← Papi Killed Mommy
Papi Killed Mommy
Media Pressure
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Hey weirdos — I’m Nikki, daughter of Stephanie Marie Wasilishin. If you found this show through Morbid, welcome. Thank you for giving space in your day to my mom’s story and to a new podcast that’s still building its voice. Content note: This...
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Foreign. Hey, weirdos. My name is Nikki, and welcome to Poppy Killed Mommy. It's a big day today. Morbid, one of the biggest true crime podcasts, covered my mom's case. If you just heard my mom's story on Morbid's podcast, oh, my God. Welcome. I'm so excited to talk to you. I've waited so long. Welcome to Poppy Killed Mommy. Thank you for taking time out of your lives to not only listen to Morbid, but to follow the recommendation and branch out to a brand new podcast like mine. It means the world to me that you're here, and I hope you'll stick with me. Besides for welcoming the newest listeners for Morbid, another thing I want to discuss before we jump into today's timeline. There's some big changes on the horizon to the podcast, and I want to speak on what they mean for you and what's ahead. I'm currently wrapping up season one, and I'm preparing to move on to season two. And I want to take a few minutes to explain what that transition looks like, why you started hearing ads, and how those changes will actually help me continue to tell my mom's story while also shining a light on new cases. If you've been here from the very beginning, you know that at the end of almost every episode, I say this podcast is ad and sponsor free. And I meant mattered to me that my mom's story would stand on its own. No interruptions, no distractions. Just the truth and my fight for justice. But here's the thing. Things have changed. And I want to be honest and transparent about why. When I went to CrimeCon two weeks ago, I was approached by a company that specializes in podcast monetization. They explained to me something that I already knew deep down. My old platform, Buzzsprout. It wasn't built to help me sustain the show long term. On Buzzsprout, I wasn't making any money unless listeners manually signed up for a monthly support. To those of you who did and who donated to the Crimecon Go fund, you. You've been the backbone of the show. You're literally what has carried and kept me here. But if I want this story to keep being told, if I want season two to happen, if I want to keep traveling, writing letters, pushing for media coverage, printing merch, chasing leads, I need a platform that actually allows the podcast to pay for itself. And that's why I've switched to Libsyn. Here's where I want to introduce a word. You're going to hear me say a bunch in this episode. Sustainability. By definition, sustainability means the ability to be maintained at a certain rate or level. In other words, it's not about growth for growth's sake. It's about making sure this podcast, this fight, and my mom's story keep going without burning out or breaking down. Sustainability is the goal. This is my very first episode on the new host platform, live and in living color. And yes, you're going to start hearing some ads. Maybe even in some of the older episodes where I used to proudly say ad free. I know that might sting for you because it definitely makes me feel icky. But here's the reality. Buzzsprout left me stuck. Libsyn gives me the option to monetize responsibly, to drop ads into episodes that thousands of people are still binging, and to finally let this podcast start paying for itself instead of draining me dry. I'mma be real with you. I don't know exactly how this is gonna go. We'll see how it feels. I may adjust. I may scale back. I may lean in. I'm still figuring this out while still working on season one in real time. To my 16amazing active supporters on Buzzsprout, here's what you need to know. Buzzsprout listener support has now been disabled. That means no new people can sign up. But if you're already signed up, your payment will still process through buzzsprout until you cancel it, or until buzzsprout finally shuts my account down. Those payments do not automatically transfer to Libsyn. There's no risk of being double billed anywhere else. What you signed up for stays contained within buzzsprout, and it won't migrate without you choosing it. Right now, I don't have a replacement support option on Libsyn. The immediate plan is ads. Down the road, I may add a Patreon with bonus content or even offer an ad free version of the show if that feels right. Nothing is decided yet, but if and when I launch something new, you'll hear it directly from me. I am beyond grateful to the 16 of you who have supported me month after month this summer, and to every listener who's downloaded, shared or talked about this show. Thank you. This change, moving platforms, adding in some ads, making the show sustainable. It isn't just about me keeping the lights on. It's also about what happens next. The mission is only going to get bigger. In season two, we'll be covering unknown cases of domestic violence, stories of people who deserve to be heard. Just like my mom at Crimecon. Several People came up to me with their personal cases that they want covered and I know there are so many more stories out there that need attention. So if you know of a domestic violence case and you believe it should be featured on Poppy Killed Mommy, please email me at poppykilledmommy p a p I killedmommymail.com so far I've received four submissions and Melissa and I will be looking over all of them. This show started with my mom's story, but it won't end there. Ads are not about selling out. They're about survival. They're about sustainability. They're about making sure I can keep fighting for my mom and now also shining light on the stories of others who deserve justice. So yes, things are changing. But what's not changing is my commitment to you and to the truth. This is still Poppy Killed Mommy and with your continued support, whether that means listening through an occasional ad, sharing the show, or even sending me a case that needs to be told, I promise you we're only getting started, but let's pick up where we left off. Last week I read to you the Red Rock news coverage of my mom's case and the first email I received from the Sedona Police Department. Laura Leon In November of 2020, those words, printed and emailed, landed like a punch. They pushed me to the realization if anything was going to change, I had to start changing it. Several days later, In December of 2020, I submitted a public records request for my mom's case file. I was told it would take several weeks to redact and by mid January 2021, as promised, it finally appeared in my inbox and there it stayed. For months I had talked big to the investigator about wanting that file, but once it was in my hands, I was terrified to open it. I knew the moment I clicked that email, my life would split into the before and after. At the start of 2021, I wasn't ready to change my world or devote myself to a three decade old case file, even if it was my mom's. Maybe I hesitated because some small part of me still wanted to believe that the system would finally do its job. So the file just sat there month after month before I finally found the nerve to open it. I knew it was there, so I talked about it. I posted about it on one of the two social media platforms I had at the time, Facebook. Sometime during the summer of 2021, a documentary student messaged me. She had seen my posts about my mom's cold case on Facebook and she wanted to feature it as her final project, it was the nudge I needed. It was the last week of August 2021, and I told her she could come over and we could print the file out together. So, camera in hand, she came over. We cued the PDF, hit print, and the machine started chugging, spitting the pages out backwards. The autopsy came off first. I wasn't ready for that. I cried as the paper stack grew. I cried as the camera clicked. And in that tiny room with a humming printer and the desert heat pressing in on the windows, I began falling down a rabbit hole of my mother's cold case that four years later, I still haven't crawled back out of. It didn't take long after printing to realize that what I had wasn't the full case file. I had 176 pages, but the Red Rock News had once reported nearly 400 whole sections, like parts of the autopsy, were missing. Still, I started reading. And that night, the flashbacks came. Memories I hadn't touched in decades surfaced all at once. I remember the car ride to the station, but now, through adult eyes, it was like watching myself from the outside. No longer a child trapped in the memory, but a witness to the truth. That first night, I relived my mother's murder as if it had happened just minutes ago, not decades. And that night, something shifted. The rage woke in me, and I knew if anyone was going to fight for her, it had to be me. August 2021 turned into September, and now I had the case file. Well, most of it. But I didn't know what I was going to do with it. I had no idea what I was doing in September. But I'll tell you what I was watching on the news. Gabby Petito had gone missing and was all over the Internet. Up until then, I was a mainstream media kind of girl. But when Gabby went missing, I jumped on the YouTube train like so many others to get my news faster. And it was there that I got the idea to turn my pet sitting channel into a channel about my mom's cold case. So I set up the camera, changed the name, and just started reading the case file to anyone that would listen, all the while using Facebook to ask for help. I posted in a local Facebook community group, and in October 2021, a reporter at the local ABC affiliate reached out, my first proof that media might be my lifeline. She was also the first to say a name I'd hear again. Sarah Turney. At first, I shrugged off the name that naggingly sounded familiar and dismissed the advice to try TikTok but months later, on December 6, 2021, an old friend messaged me an IT guy named Brett. He had been following my progress and offered to help. He also mentioned that name again, Sarah Turney. But Brett was able to give me more context as to why the name sounded so naggingly familiar. This time, something clicked. Sarah and I had actually worked at the same restaurant years ago, TGI Fridays. I remember her instantly. After Brett helped me put two and two together, she had worked with us briefly. She wasn't a lifer like Brett and I. She was there and then she was gone. I remember her being very nice but kind of shy and didn't really like waiting tables. I remember her giving away a bunch of her tables. I binge watched her interviews about Alyssa's case, and I thought, I know her. If she's able to accomplish all of this, I can do it too, right? We were already friends on Facebook, so I messaged her. She responded quickly and told me bluntly, start with TikTok. So I did. I didn't know it then, but that day I took my first real step towards becoming a public advocate for my mom. December 2021, a year after I had officially requested the case file was spent learning how to edit a video, how to use a video editor, and how to do a voiceover. I learned how to bring my mom back to life through that silly dancing app that I thought I hated. Within weeks of posting, a comment popped up on one of my videos. Wendy wassilishin. It said my aunt. We hadn't spoken in nearly 20 years. After I graduated, she went one way and I went the other. I just wanted to move on with my life and live it. And my aunt just got kind of stuck living in a horrible cycle where her sister has been murdered and no one would listen to her. She couldn't and wouldn't let it go. And by the age of 18, I was ready not to dwell on the past. So I let her go. But 20 years later, TikTok brought us back together overnight, united by one purpose. Justice for her sister and for my mom. Over the years, Wendy never stopped knocking on the doors of the Sedona Police Department and the Yavapai County Attorney. Wendy had documents I didn't. She showed me four autopsy pages I had never been given. Over the years, she received about 225 pages of the file, different from mine. Between Wendy's file and mine, we could prove pages were missing. Important ones. Where were the rest? Why were they withheld? What did they say? After Wendy and I reunited. I was running social media, but I was still really new to it. Wendy had always believed in trying the proper channels, and I agreed the right thing to do was to go through the authorities. So instead of starting with the Sedona Police Department, we thought bigger. We wrote to the Yavapai County Attorney and to the Arizona Attorney General. The Attorney General eventually wrote us back and told us that our complaint was best suited for the Department of Justice. I sent another packet to the doj and before long an FBI agent came to our house. His name was Special Agent Craps. He sat down with my aunt and she told him simply, we just want someone to listen. We want someone to go to the Sedona Police Department and figure out what's going on. And so he did. He went to Sedona and he asked the police if he could offer his assistance, but they declined. He couldn't just take the case on his own. He had to be invited. His suggestion was to sit down with the active investigator. So right back at the beginning, we were Wendy would call the Sedona Police Department almost every couple days that spring, and I was posting about my mom's case almost daily on TikTok until we got the letter. In March of 2022, my family was sent this letter by the Sedona Police Department. This letter is to address the status of case number 930004944. The current status of this case is inactive. That means the case will only be accessed when new viable information, evidence or leads are reported. Periodic reviews of this case will be made by the assigned investigator to review any new leads or evidence. Many police officers and detectives have investigated this case since 1993. After completion of the initial investigation, the case was submitted in consideration of filing charges and the Yavapai County Attorney's Office declined prosecution. There is not another charging body or agency that has the authority to bring charges in this case. Charging remains with the Yavapai County Attorney's Office. Reinvestigation into this case have been made during which leads have been tracked down to include interviews and attempts to contact a suspect. During the latest reinvestigation effort, the suspect was not able to be contacted in person or by electronic means. Please Any contact with the suspect by law enforcement at this point must be consensual and the suspect cannot be forced to speak or answer questions should they choose to decline the opportunity for an interview. Attempts to intimidate and harass police personnel involved in this investigation, including sworn, non sworn, legal or clerical personnel, cannot be tolerated. The level of repeated demands, as well as online attacks of police personnel on their private social media pages is inappropriate and could rise to the level of harassment. Requests for material related to this case are in progress through our records department and will be available as soon as possible. We are dealing with old technology and we are working diligently to provide an accurate and complete case file. Lt. Carl walking down this Letter this letter infuriated my family for many reasons and let me tell you from a victim's POV why this letter is so problematic. Paragraph 1 the burden is shifted onto the victim's families or the public to bring forward new, viable information. This ignores law enforcement's duty to investigate cold case proactively using modern tools and resources. Periodic review is vague and unaccountable. Families are left without clarity. How often is periodic? Who decides what criteria determines whether evidence is revisited? Paragraph 2 listing the number of investigators by saying many does not equal quality of investigation. It can actually highlight inconsistency. Cases with frequent turnover often suffer from gaps, lost leads, and poor documentation. The mention that the county attorney declined prosecution feels like an offhand of responsibility rather than the transparency about why prosecution was declined. Was it due to lack of evidence, investigators errors, or political reasons? Families deserve that explanation. Stating that there is not another charging body comes across almost as dismissive, almost scolding, as though the family should stop asking questions. This ignores options like external reviews, cold case units, or the attorney General's involvement. Paragraph 3 this paragraph is essentially an excuse. They're saying, we tried, but he didn't want to talk. For a homicide case, that's outrageous. Of course, a suspect isn't going to consent to incriminating themselves, which is why skilled detectives find other ways to build cases. The tone reads as though they're educating my family on the basics of criminal law, which comes across, as you guessed it, condescending. They are lowering expectations instead of raising commitment. The subtext is our hands are tied. Sorry. Paragraph 4 this one's my favorite. This is the most egregious part. Instead of supporting me, the victim's family member, they are scolding me. It frames the family as the problem, suggesting that grief, persistence and advocacy could be harassment. It betrays a complete lack of trauma, informed communication. Families who fight for justice after decades of inaction should not be threatened with language like this. It reads as hostile, not empathetic. Paragraph 5 It shifts focus away from accountability. Every department has limitations, but homicide files are sacred. They deserve prioritization, not excuses. Their closing is vague. What does as soon as possible mean my family has already been waiting decades. Empty promises only worsen the sense of being stonewalled. Nowhere in this letter is there empathy, compassion, or even acknowledgment that my mother was a real woman whose life was violently taken. The repeated emphasis on why they can't act rather than what they can do shows a lack of will, not just a lack of means. Accusing a victim's family of harassment in writing is completely inappropriate and would never be considered acceptable in trauma informed policing. And no, this is not how every agency communicates. Many departments, even when constrained, frame updates in terms of shared grief and commitment to justice. This letter reads as defensive, bureaucratic and dismissive. The opposite of what my family deserves. This letter wasn't a promise of justice. It was a warning to sit down and stop asking questions. But instead of silencing me, it lit another fire. Shortly after receiving this letter, a TikTok follower put me in contact with a local Fox News reporter. He told me that he'd pitched the story and he'd see where it went. Justin Lum from Fox 10 Phoenix started pressing Sedona PD in the spring of 2022. He tried to get interviews with Sedona PD for weeks. And it was during that time frame my family received a zip drive in the mail for the first time ever. After 29 years, my family and I finally heard the 911 call and all of Russell Peterson's interviews. I will always attribute the delivery of that zip drive to the Fox media pressure. Days later, around Memorial Day, Fox News scheduled interviews with my aunt, my cousin and I. Justin Lum wanted to interview us outside the house in Sedona. So we packed up my van. The trees, the red rocks, the lights, everything looked the same. And yet nothing was. I'm back on the sidewalk outside the scene of my mother's murder 29 years later and nothing has changed. Same windows, same door, same view of my room. My aunt is in tears, telling a Fox reporter what we've said for decades. But the tears on this day were tears of relief because now we have somebody listening to us and reporting the truth to the world. That day was emotional, but in all the best ways, we thought we were one step closer to this nightmare finally being over. Justin lum also interviewed Sergeant Laura Leon. Then he told us this wasn't just one story. It would be a two part special airing several weeks later. On June 11, 2022, we drove back to Phoenix on cloud nine. We just had to wait a few more weeks and the world would know the truth. That night in June 2022, my whole family gathered around the TV like it was Super Bowl Sunday. Except the stakes were our lives. What aired was powerful. He titled it Insufficient. I wanted to attach the whole 15 minute audio. I was advised against it due to copyright infringement. So instead I'm going to read you the written version verbatim. Fox 10 News Justin Lum the Cold Case of Stephanie Wassolichen Part 1 and 2 insufficient. A medical examiner ruled her death a homicide, but the county attorney declined to prosecute the suspect twice. Why was Stephanie Wassolichen's case never been solved? We take a deep look into the unsolved case. I remember her as funny. She liked to kid around a lot. She loved her kids, said Wendy Wassilishin, Stephanie's sister. Wendy has never stopped missing her big sister. It's surreal for her to visit the home where her 32 year old sister lived in 1993. It's pretty hard to take in. I just miss her so much, Wendy said. Surrounded by the lush trees and the red rocks of Sedona, a comfy two bedroom house on Coffee Pot Drive can be found. Stephanie worked as a pastry chef at Pietro's restaurant where her longtime boyfriend was a chef, 31 year old Russell Peterson. Together they raised their family, their 3 year old and the 10 year old Nikki from Stephanie's previous relationship. A time locked away in Nikki's memories. Yet she remembers what transpires on July 9, 1993. She was sitting on the couch and I went up behind her and I wrapped my arms around her and I gave her a hug and a kiss and I told her goodnight. That was around 11pm on July 8, 1993. Just hours later, 911 was called. We obtained the audio. 91 1, what's your emergency? I need help. What kind of help, sir? There has been a very bad accident. Peterson's call to 911 was made at 1:40 in the morning, nearly 30 minutes after an alleged fight. Me and my wife, we were in an argument and she's hurt very bad. Okay. What's wrong with her? She's been shot. She was shot? Who shot her? We were. I don't know. Who? You don't know who shot her? I might have. She might have shot herself. Inside the couple's bedroom, Stephanie laid on the floor lifeless. Mr. Peterson, where does it look like she's been shot? It looks like she's been shot in the neck or the chest. Nikki was asleep when officers arrived minutes later. All I remember was a flashlight and I Was scared and I started screaming, she said. Later that morning, Peterson is interviewed for the first time. Next thing I know there was a pop and she dropped. He said he returned home from work after 11 that night, took a shower and shared a bottle of wine with Stephanie on the couch. The conversation in the living room evolved when Stephanie said she'd been on the phone earlier with Nikki's father, her ex. The mood became confrontational when they discussed Peterson's upcoming trip to New York for a two week culinary trip. She goes into the bedroom and she comes back out, she has the gun in her hand, she cocks it back and she goes, russell, I'm going to shoot you. And I put my hands up and I say, steph, what are we talking about here? Peterson explained to the police the gun was a Ruger Redhawk.44 Magnum revolver. According to the police report, Peterson claimed Stephanie shot at him but missed. Before he followed her into the bedroom for that final shot, an investigator asked him, where was the gun when it went off in relation to you? In here, waist high, head high, in between you. Were you close together or far apart? Peterson responds, no, we were not far apart. We were close together. I can't give you exacts on all that. It all happened so fast. I don't know, I mean, we were there, there was a struggle. Next thing I know there was a pop and she dropped. The interview reveals Peterson didn't call 911 until after deciding where to place the gun. I didn't know what to do and I didn't want to be accused of murder or anything like that. I picked up the gun, I put it in the holster, I put it back in the closet, I put it back down and I said no, that's stupid. It's happened. There's nothing you could do about it at this point. And I set it back there on the ground and you guys came. Peterson explained, Nikki said she had no idea her mom was dead until her sister shouted to her. She kept saying, poppy killed Mommy. Poppy killed Mommy. And she kept repeating it, Nikki said. Police said the three year old admitted that although she saw her mother on the floor, she did not witness the shooting. Who actually pulled the trigger during that heated struggle and what would cause Stephanie to grab a gun she had never used. We had a good and semi bad relationship. As relationship go after the first time, the gun was never grabbed before. Peterson said the investigation goes deeper, then runs into a problem. At times he was referred to as a suspect. In other reports, he was referred to as an investigative lead. Says Sedona Police Sergeant Laura Leon, who is now on the case, looking for new information and hoping to speak to Peterson. Almost 30 years later, the medical examiner who performed Stephanie's autopsy ruled the manner of death a homicide. And that's Dr. Philip Keene with Maricopa county in 1993. Investigators did refer to Peterson as the suspect, submitting the case to Yavapai County Attorney's Office twice. But prosecutors declined to file charges due to insufficient evidence. It's only, of course, Russell's side that we have that makes it so difficult, Leon said. When Stephanie's sister Wendy was asked if she had ever first threatened to kill him and then kill herself with her two kids in the house, she replied no. She loved her kids. She was a perfect mom. She decorated all the time. She spent a lot of time with her girls. So what happened? The million dollar question, Leon said. Did she commit suicide or did Mr. Peterson participate in her dying that night? The medical examiner did make a key observation about Stephanie and the gun residue on her hand. But why did he determine this to be a homicide? What did Sedona PD not have available to provide to the Yavapai County's Attorney's office? My mom would never touch a gun. She's still here. I just feel like my mom's there. She's still there. And it's the only reason I ever want to live in Sedona again. If I could live here, I'd want to buy this house one day. Stephanie's daughter Nikki says, which is totally true. Might be so morbid, right? Weirdos. But it's totally true. For Nikki, nothing matters more than finding out what exactly happened inside their home on July 9. She says that she's certain it was murder. When I have people tell me that it's suicide or an accident or whatever you want to say, I know it's just a blatant lie. My mom would never touch a gun. Her two children were sleeping just feet away. According to the medical examiner's report, the bullet entered through the left side of Stephanie's neck. Dr. Philip Keen told police he was calling the manner of death a homicide after learning Stephanie was right hand dominant. The report shows positive findings of gunshot residue on her left palm, but not her right hand. I don't know what happened. Peterson told police that she shot at him once before a struggle for the gun and the fatal shot. We know simply based on the one sided information that his statement is that she shot at him and that would explain the gunshot residue period. Now, whether the gunshot Residue is present from what he followed up as an answer to what happened. Being that during the struggle when the weapon went off, that there would be additional gunshot residue only makes sense. There's no way for us to separate the first shot from the second shot, if you will. Leon explains. On September 3, 1993, less than two months after the shooting, Peterson met with investigators for his last interview. And this time his story changed. I don't think there was a struggle. The struggle was my own struggle. I wanted to grab her. Why did you shoot at me? Stop the madness. Why did all this happen? You never gave me the chance. I don't know what happened. I may know. It'll come to me. I never. I don't think I ever put my hands on her. Peterson recalled this time the month prior, investigators simulated the shooting with a model of the.44 Magnum revolver. They found a woman of similar size and frame to attempt the same angle of the bullet's entry through the left side of the neck. There was difficulty pulling the trigger with a one handed double action. It finally worked when there was a simulation of a struggle between the two people. The medical examiner also told investigators he believed Stephanie was in a defensive posture when she was shot based on the gunpowder residue on her left palm. We put the evidence together and it's like the evidence is showing us that one. She did not commit suicide. There was no one else present in the room, correct? A detective asked Peterson near the end of the interview. The detective confronted Peterson about his lack of cooperation. I think we've been more than understanding with you. You've canceled appointments with us, We've scheduled appointments with you. Okay? I've tried calling you. You've moved. You've promised me you'd give me your phone number as soon as you got a new one. And then you had a phone and you just couldn't recall it. You never returned that. We've bent over backwards to show that this was an accident for you. The detective told Peterson. A polygraph test or a reenactment with Peterson himself never happened to he did give consent for the search of his house. In December of 1993, Sedona PD learned that the Yavapai county attorney did not see enough sufficient evidence to present to a grand jury. Despite inconsistencies in the suspect stories. A letter from the office said Peterson's confusion over the facts could be a result of trauma or wishful thinking. Stephanie planned to end the relationship claiming abuse. Did alcohol and Taka Peterson's upcoming trip to New York contribute to the alleged fight. There was a lot of antagonism between the two of them with him going money being spent. So that night that could have been a source of conflict with them. Leon said. The original police report reveals Stephanie told her mother more than 50 times that Peterson abused her physically and emotionally. Wendy says her sister planned to leave for good. I think this was the end of the road for that relationship. She said she was thinking about leaving him. My mother offered her her home. Peterson denied the abuse in 1993. I have never in six years raised a hand to her, he claimed. Questions remained unanswered. At exactly what time did Stephanie's life end? Peterson's phone bill showed a call was made to a location in Glendale at 1:36 in the morning, lasting a minute. At 1:40 he called 911. Leon's follow up narrative on the call boils down to her saying, I cannot find any further leads on this case short of a confession from Peterson making an admission. When Wendy was asked if she feels she'll get justice for her sister's death, she's hopeful. I hope so. She says. What does she think is stopping this case from moving forward? She says, I think if they did their job, it's an open and shut case. I really truly do. As for Stephanie's daughter, she's not giving up on getting justice. I'm not going to give up on this anymore. I will fight the system. I will not let this go. My mother did not commit suicide or have an argument and then tried to shoot her boyfriend. That is not what happened. My mother's life was taken from her. Fox 10 has reached out to Peterson just like Sedona PD has, but we have not heard back. We have visited his Phoenix home, but he wasn't there. And he has our information. The Yavapai County Attorney office provided us with a new statement on the case saying, I am in the receipt of your request to speak to the county attorney about the ongoing Stephanie Wassolichen death investigation. It is our position that open, active investigations should generally not be commented on by this office because of our ethical obligations. I understand that is probably not the answer you were looking for, but I hope it helps. When that story aired, I thought momentum would finally force action. My aunt and I immediately drafted a long list of questions and requests for the Sedona pd. Then silence. June slipped into July, then August. No update, no arrest, no urgency. So I changed my strategy again. In August of 2022, I launched a petition demanding a complete homicide investigation and pivoted hard to the true crime community. These are the people who care about victims when local media won't. So if you'd like to sign that petition, I'll make sure that it's in the show Notes I started emailing any podcast with a published email address on their TikTok channel, sending the autopsy, what I had of the case file, and a short bio about my mom. The Mombies, a small show based out of St. Louis, said yes. On September 7, 2022, they released their episode. It has gone on to become their most downloaded show. The rest of 2022 I kept building TikToks, but nothing really broke through. Not yet. January 2023 changed everything. One of my videos finally went viral. Podcast offers started rolling in and I tried something new. Sedona city council on January 13, I wrote to every council member. On January 14, Vice Mayor Holly replied. I begged her to help me facilitate a meeting with the Sedona pd. After some back and forth with what I felt was some miscommunication from the Sedona pd, the vice mayor wrote back and told me that I would have the opportunity to speak to law enforcement again. Where I quickly wrote back and told her that I had never had the opportunity to speak to law enforcement since I was 10. I don't know what the Sedona Police Department told the Vice mayor, but I know that I have never been given a chance to speak to the Sedona police department since 1993. But we scheduled a meeting and it was for January 23rd, my first with Sedona officials since I was 10 years old. The meeting was held at the Sedona Police Department. Before we even sat down, Sergeant Leon warned me that if it got contentious, she was going to end it. Not exactly a warm welcome. We spent hours asking questions and pressing for action. What we got was finger pointing. Sedona PD pointed towards the Yavapai County Attorney's Office and the county attorney back at Sedona pd. A great big circle. I also informed the police of a confession. Russell's next wife, remember? She'll tell me in her kitchen that Russell confesses to some degree to her his crimes. At the time in my 20s, I had no idea what to do with the info. But now I unloaded all of what I remembered because after all, they were looking for leads, right? And evidence. And I was presenting one on a great big golden plate. My lead was labeled hearsay and therefore was never investigated. Another missed opportunity. But one concrete outcome did emerge from this little pow wow with the Sedona PD. In January of 2023, a commitment that investigators would interview my dad in person in Cape Creek. Finally, after 30 years. Yay. He had been on the phone with my mom for hours the night she died while she made plans to leave Russell. He was a crucial witness in 1993, and yet he'd only had a brief phone interview back then. I always knew this was a red flag growing up. And even more so after reading the case file and how many times Russell brings up my dad's name and that phone call. Why the police never properly interviewed my father in 1993 is still a mystery to me. One thing finally shifted. After 30 years. They agreed to put my dad on camera. The man who was on the phone with my mom for hours as she planned to leave Russell. The man Russell couldn't stop mentioning in his interviews. In the next episode, you'll hear my dad's timeline, what my mom told him, and why that call matters. It's the conversation we should have heard in 1993. After that, we'll follow the ripple effects on how the microphone multiplied. What went viral, who stepped forward the message request that stopped me cold, a DNA twist I didn't see coming, and how a closet turned into this studio. But first, calls to action. What I need you to do right now, I need you to call or email the Yavapai County Attorney's Office and ask them to actively review my mother's homicide investigation. I need you to call or email the Sedona Police Department and demand the case be moved from inactive to an active status, the complete file be released to the family, and new leads be pursued. And filing to either call or email the Red Rock News and urge them to cover my mother's case from the family's perspective and proper domestic violence contacts. Contacts are in the show's notes. You be respectful, be firm, but tell them that we're watching. So if you guys stuck with me this long, we are getting to the end of what's going on here. We are currently up to 20, 23. I might have one more episode, perhaps two more episodes till we get up to date. I can't thank all of you enough for listening, sticking with me. And if you are here from morbid. Hey, weirdos, I hope you listened, I hope you liked, and I hope you stick with. Because if this episode moved you, please stay with me. Follow along and amplify on TikTok and Instagram. My links are in the show notes. At the end of the day, letters like that one from the Sedona police department. Show me why silence isn't an option. If I stayed quiet, if my aunt had stayed quiet, my mom's story would still be buried under excuses, bureaucracy, and dismissive language. But media pressure changes things. Visibility changes things. When the spotlight shines, suddenly people start paying attention. It shouldn't take a podcast or national coverage or relentless social media campaigns to get justice for murdered women. But sometimes, sadly, it does. And that's why I keep going. Because every share, every listen, every review, every time you tell somebody about this case, it builds pressure, and pressure moves mountains. Thank you for being a part of that pressure. Thank you for helping me fight for my mom. And thank you for listening.