car? No, no, and apparently, like, her so-called ex-boyfriend was. My one daughter reached out to him to see whether or not he had seen her, and he said that he saw her last night, he stayed there, and she was getting ready for work this morning, and has not heard from her since all day. And her phone was left at her house or with you? No, I left it at her house in case she came home. I put it on the charger, because I know it's all day today, like, when I checked it. I did, like, find your device, and her location was off. So then when I went back to the house again this evening, I did the find your device again, but then I tried to play sound, and it rang, and I found it on the side of the couch. Okay. What is her ex-boyfriend's name? John Osbligen. And then do you know where he lives? 198 Kings Mountain. I think Boulevard, maybe? It's in Freehold. Well. Road? I'm not sure what the. Kings Mountain, though. Okay. All right, ma'am. Can I have a physical description of Stephanie? She's 4'11". She's probably, like, 115 pounds. Brunette, like, dark, you know, brown hair. I would say mid, like, you know, below her shoulder, past the shoulder, brown eyes. And she wears glasses a lot. I don't know. White. And she wasn't saying anything about, you know, going somewhere, you know, over the weekend, like, maybe going out for a Halloween thing? No. And she had, like, my daughter has no money right now. And she had started a job two weeks ago. And they were told her that they were going to, you know, pay her at the end of the month. So she would actually have gotten. She would have gotten her first paycheck either today or tomorrow. And, you know, she has not, you know. You know, wouldn't miss work, you know. She's a nanny. She's taking care of a little girl. And she's not a morning person, you know. So I was thinking, oh, maybe she overslept, you know. But she wasn't there when I was there twice, you know. And then I just had a friend go over there again. She's still not there. He even checked the backyard and the pool and everywhere. And she's still not there. And I've reached out to friends, and no one has heard from her. Okay. All right, ma'am. And you're currently at 14 State Route 33? Yes. Okay. And that cross street of yours, that's Route 9 South and Janet Rhea? Yeah. I'm the first house on the left after crossing over Route 9. Okay. All right, ma'am. We're going to have an officer come out there and talk to you. He's going to take a formal report. And we'll see if we can contact her. Don was the last person to see her, though, correct? John, John. John, okay. Yeah, yes. And I called Verizon to -- I called Verizon to see if there was any way I could get onto her phone, because I think I know two -- I think I know four of the numbers. I can't -- she told me what the password was at one time, and I can't remember what it was. Okay. But I couldn't get on. I called Verizon. They said the only thing you could do is do a factory restart, but that was the only thing I could do. I could delete a whole thing. I also know that she started going on the dating page on Facebook. I was talking to a couple guys. Okay. So I don't know whether -- also, like -- but she would never meet somebody in the morning, because she's not a morning person. You had to be at work at 9:00, you know. Okay. But the funny thing is, like, if this guy John slept over last night, and like she was getting ready for work, like, why would her phone be on the side of the couch? Right. Okay. Instead of, like, in the bedroom where she gets ready. She would only be sitting there if she was, like, sitting watching TV. Right. Yeah, I mean, so I don't -- you know, whether he's just saying, like, he really slept over and has, you know, saw her this morning, yeah, I don't know. Okay. I understand that you're -- that you're upset right now. I would be, too. I have an officer that's going to come over, and they're going to talk to you. Okay. So he's going to be on his way to an interview, okay? So just make sure that -- Yeah. Either you have, like, a street -- or a porch light on or something. Yeah, we do, yeah. Okay, perfect. And we have, like, we have -- I have four girls, you know. She's my oldest, and I even had, like, other people try and text her and stuff, but obviously she didn't have her phone. She doesn't take her phone -- she takes her phone everywhere, everywhere, you know, so. Right. And her car is there, so she -- you know, so -- but all right. I'm going to go lock the doors upstairs so that they don't bark, so -- Okay. -- with my daughter. All right, perfect. All right, perfect. Thank you. No problem, Charlene. All right. Her poor mother. I can hear the fear and the panic in this woman's voice. And after that call, the police got the ball rolling. Detective Daniel Valentine of the Freehold Township Police was in charge of this case. On Monday, the 1st of November, a team of officers investigated Stephanie's home and found no signs of forced entry. If John was telling the truth, then Stephanie must have let him in. If John had left the house without hurting Stephanie, then there could have been many explanations. Or why the door was still intact and unlocked. Could someone have come through the unlocked front door when John left? Maybe they had been watching, stalking Stephanie? Or did Stephanie let someone else inside after John left? Or did she just leave it unlocked herself? This was actually the least likely option, though, because if she was planning on being gone, especially for some time, she wouldn't have left her phone in the couch, of all places, or her keys in her car, because they found her keys in her car. Very strange. Brianna logged into Steph's Facebook account once again, and this time she created a post saying that she was Steph's sister, and she was posting from her account asking if anyone had seen her. The post amassed over 600 comments from people concerned about Stephanie, speculating and praying that she would be found. Several thought that Stephanie's disappearance lined up with Halloween and that that was very spooky, and the details were not adding up. People suggested speaking with the medium about what she saw, depending on what you believe about mediums. This could be a valid point, or it could be a dark joke. The comments varied from hoping for the best, to actually telling her family where to look for her body. Yikes. And these were just people giving suggestions. And I'm sure they all meant well, they were trying to be helpful, but I really think that sometimes we need to remember, not us, but some other people need to remember, these are real people that have families connected to them, that have feelings. speaking of people without feelings, quickly picked up on the story. missing girl Halloween night. It made for headlines, didn't it? A missing person's flyer was then circulated with Stephanie's information. She was 4'11", with brown hair and brown eyes, weighing about 115 pounds, and she'd been last seen wearing a burgundy sweater over a burgundy v-neck shirt and a pair of jeans. Even Stephanie's ex-boyfriend Mike posted about her disappearance, saying that he couldn't sleep and that he loved her with all of his heart and would do anything for her to come home. The police were going to have to look into all of Stephanie's ex-boyfriends, but first they were concerned about John and his confession that he had been with Steph on the night of the 30th. They requested search warrants for John's iPhone 10, his computer, and his parents' home at 198 Kings Mountain Road in Freehold, about a 13-minute drive from where Stephanie lived. First of all, Stephanie wasn't at John's house. There was no evidence in his home that she had recently been there. John was completely cooperative. He came into the police station for an interview, and he said exactly the same thing he told Brianna, that he didn't know where Stephanie was. The last time he saw her was 7 a.m. on Halloween. But that's when police noticed there were some strange scratches on John's neck, and they couldn't help but wonder, could they have come from a struggle with Stephanie? A precursory look through Stephanie's Facebook messages was additional evidence of John's anger issues and his treatment of Stephanie after their breakup on September 23rd, just a month before. Over the course of October, John had been messaging her incessantly. He appeared to be in denial that they ever broke up. He was possessive when she didn't answer, and he would spam text her. If you're wondering why Stephanie wouldn't just block him, she could have been scared that blocking him would only escalate things. It is true. That can happen. And from the evening of October 30th, it was clear that John was capable of escalating things. There were 10 unanswered Facebook messages over the course of just 9 minutes. The Freehold police suspected, when Steph didn't reply because her phone was on silent and she was driving home, that John decided to make his way over to her house and show up at her front door without her knowing. Remember, he didn't live far away. There was a strong possibility that he knew where she was. But also, they didn't want to jump to conclusions too quickly. Because things hadn't ended well with Mike or Tom, either. And they needed to rule everyone out. The thing is, Ed suspected John from the beginning. He wasn't sure, though, if someone else could be responsible. Did Stephanie leave the house because she was creeped out by evil spirits? Was she spooked after the Medium show? Did someone target and kidnap her after discovering her makeup in social media accounts? Was she abducted while she left her home? Her keys were in her car. Who knows? But Ed couldn't help wonder. Was she trapped somewhere? Cold and alone? Caught in the rain? Or worse, had she been killed? His imagination was running wild and he felt like he was going to go crazy. All he and Charlene could do was put up hundreds and hundreds of flyers and brainstorm ways to find their daughter. And they did everything. You can tell how much this family just loved their daughter. Because they would find her. Ed said he was determined to find her. He knew his daughter. He knew that Stephanie would never just run away. But he also couldn't let himself imagine the alternative. Police remained in touch with the Paras family on a daily basis, though they weren't giving them much information because this was an open investigation. While law enforcement was trying to pin down a specific area to search, the Paras family had to start somewhere. Ed broke out maps with his family as if they were in a war room coming up with a strategy. The first search, they had 200 volunteers and were able to cover a thousand acres of New Jersey woods. They checked dumpsters and alleyways and rivers and lakes. And Ed couldn't help but feel sick thinking about Stephanie maybe caught in a river. They searched every single day. And at one point during one of these searches, they stumbled upon a pile of black garbage bags tied together. Now Ed could not bring himself to open them up. He had a friend do it for him. And when they slashed it open, blood came pouring out. When the person reached in, Ed was completely freaked out. At this point, he felt like he knew it was going to be Stephanie. He could just feel it. But it turned out it was actually a dead deer. But that in and of itself is a traumatizing experience. But Ed was glad that it wasn't her. Even though he was confused and afraid, he was on a mission to find her and he wasn't going to give up. By now, the story had been picked up by the New York Times. And even though the Monmouth County prosecutor's office had been quiet about the details during their investigation, on November 6, they finally released a public statement. Saying that their investigation was a high priority. And they had no reason to believe that her disappearance was any danger to the general public. It's always interesting when they say that. I'm like, how do you know though? Like, if you don't even know who did it, then how do you know if the public isn't in danger? I say if you haven't found the perpetrator, the public is in danger. That's what I think. Days were going by. Can you imagine what her family was going through with no answers? But the investigators had gotten leads from a tip line and John's devices. The prosecutor's office said that the investigation had expanded to Staten Island, New York. And they were working with the NYPD to locate Stephanie. What happened was they attained John's cell phone records and they tracked his iPhone 10 on October 30th and the 31st. He had gone to Stephanie's house, like he said. And it looked as though, according to his phone, he did stay the night. Now, the next day on Halloween, which was a long way to Staten Island. Now, the thing is, this is actually his usual commute to work. And none of this was unusual except where he ended up. Long Pond Park. It was in the Tottenville South area of Staten Island, a marshy nature preserve 30 miles away from Stephanie's home. And John stayed there for six hours before driving back to New Jersey. Now, that was odd. And it's also pretty eerie. You probably know what investigators were thinking. Had he gone out of his way to Staten Island to dispose of Stephanie's body, it would be the perfect location. As sad and disgusting as it is to say that. On November 6th, a team of 200 law enforcement officers brought bloodhounds to Long Pond Park and they combed through the area. They didn't find Stephanie. They searched again on November 13th, convinced that John had taken Stephanie out to this area and they were going to find her remains. But they didn't. Even with people from all over the United States and even in Europe, they didn't find Stephanie. Sharing Stephanie's story, she was still nowhere to be found. But John's phone records were very useful. The second week of November, they found a very compromising photo depicting a child. This was disgusting. He was actually charged with possession of what's now abbreviated as CSAM charges. This is an acronym. It's C-S-A-M, Child Sexual Abuse. You're going to hear this a lot referring to charges like this going forward because that's how we're going to be abbreviating it, especially on YouTube. It's also been brought up a lot in the Madeline Soto case if you are following that one. If you're not aware of what it means, what it entails, please go look it up. But I'm sure most of you do know. This was CSAM in the third degree, endangering a child's welfare. And he was taken in to the Monmouth County Correctional Institution. Now John claimed he had no idea how this image got in his phone. He said, But prosecutors felt otherwise. I'm so sick of hearing this. Like, you didn't butt dial and this image just popped up on your screen. Your phone didn't just automatically search for and save an explicit photo of a child. There's just no way. He was facing up to five years in prison in the state of New Jersey, even though he was innocent until proven guilty. Though from what investigators knew of John, he was guilty of a lot of things, and none of them were good. Here's what they dug up on John. Osbulgen was born in July of 1990 to Hakan and Cynthia Osbulgen in Brooklyn. His father was a bus driver in New York City, and his mother was a cosmetologist. They raised John and his brothers in Rossville, a neighborhood on the south shore of Staten Island. John went to school and became a stockbroker for Woodstock Financial Group. He was known as a decent-looking guy, six foot four. He enjoyed bodybuilding, but that also made him capable of overpowering others, including the women in his life. And that's what he did. John's criminal history included four different criminal complaints. The first was an ex-girlfriend from New York who had a protective order against him. The second was another ex-girlfriend who claimed that John crossed her boundaries when they were having intercourse and arguing. She said that he would choke her, resulting in her going unconscious. But after she came forward, she dropped these charges because she was not able to go to the court dates. It was hard to come forward and even harder to face the person who did this to you. And John was that person. Then just as recently, as June 17th of 2019, a woman had called the police on John saying that he injured her by dragging her by her hair and hitting her in the face. Now at this point, from what I did in my research, Stephanie would have met John. But from the contents of John's phone, he was talking to a dozen other women at the same time. So I couldn't be certain if this was Stephanie who made this report. And on the same day, June 17th, the charge was also dropped. And the final complaint about John was as recent as September 23rd. and I will give you all the details in just a moment, but when Ed learned that John had been arrested on November 8th, he felt relieved until he learned what the charges were. John was indeed a danger to society, and he deserved to be in jail, but Ed thought that the arrest was about Stephanie's disappearance, and he got his hopes up. He was glad that John was behind bars, but unfortunately, John wasn't there long. Only 11 days later, he posted bail. In a hearing, his attorney, Robert Honaker Jr., argued that holding John was unconstitutional with the Bail Reform Act. They couldn't hold him because of Stephanie's case, so the judge agreed. He was there for third-degree charges for CSAM, and the short-term repercussions were that John could no longer use the internet, and he needed to get another job since he had just been fired from the one he had. Good luck. Who would want to hire this guy? Ed was slowly constructing a timeline of Stephanie and John's relationship, and everything he learned made him feel even safer. When they first started dating, John came to the house. Remember that? Ed said he had a weak handshake. He wasn't impressed. He also said that John wouldn't hold eye contact with Ed, and Ed also thought that Steph might be rushing things because she wanted to find the one, and this guy she had just met on a dating app. Afterward, Ed pulled his daughter aside and said that John gave him a bad gut feeling, but he also told her that she would know best because she was an adult, but he just wanted her to be cautious. It was a summer romance, and Steph was enamored with him, but her family didn't want to be a part of it. Ed didn't want to be a part of it. Ed didn't But her family noticed a scary pattern. Stephanie wasn't calling like she used to before she would come over and text regularly, but now she was becoming more and more distant. Steph appeared to be hiding something from her family, and Charlene and Ed came to the conclusion it was John, that he was demanding Stephanie's attention at the expense of her own family, but they didn't want to make assumptions. They hadn't known John long, and maybe he was shy, like Steph said, and she was head over heels in love with him. Ed remembered the second month that Steph dated John. She came over to the house and asked Charlene if she had a mark on her face. Charlene said no and asked why. Steph explained that she and John had been playing around, and he pushed her, and she hit her head against a cabinet. Now, she was just brushing this off like it was a normal occurrence, a little accident, just playing around, but Ed and Charlene were concerned, but again, didn't want to jump to conclusions. Charlene couldn't see any marks on her daughter's face, but Stephanie was an amazing makeup artist. She could cover anything, even cuts and bruises. Now, a week and a half after that, Ed got a call from one of Stephanie's ex-boyfriends. Stephanie had called this ex to tell them she was scared of John, that he'd gotten angry, he grabbed her throat, he hit her against the wall, and it caused her to bleed. The very next day, Ed went over there. He told Stephanie that she needed to leave John, leave this man. He reminded her of their family policy. No one was allowed to degrade you, hurt you, or make you feel small. John would never be welcome in the Parse home again, and Stephanie needed to move on to someone new. Next. Remember, they would just be like, next, when someone wasn't right for someone in their family. Stephanie trusted her family was right, and she ended things the very next day. It was difficult, but she was confident in her decision, until she got sick with pneumonia. While in the hospital, Steph was visited in the end. Ed would go home for the day thinking that his daughter was just recovering, but John waited for everyone to leave before he would visit Stephanie overnight. John spent every evening with Stephanie, trying to win her back, and love, or what looks like love, can blind us. But what was happening was manipulation, love bombing, gaslighting, promising that he was going to change, making plans for the future, and doing everything in his power to control Steph's life. And then, Ed and Charlene were winding down for bed when Charlene got a phone call. All she could hear was scuffling, and then Stephanie's gargled voice saying that he hit her. Charlene was asking, who hit you? But Stephanie didn't reply. Charlene already knew. The call ended, and she immediately called 911. Ed didn't even stop to think. As soon as he heard Charlene's words, he raced to his car and drove as fast as he possibly could to Stephanie's house. As he pulled up on her street, he noticed a woman sprinting through the woods barefoot. It was his daughter, Stephanie. She was shoeless in her pajamas, and blood was coming from her hand and her head. Ed stopped his car and yelled at Stephanie to get inside, and she ran to him. He pulled her into his arms, asking, who hurt her? And she said, it was John. Ed remembers holding Stephanie at arm's length, and he was staring at her, but he couldn't see her. All he saw was black. He was so angry that he had blacked out. His own anger scared him. He was scared that Stephanie was fading away from him. But that didn't stop Ed from going to the house to confront John. He hated this man. He wanted to kill John. But as soon as Ed pulled into the driveway, Stephanie in the passenger seat, a police officer pulled up and held Ed back. John was arrested in front of them, and Ed was asked to take Stephanie to the police station to press charges. Stephanie was really shaken up. Her mother had actually called in front of her and said, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. In advance and had officers go over there. That's why they intervened. She did file a complaint that night, stating that John backhanded her in the head, drawing blood, and struck her over the hand, causing one of her glue-on nails to rip off of her thumb. She was hurt so badly that she knew she could not be with John any longer. But Stephanie told her dad she didn't want to press charges. She wanted to put this in the past. Just put it behind her. And naturally, Ed could not understand her reasoning and insisted that John, could never be a part of this family. And he would personally settle matters with John on his own if Stephanie didn't do it herself. So Stephanie agreed. She would end things one more time. On October 5th, Stephanie posted to her Facebook, quote, starting over is okay. Moving on is okay. Saying no is okay. Being alone is okay. What is not okay is staying somewhere that you aren't happy, valued, or appreciated. End quote. She was taking steps to rebuild her life after her self-esteem was destroyed by a miserable monster. What she didn't know was that he was regularly talking to other women, had a history of mistreating other women, and consumed CSAM. And did not have just one image on his phone, but 10 images of young girls and babies with adult men. I am not going to go any further than that. I literally could throw up thinking about it. Ed knew if Stephanie had known any of this, she would have been horrified. If there had been a DV registry or a way to vet John before she fell for him, then maybe Stephanie would still be here. And Ed wouldn't be spending every single day searching for his daughter along the highways and in the woods. And John was now on house arrest. He was dangerous. And he still wasn't talking. But I can't help but wonder, and I was wondering, if those records would have come up on a background check, like on been verified. So I actually went and paid for it. And they're not there. A lot of times, they're not going to be there unless there has been a court hearing, the case has been adjudicated, you've been found guilty. Nothing came up. So in case you were thinking, maybe she could have known, probably not. Public records only go so far. The police in the coming weeks executed 50 search warrants in 10 separate places, with five of those being John's place in Staten Island. They found some incriminating items like a knife, a rattle-placed car mat, and these were all tested for DNA, but nothing linked back to Stephanie. Then, on November 22nd, almost a month after Stephanie had gone missing, Ed got an anonymous phone call at 4.30 in the morning. When he answered, the person on the other end said, he's dead. He hung himself. And then they hung up. It took Ed some time to understand the context, but when he did, he had a nervous breakdown. He was screaming, he was punching the walls, he was screaming, he was screaming, he was screaming, he was screaming, he was screaming, he was screaming, they would never find out where Stephanie was taken, because he knew the caller must be referring to John. Who else did he know that was under fire and would want to leave this world? In his grief and despair and anger, Ed drove over to John's parents' home. An officer was already there, and one of Ed's friends from his department who told him to get back in his car and leave, but Ed refused. The detective threatened arrest, saying it was for Ed's own good. Ed wanted to know exactly what happened. If John had left any notes, but the detective couldn't say anything, though he could say that it was true. John had taken his own life. He was found in his parents' garage only three days after he was released from jail. Ed struggled to accept this, but he did go home and tell his family what happened. The search for justice for finding Stephanie was at a standstill, and he didn't know how he was going to proceed. However, the family pushed on through the winter and Christmas was brutal without Stephanie. Every day they searched. They conducted 88 searches in 87 days. That's a level of dedication and love that really breaks my heart, but I also know how much Stephanie deserved it. No other information was being released by the police during this time, but by the new year in 2020, Steph's family was still organizing search parties. Who just noticed that all of my candles went off? Creepy. Okay, the next search was scheduled for January 25th and 26th. and Ed was posting on his Facebook with all the information, and one of the posts said, "The meeting time was 9:00 AM. "The location, a Target on 55 Route 9 "South Manalapan, New Jersey. "They were planning to search a few locations in Freehold." And then the following day, there would be another search on Sunday, January 26th, and that one was going to be in Freehold Township off of Jackson Mills Road. At the end of the post, it said, "Rain, snow, or shine. "If you can make it but haven't registered, "please just show up and sign in. "Please remember to dress in layers "and be prepared for unpleasant conditions. "Rain, snow, or shine. "We can't thank you enough, but attempt to do so "from the bottom of our hearts. "Thank you." The search on January 25th turned up nothing. And finally, on Sunday, January 26th, 2020, Stephanie was found, but not from a search that her family put together. Two teenagers, age 17 and 18, from New Jersey, had been walking down the side of a highway on their way to work when they noticed what they thought was a mannequin just over a guardrail. Now, if you do watch "True Crime," I mean, you're sitting here now, right? It's pretty common, but sadly, it's never a mannequin. It was the body of what appeared to be a young woman lying along the side of the road in Old Bridge, near the intersection of Old Mill Road and Highway 9 southbound. She was located about 15 feet from the road underneath a tree with her hand over her head, so it looked as though she was sleeping in the brush. Several police departments responded to the teenager's call, and Ed was told by a friend to turn on the news, but he couldn't. He knew it was her. It was in a spot that he had driven past dozens of times in the past three months looking for her. It was a known dumping area off the highway, and from what he could tell, it seemed that someone had stopped by the side of the road and pushed her down a hill, and her body had come to rest in a ditch near the tree, which had blocked her from view. The place where she was found was actually really close to the Grand Marquis reception hall. It's where Ed and Charlene were married, and where Stephanie attended her prom, wearing a beautiful purple dress, her favorite color. And now, she had been discarded there like trash. If you look at the bird's eye view of this area, it's very vast and very wooded. You would assume that someone would have made the effort to place her further back from the road, but it just goes to show you how careless her killer was. They didn't care about her at all. The next day on Monday the 27th, the prosecutor held a press conference and according to the medical examiner, it was Stephanie. Investigators believed that John was responsible for Stephanie's murder, but they were still waiting on autopsy results. The prosecutor claimed that this is why John had taken his life, and now that Stephanie was found, they could finally close this case. At the autopsy, Stephanie's body showed signs of severe decomposition due to her being outdoors and all the exposure, and this interfered with them coming up with a conclusive cause of death. But it was assumed, due to John's history of allegations, that it was probably strangulation. All that being said, John's parents, Hakon and Cynthia, adamantly denied that John had anything to do with Stephanie's murder. They did express their condolences to the Parrs family and admitted they didn't have all the details about what happened, but even so, they said in a statement, quote, "We believe he is innocent." But all the pressure from the false CSAM charges and the constant searches and relentlessness caused him to take his own life, end quote. Okay, wait a minute, hold on. For one thing, the CSAM charges were not false, even though I can understand why parents would hope that those charges would be false, and two, it seems like they're basing this solely off John's words, specifically the words he left in his notes. Yes, I said notes. If the terrifying sequence of events in Stephanie's home weren't enough, this is where the case gets more complicated, because John's parents might have been involved, allegedly. When John had taken his own life, he had left two handwritten notes in, frankly, atrocious handwriting. I thought mine was bad. His is very bad. So bad, I could hardly make out what he wrote. Ed and Charlene didn't get to see these notes until after Stephanie was found, and I have these notes. And just a forewarning, there is a name that I'm redacting from these documents. I'm not going to be telling you what John's former ex-girlfriend was. She was from New York, and he addressed one of these notes to her. She had a restraining order against him. So for clarity, I'm just going to call her Stella to make things flow. The first note was addressed to mom, dad, Sal, and Sammy. It said, quote, "Sorry about all this craziness." Craziness is misspelled. "I've been miserable for so long now. "I had enough. "Thanks for everything. "I can't do life in prison. "Most of the stuff you'll hear is true. "Except," misspelled, "the child p-word, CSAM. "I would never do that." And we're just kind of supposed to take his word for that. But anyway, going back to the note, he said, "Use the pictures with me and Stella for the funeral. "That was the only time in my life "where I was truly happy. "I want Stella to help plan everything with you. "Tell her I'm sorry and I love her. "She was so good to me. "We had an amazing life. "I effed it up. "She only did good for me. "I dug myself in a deep hole. "This is the only choice. "I love you guys. "Smiley face." End quote. End of note. This note was a confession for the investigating officers. When he said, "Most of the stuff you'll hear is true," John was admitting he killed and hid Stephanie, was he not? John's parents, on the other hand, didn't want to believe that. They claimed John never said that he hurt Stephanie, not once, not verbally, and not in the note. But are we reading the same note? Because from what I'm gathering, that's exactly what he was saying. Because what else were police investigating him for? So let's go on and see if the other note has more context, shall we? This one was written to his ex-girlfriend, who I'm calling Stella, and someone named Bensley. My bet is on either a car, a dog, a cat, or maybe even a stuffed animal, I don't know. But it says, quote, "I love you so much, little lady." Okay, that's kind of gross. "I miss you so much. "I don't know what I was thinking "when I effed our relationship up. "You were the best thing that happened to me." Two is spelled wrong. "I tried to move on many times. "I will never feel for another lady "the way I feel for you." Well, you're dead, so how can you feel for her? "I don't feel for anyone. "Recently, I tried to reach out to you. "You got a restraining order? "Why?" Let me pause here. "Because, John," now I'm talking to the dead, "you're a creep and a monster." But I guess he didn't see it that way, did he? He played the victim. Well, the little lady, as he referred to her, saw his true colors. But going on, he said, quote, "At that moment, I felt like my entire world ended. "I really needed you in a huge way. "Look at the mess I created, lol. "Don't believe "everything in the news. "I hope you're doing well. "I hope you have an amazing life. "You deserve it. "Not a day goes by where I don't think about you and Ben. "The girl in the news with me was such a piece of shit. "She hurt me over and over "when I was already at my lowest. "She was a horrible person. "Please help my parents with my funeral. "You're the only person I have ever loved. "Sorry for everything. "I wish I could go back in time and correct my mistakes, "but I can't. "Sad face." End quote. Even in his last, last notes, he's trying to manipulate the story to suit his version of events. So convenient, now that both he and poor Stephanie are gone. He was sitting there blaming Stephanie for hurting him when he was at his lowest, even though we know that he weaseled his way back into her life when she was at her lowest moment, recovering in the hospital. In his note to his ex, whom I told you I'm calling Stella, he referenced the mess that he created as a reason why he was ending his life. So for his parents to claim that law enforcement's pressure was the reason their son was gone, well, that's a whole other level of denial in my point of view. John's dad stated that his son was innocent and that he was being set up to look like a misogynist by the police. He said that John would still be alive today if it wasn't for the false CSAM charges. And while he didn't want to make Stephanie look bad, he knew that she wasn't loyal to John. She was dating other guys, at the time. Well, I'm just gonna say this, considering they were on and off, it is possible that Stephanie was communicating with other men and she's allowed to do that. Let's not forget, he was talking to like 10 other women as well. John's dad went on to say that his son in life was a heartthrob from day one and that girls would stare at him in the mall. And I have to also mention this sounds so similar to Stefan Stern's parents in their police interviews, kind of almost bragging about him after the CSAM charges and the murder charges came out. But in this case, John's dad went on to say that John was a beautiful soul and would go to heaven with the angel army. - Fall never arrives all at once. A jacket meets a dress, a hoodie slips beneath a blazer. An old cap finds a new scarf because you don't simply step into the season, you create it layer by layer until it finally feels like fall. - You know, I'm not sure what to think. I really don't think someone who murders someone goes to anywhere good. And looking at the pictures that I've seen, Stephanie, she's always glowing, but John, he just has this look about him and it's definitely not gentle. He's definitely not a gentle person. He's definitely not a gentle soul, I'll say that. But hindsight is 20/20. It appears that John had his own parents under his thumb because as police searched through his phone they found text to his mom and dad hinting at Stephanie's disappearance. Yep it's kind of also sounding like another case we've heard before. Brian Laundrie. Remember how his parents allegedly had knowledge about Gabby Petito's disappearance as well? Well of course police wanted to look at John's mom and dad's phones but they wouldn't give away their passwords. So officers began an investigation into whether John's parents obstructed justice by deleting text messages, tampering with evidence, or withholding another note that John left behind. The couple was not cooperative because in their point of view they blamed John's death on the investigators but maybe they were just covering for him. In the meanwhile Stephanie's visitation and funeral were held at St. Rose of Lima Church on January 30th and 31st. She was buried in a beautiful white and gold coffin and Ed wrote a tribute on Facebook saying quote, message to Stephanie. Hi my angel I wanted to tell you that we are all working so hard to make everything beautiful for you today. Your sisters especially Brianna are putting together a wonderful display for all to see. Your angels continue to come through helping us prepare for what will be no doubt the hardest days of our lives. I can't imagine how we are going to get through this. I can't even look at a picture of you without losing it. So much for being strong. It's amazing Steph. When I'm at my worst Mama is at her strongest and when she's at her worst it seems my strength appears. It continues to be an emotional roller coaster. Mama bought you a beautiful soft outfit to wear and also a blanket to keep you warm. The girls are bringing you some pictures to be with you along with some other things you like. I know you will be there with us watching over us today. I know you're going to be very happy to see all the wonderful people especially your angels come through. I know you're going to be there with us watching over us today. I know you're going to be very happy to see all the wonderful people especially your angels come to see you. You are so loved baby girl. You will live in everyone's hearts forever and ever. We will make sure your legacy lives on as you help so many others through your story. Today is a big day baby girl. Now rest, close your eyes, and go to sleep. We will see you later today. Good night my angel. We love you more than life. I'm reading this as my baby is crying in the background and I can't help but feel so sad for this family knowing that those are words that they're saying to their daughter on her final day they'll ever see her. On February 19th, the family gathered again to celebrate what would have been Stephanie's 26th birthday with a candlelight vigil which they continue to host every year. Investigators eventually reached a conclusion of what they think happened over the course of Stephanie's relationship with John. After she got together with him the second time, he went back to his old ways trying to isolate her from the people she loved. Who knows how many times he was violent. With Steph's artistic talents, she could hide it very well and very easily. Steph just wanted a family and a partner who loved her. So when he showed her that he didn't love her through his actions, she left him. John reacted with a need to control and scare Steph into getting back with him. So he texted her constantly. He showed up where she was. He even visited her house. The handprint, the bird. Ed thinks those were intentional choices to scare Stephanie into running back into his arms. But Stephanie didn't need or want him and it was a textbook case. Of if he couldn't have her, then nobody would. The thing is, John had plenty of girls in his back pocket. He dated six or seven women at the same time, even when he was supposed to be exclusive with Stephanie. He was a player. He wanted attention and control. The night of October 30th, John was out with another woman. That didn't matter to him though, because he wanted Stephanie to respond to him immediately. And when she didn't, he went crazy. He acted like they were still together. Like she owed him something, but she owed him nothing. When she didn't respond to his messages, he drove over to her house and knocked on her door. Did she let him in? We don't know. Did they get into an argument? Who knows. But what they do know, from the state of Stephanie's house, she was killed in her bedroom. The prosecutors have a few theories. Maybe Stephanie rejected John again. In a fit of rage, he murdered her. Maybe Stephanie was spending time with John and learned that he had CSAM on his phone and she confronted him about it. She did speak her mind, so I can imagine she would. And maybe John didn't want that to get out. So he signed with her. Maybe they did hook up that night, and things progressed in the bedroom to a point where John took strangulation too far. Was it a mistake? Or intentional? Who knows. I'm leaning towards intentional. Maybe he knew all along what he was going to do. And maybe he fooled her, targeting her, and attacking her in her bedroom, a place where she felt safe. And once the monster killed her, he dragged her body through the rooms of the house towards the back door. And that is where Stephanie's car keys come into play. Remember I told you they were found in her car? Well, John must have known that he would have to move his car up to the back door in order to conceal Stephanie's body from the road. And to do that, he was going to have to move her car. But he couldn't find her phone or her keys. So John went through every room in the house: the attic, the basement, the bathrooms, looking for Stephanie's things. Now, he could never locate her phone, the one piece of evidence that would incriminate him, no matter how hard he searched. But he did find the keys, leading John to move his own car to the back of the house, put Stephanie in his trunk, and then move Steph's car back where it was found. This was all done under the cover of darkness. Then he left the keys in the car. Then John drove his car down the highway in the direction of Staten Island, probably heading home. However, halfway there, the car turned around and was caught on camera driving south back to Freehold. At one point, he stopped the car on the side of the road. It was a well-lit area with not much tree coverage, but there was no one around as John threw Steph's body over that guardrail. His time in the park in Staten Island was a fluke. Maybe he was hiking. Maybe it was a diversion, because Steph was already gone. It truly disgusts me what this man was capable of, and the Parris family couldn't fathom how John had just slipped through the cracks of the justice system. But we've seen it so many times. Ed, in particular, felt responsible for not stepping in and forcing John to leave Stephanie alone. But I don't know if Ed could have done anything, especially when Stephanie wasn't ready to press charges herself. And I don't think the investigation could have been sped up so that John remained in jail. The Parris family and the police were giving it their all during all of those three excruciating months. And despite whatever John's parents could have been hiding, the obstruction of justice charges were dropped, and Steph's case was solved. Ed ultimately blamed social media for killing Stephanie. He said that if she had never gone on those dating apps, she would have never met John. But Ed also said he turns to social media to connect with his family, share pictures of Stephanie, and share her message. So it's a blessing and a curse. We know this. In the past five years, Charlene and Ed founded the Stephanie Nicole Parris Foundation for Domestic Violence and Missing Persons Support to raise awareness for unsolved missing persons cases, support families going through tragedy, and educate people on safety and statistics. They run 13 programs, including Stephanie: Stephanie's Overwatch System, providing security cameras and equipment for homes, creating care bags for people seeking shelter from abuse, self-defense classes, and support teams for child custody exchanges and court appearances. Ed is particularly passionate about training parents on how to respond when their child opens up about intimate partner violence. The organization is also pushing for Stephanie's Law, legislation that would mandate a DV registry that could be publicly accessed. This database exists in the state of New Jersey, but right now it can only be accessed by gun sellers and law enforcement. Ed believes if S offender's crimes are made public, there's really no reason not to publicize violent offenders in DV cases. Monsters walk among us. But if we have a resource to do research and protect ourselves, I truly think the danger would be less imminent. The bill passed through the Senate Judiciary Committee in July of 2024, and I've decided that a portion of the revenue from this video this month will be donated to Stephanie's Foundation. I want to start giving back and helping families like Stephanie's, so thank you, because these videos only generate income if people like you watch them. On Google Maps, you can see a memorial on the side of the road where Stephanie's body was found. You can also see a memorial for her outside of her home on Google Maps, as well as a trailer in the driveway for Stephanie's Foundation. The organization hosts many community fundraising events, including bowling, bingo, and silent auctions. SNP funds 3,500 scholarships every year for senior softball players at Freehold Township High School. Ed and Charlene's commitment to activism has given them a sense of purpose and a connection to Stephanie, and an avenue to keep her name alive. At the end of the day, Stephanie Pars was a lover. She wore her heart on her sleeve. She was a beautiful, talented, bright, hilarious creator and caretaker, and one man tried to burn out her light. But that light lives on forever. And I hope even more so through this video, in your minds and your hearts today. Please be very careful on the internet and dating sites. Always have your location shared with at least one of your loved ones. And if you bring a new friend or partner to meet your family, listen to them. Sometimes the people around us know us so much better than we even know ourselves, and sometimes they can see things that we don't. Take precautions after a breakup. This is the most dangerous time, and please don't do it alone. Confide in someone. Have a security system set up. And don't think that you're being silly, especially as it gets darker earlier in the evenings. Stay safe. And as always, thank you so much for watching. I hope to see you in my next video. A jacket meets a dress, a hoodie slips beneath a blazer, an old cap finds a new scarf, because you don't simply step into the season. Bye.