TAMPA, Fla. — As investigators get closer to solving a decades-old Tampa Bay cold case, they say information not yet brought forward could be the missing piece of the puzzle.
In a renewed effort to solicit tips from the community, the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office posted photos of Stephen Edenfield, who was stabbed to death in his apartment at 41 years old in 1997. The agency specifically pointed out a solid gold identification bracelet, which they say his killer stole after the murder.
Edenfield's brother, his last surviving relative, told detectives their mother had the bracelets custom-made for each sibling. It features a double chain on each side, a double clasp underneath and a plate with Stephen's name engraved on it.
While advances in technology have allowed investigators to do more testing of the evidence collected at the scene that's been sitting in boxes, they're looking to identify people who can help paint a better picture of what happened to Edenfield on the night of Feb. 1, 1997.
The investigation begins
Edenfield's brother, James, discovered his body the day after officials believed he was killed. James told investigators that Stephen was supposed to go over to their mother's apartment, which was in the same complex at the Tampa Racquet Club Condos, to help take care of her while his brother and sister were at work.
James said their mom called him on the morning of Feb. 2 to tell him that Stephen never showed up. He tried calling Stephen over and over, but never got a response. Investigators said Stephen often filled in for his siblings to care for their mother when needed, so the lack of response was unusual. That prompted James to go over to Stephen's apartment himself to reach him.
When James got to the apartment, he told detectives the door was unlocked. Once inside, he said the TV stereo was on at a loud volume and he noticed some furniture had been broken. When he went into Stephen's bedroom there were no lights on and the curtains were drawn, making it hard to see in the dark. He said he saw Stephen in his bed and tried to wake him, but realized as his eyes adjusted that there was blood in different places throughout the room.
That's when James went to the apartment complex's office. He said he was so shaken that he had to ask the superintendent to call 911.
What we know
Once officials began interviewing those who knew Stephen, they quickly realized they would have trouble tracking down people he may have been with the night he died.
In an episode of the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office's cold case podcast, Unfinished Business, Special Investigator Joseph Dominick said most of that difficulty was because, as a gay man in the 90s, Stephen kept his dating life very private, even from his family.
Though the details of what happened that night are what investigators want the public to help them figure out, they were able to piece together what Stephen did during the day on Feb. 1.
Detectives interviewed one of Stephen's friends whom he had breakfast with that morning. This person told them Stephen mentioned he was dating someone called "Carlos," who he may have been seeing in the past. Investigators tried tracking down who "Carlos" could be but never were able to identify a specific person.
Later that day, Stephen had dinner with his mother, brother and sister at his mom's apartment unit. After finishing up, he told them he was going out for drinks and would be back to take care of his mom in the morning, according to the investigation.
Dominick said detectives were able to find the bar Stephen went to that night, but the bartender who was working told them Stephen arrived and left alone.
Officials determined Stephen came back to his apartment around midnight based on testimony from the complex's security guard, who told them he let Stephen through the front gates because he didn't have his remote to do it himself. During this interaction, Stephen told the security guard that a dark sedan following behind him could be let through as well.
The next event on the investigators' timeline was about an hour later. As detectives talked to neighbors, they discovered that there was the sound of fighting and furniture breaking around 1 a.m. coming from Stephen's apartment before suddenly going silent.
Then, at 2 a.m., as the security guard was doing his rounds through the complex, he told investigators he saw a person's silhouette ducked behind a railing near Stephen's apartment. Soon after, he saw a dark sedan leave the complex.
"I think the timeline fits," Dominick said. "Between the time he goes in [to the apartment complex], it's 10 to 12 [at night]. One in the morning, Miss Corbett hears a struggle or fighting upstairs, and by 1:50 [a.m.], there's a person described as a male that gets into the same car that followed Edenfield in earlier. So yes, I believe that person is definitely involved in this."
Why detectives want to hear from you
Dominick said that investigators are a lot closer to solving this case than they were even two years ago thanks to new technological advances.
However, it's what the technology can't do, that the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office is asking the public for help with – finding witnesses.
"Who knows? I mean, it's 22 years later. I don't know if [the bracelet] still exists or not, but that's something that, even if somebody saw that bracelet, I mean, you could definitely tell it's a custom-made bracelet and it says the name 'Stephen' on it. So I think that's very important," Dominick said.
The agency also shared photos of Stephen with some friends who were never identified or interviewed during the investigation, hoping that someone may recognize them.
People are asked to call the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office at 813-247-8200 with any information about the case.
