Tonya Stephens, 30 [FOUND DECEASED/EX HUSBAND CHARGED] From Moundville, AL

[Roamer]

http://www.abc3340.com/news/stories/0109/583429.html


http://www.acc-tv.com/images/abc3340/news/missing010709.jpg







Moundville - Moundville Police would like your help in locating a missing woman.

30 year old Tonya Stephens was last seen on 1-4-09. She is 5'6" tall with brown hair and hazel eyes. If you have information regarding Tonya's whereabouts, you are urged to call the Moundville Police Department at 205-371-2218 or your local law enforcement agency.

[sarahhod]

Foul play not suspected in missing woman case
Tuscaloosa News

http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20090113/NEWS/901120260/1007?Title=Foul_play_not_suspected_in_missing_woma n_case

http://i42.tinypic.com/rbcm0h.jpg
The Moundville Police Department is seeking the public’s help in finding a missing person. Tonya Luann Stephens, 30, was last seen at her home Sunday. Her vehicle was left at the home and no one has had contact with her since 6 p.m. Sunday (1/4/09). Stephens is white, about 5 feet 5 inches tall with brown, shoulder-length hair, hazel eyes and eyeglasses. Anyone who sees Stephens or has information on her whereabouts is asked to call the Moundville Police Department at 205-371-2218 or their local law enforcement agency.

By Stephanie Taylor Staff Writer
Published: Tuesday, January 13, 2009 at 3:30 a.m.
Last Modified: Monday, January 12, 2009 at 9:19 p.m.

Police in Moundville say that they have no reason to suspect foul play in the case of a woman reported missing more than a week ago.

Family members last saw Tonya Stephens, 30, about 6 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 4.

Moundville Police Chief Ken Robertson said that investigators are treating Stephens' disappearance as a missing persons case, not a criminal one.

'We're interviewing people and following up on leads, but we have no reason to suspect anything criminal occurred,' he said.

Officers also searched the area around Stephen's home last week, but did not find anything.

The department has received a few calls from people who thought they had seen Stephens. A truck driver passing through Tuscaloosa saw a flier and thought that she looked like a woman he saw at a truck stop in Georgia, Robertson sad.

Another caller thought he saw her at a gas station on Oscar Baxter Drive in Tuscaloosa. In both cases, investigators reviewed surveillance video from the businesses and determined that Stephens was not at either location, he said.

'They were, unfortunately, cases of mistaken identity,' he said.

Friends and family members have been meeting at Moundville Church of the Nazarene before setting out to comb wooded areas for any clues. Volunteers can meet at the church to help search, or donate food and bottled water for the searchers.

Reach Stephanie Taylor at stephanie.taylor@tuscaloosanews.com or 205-722-0210

[Grande]

Search Continues For Missing Moundville Woman
01/12/09 8:34 pm
reporter: Isaiah Harper
producer: Isaiah Harper

Moundville, AL - 30-Year old, Tonya Stephens family are conducting their own search, combing wooded areas near her home. Stephens went missing last Sunday. The strangest thing is she left her car behind, still parked at her Moundville home. Police say tips that have come in have turned up very little clues to Stephen's disappearance. However, they do not suspect foul play. Police did confirm with ABC 33/40 that Stephens' ex-husband told authorities that she told him she was going on a trip, perhaps a vacation of some sort. But, her mother Jody Brooks tells ABC 33/40, "Tonya would not go on no vacation without telling or calling me by now. She talks to me everyday." Police say Stephens' ex-husband is not suspected of anything. Moundville chief, Ken Robertson says, "The events are unusual but we are treating this just as a missing persons case right now until something of a evidentiary natures comes up." Stehphens family have posted flyers and ribbons all around. They say they fear something bad has happened to her. Anyone with information is asked to call Moundville Police.

http://www.abc3340.com/news/stories/0109/584944.html

[Grande]

Tonya Stephens
Moundville, AL
05/21/07

Personal Comments:
http://freemanandco.com/our-patients.php?N=1180472179

[packy]

If I understood the comments right she had a son. Was he in her home when she went missing I wonder. It does seem that she would tell her family or a friend if she was planning a trip IMO.

[Faith]

I pray she is safe!!

[Faith]

Search for Missing Moundville Woman

Reported by: CBS 42 News
Email: web@cbs42.com
Last Update: 1/09 10:02 am




http://wiat.img.cdn.entriq.net/img/dp_thumbs/thumb_1231515718674_0p6872454053765591.jpg



Sunday was the last time Jody Brooks spoke with her daughter Tonya Stephens. Now, Moundville police along with family and friends are searching across multiple counties to find the young woman.

The 30-year-old is described as 5’7”, about 200 pounds and has brownish-blonde hair and hazel eyes.

With help, Tonya's mother has put up flyers across Tuscaloosa, Hale, and even Pickens counties hoping someone will come forward with information.

"I just feel in my heart that she's alive and she's going to be coming home soon. And I'm not going to give up," said Brooks.

Search efforts started up at 8am Friday at the Nazarene Church in Moundville. Anyone with information is asked to contact Moundville police at 371-2218.

http://www.cbs42.com/content/localnews/story/Search-for-Missing-Moundville-Woman/bXC6kCz8OkWtT4CJ5jEliw.cspx

[sarahhod]

Alert Information
Category: Unknown
Status: Active
Case Number: M597889767
Date Issued: 1/12/2009
Comments: Tonya Stephens was last seen on January 4, 2009, at her residence in Moundville Estates. Ms. Stephens has Brown hair with Blonde highlights. She has "Winking Smiley Face" tattoo on left breast and "Smiley Face" tattoo on her right ankle. She has nose piercing on the right nostril with small diamond stud, and wears glasses. Her whereabouts are unknown at this time.
Contact Information
Contact: Moundville Police Department
Phone: (205) 371-2218
Alternate Contact:
Alternate Phone:

Person Information
Status: Missing
Name: Stephens , Tonya
Gender: Female
Race: White
Eye Color: Hazel
Hair Color: Brown
Height: 5'6
Weight: 200 lbs.
Current Age: 30 Year(s)
Age Last Seen:
Location Last Seen: Moundville, Alabama
NCIC Number: M597889767
Comments:


http://i42.tinypic.com/2hd7l1u.jpg
Picture

http://community.dps.alabama.gov/Pages/wfAlertFlyer.aspx?ID=fd9d78e2-97ac-485e-9909-8c28755030ef

[Grande]

Family, friends of missing woman suspect foul play
By Stephanie Taylor Staff Writer
Last Modified: Tuesday, January 13, 2009 at 11:21 p.m.

While police say they don't suspect foul play in the disappearance of a Moundville woman, her friends and family say that there's no other explanation.

Tonya Hyche Stephens, 30, last spoke to her best friend, Melinda Berryhill, on the night of Sunday, Jan. 4.

Berryhill said Stephens was on her way to pick up her son, Gabe, from her ex-husband's house in Gordo, where the boy had stayed for the weekend.

'I was the last person who talked to her, on the phone around 6:45,' said Berryhill, 33. 'She was going to stay with me that night. I started trying to call her at 8 and couldn't get her.'

Berryhill said she drove to the ex-husband's house, but didn't find her there, although her car was parked in front of the house, she said.

'We definitely suspect that something happened,' she said. 'She's never left and not told anybody where she's going. She would not leave her baby.'

The baby is now staying with Stephens' ex-husband.

Stephens was told years ago that she was infertile, Berryhill said, and was thrilled when she became pregnant with Gabe, who turns 2 on Feb. 12. Stephens quit her job working in Moundville's water department to stay home with him when he was born.

Stephens had gone to church in Greensboro with her grandparents earlier that day and visited a friend there, Berryhill said.

Since her disappearance, volunteers have gathered at Moundville Church of the Nazarene before setting out to search different locations in Moundville, Pickens County and Tuscaloosa County.

Searching has been easier now that the water levels of rivers and streams are receding after last week's heavy rains, she said.

Jody Brooks has taken time off from her job with an ambulance service in Selma to look for her daughter. She suspects her daughter is a victim of foul play, but remains optimistic.

'You never give up on your child,' she said. 'None of us is going to stop searching until we find her. We know that God is going to lead us to her.'

Brooks said that many volunteers have taken off work to search for her daughter and even more have sent cards and letters of encouragement.

'I have no words to express how much I appreciate what everyone has done,' she said.

Anyone wishing to donate to the search effort can contact the Bank of Moundville about the Tonya Hyche Stephens fund. The family intends to use the fund for reward money or expenses to provide supplies for the searchers. Mail can be sent to the family at P.O. Box. 200, Moundville, AL, 35474.

Reach Stephanie Taylor at stephanie.taylor@tuscaloosa news.com or 205-722-0210.

http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20090114/NEWS/901130236/1007/NEWS02?Title=Family__friends_of_missing_woman_susp ect_foul_play

[Breezy]

http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20090114/NEWS/901130236/1007/NEWS02?Title=Family__friends_of_missing_woman_susp ect_foul_play
Berryhill said Stephens was on her way to pick up her son, Gabe, from her ex-husband's house in Gordo, where the boy had stayed for the weekend.

'I was the last person who talked to her, on the phone around 6:45,' said Berryhill, 33. 'She was going to stay with me that night. I started trying to call her at 8 and couldn't get her.'

Berryhill said she drove to the ex-husband's house, but didn't find her there, although her car was parked in front of the house, she said.


This link says her car was at her home...
http://www.abc3340.com/news/stories/0109/584944.html



Something definately does not sound right to me.....if fould play is involved, then someone returned her car to her home.

[Emyo]

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewProfile&friendID=86935702

So was her car found at her house or her ex husbands? I think I read it both ways :waitasec:

[Breezy]

Tonya's MySpace:
http://www.myspace.com/luvlylittlelump

[Emyo]

Tonya's MySpace:
http://www.myspace.com/luvlylittlelump


Doesn't look like a mom that would just take a vacation to me :eyebrow1qb:

[Breezy]

OOps, I didn't realize that you had already posted her MySpace link...

[Breezy]

It's showing her last login as 1/12/09

[Breezy]

Her MySpace says she is divorced but shows her family as Todd, Tonya & Gabe on her Pyzam family sticker....

Not sure if Todd is her ex but on his MySpace he talks about his son Gabe...

Todd's MySpace:
http://www.myspace.com/bigt5981

[Emyo]

Her MySpace says she is divorced but shows her family as Todd, Tonya & Gabe on her Pyzam family sticker....

Not sure if Todd is her ex but on his MySpace he talks about his son Gabe...

Todd's MySpace:
http://www.myspace.com/bigt5981

And they are each others #1 friend. Both are in a relationship. The family photo was probably before the divorce. But by the looks of it they get along. This one is tough. She does not look like a woman that would just go AWOL.

moo

[Breezy]

So, according to her friend who talked to her, she was on the way to pick her son up from her ex-husband but the husband says that she told him she was going on a trip/vacation.

The friend says that she saw Tonya's car in front of the ex-husbands home but Tonya was not there......

[Breezy]

I wonder what prompted her friend to start calling her an hour and fifteen minutes after she had talked to her and to go look for her....

[Emyo]

I wonder what prompted her friend to start calling her an hour and fifteen minutes after she had talked to her and to go look for her....


I wonder the same thing. And then the other articles say her car was left at her home in Moundville. Hopefully LE knows more than we do. This mother needs to be found :frown:

[Breezy]

I sent a MySpace message to Brittany and Melinda earlier today. They are still showing as unread. Hopefully one of them will reply back or join us here at HFTM.

[murfee]

http://www.al.com/newsflash/regional/index.ssf?/base/news-40/1232045645192910.xml&storylist=alabamanews

[sarahhod]

Thanks for the update Murfee.

Very sad news that Tonya has been found deceased.

[sarahhod]

Police plan to charge suspect with murder after Moundville woman's body found


http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20090115/NEWS/901150295/1007/NEWS02?Title=Body_of_missing_Moundville_woman_foun d


Published: Thursday, January 15, 2009 at 10:29 a.m.
Last Modified: Thursday, January 15, 2009 at 10:29 a.m.

Police in Moundville said a body discovered last night is that of Tonya Stephens, a Moundville woman who had been missing for nearly two weeks.

“Our investigation has led to the discovery of a body that we believe is Tonya Stephens,” said Moundville Police Chief Ken Robertson. “She has yet to be identified.”

Robertson said police have detained a person in connection with her death and expect to issue an arrest warrant for murder later today. He would not identify the person, who remains in custody in Hale County Jail, but friends and family say the suspect is Stephens' ex-husband, Todd Stephens.

Stephens, 30, had been missing since Jan. 4. Her best friend last spoke to her as Stephens was driving to her ex-husband’s home to pick up their son.

[Roamer]

I've been waiting for this. Just didn't think she was the type to leave her family. My sincere condolences to them all.

R.I.P. Tonya :1222423:

[Breezy]

My thoughts and prayers are with Tonya's family and friends.

[Emyo]

My thoughts and prayers are with Tonya's family and friends.

Mine too Breezy, can't help but pray for that sweet lil man that we
saw in those photos.

:1222423:

[grammybears]

This is so sad. This is becoming the norm instead of not. Why people do these kind of things I will never understand.
My prayers go out to her son, her family and friends.

rip

[packy]

I wonder what prompted her friend to start calling her an hour and fifteen minutes after she had talked to her and to go look for her....


She was expecting her to spend the night I believe it said. So sad.

My condolences to her family.

[Pandabear]

RIP Tonya. I will keep her family in my prayers.

[Faith]

:1222423::1222423::1222423:

[Faith]

Ex-husband charged in Moundville woman's death

Published: Thursday, January 15, 2009 at 10:29 a.m.
Last Modified: Thursday, January 15, 2009 at 10:29 a.m.

The ex-husband of a Moundville woman found dead near Gordo Wednesday night has been charged in her death.

Todd Stephens, 32 from Gordo, was charged with murder at 12:30 p.m. today and is being held in the Hale County Jail, said Jim Ransom, assistant district attorney for the Fourth Judicial Circuit, which includes Hale County.

Investigators believe the body recovered is Tonya Stephens, 30, who was reported missing on Jan. 4.

Moundville Police Chief Ken Robertson said the body was found at 9 p.m. Wednesday night. Neither Robertson nor Ransom would say where she was found or how she had been killed, nor would they say how long they believe she had been dead.

“I can’t get into specifics, we’re still gathering details,” Ransom said.

The mood at Moundville Church of the Nazarene, where search parties had gathered last week to look for Tonya Stephens, was somber this morning. Friends and family members wiped away tears and spoke in hushed tones as they comforted one another and made phone calls to break the news.

“We were hoping and praying for the best,” said Tom Stricklin, Tonya Stephens’ uncle, who lives in Greensboro. “We hope that whatever happened, happened quickly.”

Investigators with the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences will conduct tests to confirm his niece’s identity, he said.

Friends said last week that they last heard from Stephens that Sunday night while she was on her way to pick up the couple’s son, who turns two on Feb. 12.

A friend said that Todd Stephens told her that they had fought, and that Tonya Stephens told her ex-husband she was going on vacation until Jan. 20.

The couple married in July 2000. She filed for divorce in June, and it was made official in August, according to court documents.

Stephens asked a Pickens County judge for a restraining order in April, but had it dismissed in July.

“He keeps making harassing phone calls, and he threatened to take our son if he got him and run,” she wrote in the petition for the restraining order. “He is seeking help due to bipolar disorder and is very mentally unstable. He keeps telling me he is coming down here; also said he wasn’t leaving until he had Gabe.”

She requested that a third party supervise his visits with their son “until he gets the proper mental help and gets on his meds regularly.”

http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20090115/NEWS/901150295/1007/NEWS02?Title=Body_of_missing_Moundville_woman_foun d

[grammybears]

This is so sad. I had been hoping that this would have turned out differently. It is really a scary thought when a person is married to someone who has mental issues. I just hope that this guy and his attorney do not decide to use his mental issues to get away with murder. Does anybody know where the son is? Is he in state custody or does family have him. Poor little guy this is not fair to him at all.

jmoo

[sarahhod]

Father says son confessed to slaying


http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20090116/NEWS/901150210/1007?Title=Father_says_son_confessed_to_slaying


Published: Friday, January 16, 2009 at 3:30 a.m.
Last Modified: Thursday, January 15, 2009 at 11:21 p.m.

MOUNDVILLE | David Stephens didn’t stick around after watching nearly 40 law enforcement officers surround his son and charge him with murder. He had done his part.

David Stephens said that he called police after his son, Todd Stephens, confessed to killing his ex-wife, Tonya, who had been missing since Jan. 4.

“He told me that he did do it — after that I had no choice,” he said. “Right’s right. Wrong’s wrong.”

The ex-military man turned around and returned home as officers led Todd Stephens to the spot just off the property where they found a body, he said.

David Stephens didn’t say whether his son told him how he had killed her. Authorities have said that forensic tests will be performed to determine the cause of death.

Todd Stephens, 32, was held at the Hale County Jail until a murder warrant was issued just after noon on Thursday. Bail had not been set as of Thursday evening.

Moundville Police Chief Ken Robertson said the body was found at 9 p.m. Wednesday.

Investigators with the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences will conduct tests to confirm that the body is Tonya Stephens, said Jim Ransom, Assistant District Attorney for the Fourth Judicial Circuit that includes Hale County. He wouldn’t say how they believe she had been killed or how long they believe she had been dead.

“I can’t get into specifics,” he said. “We’re still gathering details.”

The mood at Moundville Church of the Nazarene was somber Thursday morning.

Friends and family members wiped away tears and spoke in hushed tones as they comforted one another and made phone calls to break the news.

About a dozen yellow ribbons sat on card tables among “missing” fliers with the 30-year-old’s photograph.

“We were hoping and praying for the best,” said Tom Stricklin, Tonya Stephens uncle, who lives in Greensboro. “We hope that whatever happened, happened quickly.”

Friends said last week that they last heard from Tonya Stephens on Jan. 4 while she was on her way to pick up the couple’s son, Gabe, who turns 2 on Feb. 12.

A friend said that Todd Stephens told her that they had fought, and that she was going on a vacation until Jan. 20.

The couple married in July 2000, according to court records. After eight years of marriage, Tonya Stephens filed for a divorce in June, which was made official in August.

Tonya Stephens asked a Pickens County judge for a restraining order in April, but had it dismissed in July, according to the records.

“He keeps making harassing phone calls, and he threatened to take our son if he got him and run,” she wrote in the petition for the restraining order. “He is seeking help due to bipolar disorder and is very mentally unstable. He keeps telling me he is coming down here; also said he wasn’t leaving until he had Gabe.”

She requested that a third party supervise when he had visitation with their son “until he gets the proper mental help and gets on his meds regularly.”

Tonya Stephens graduated from Brookwood High School in 1997. She worked in Moundville’s water department until her son was born in 2007.

[packy]

How sad for the father and the family of Tonya. He did the right thing.

[sarahhod]

Yes, her ex father-in-law is very courageous to do what he did. It must take a lot to turn your own son in but I agree he did the right thing.

For Tonya, her family and friends.:1222423::1222423::1222423:

[grammybears]

How hard that must have been for the father. But the son made his choices and now he needs to pay the price for what he did. I feel so bad for both families. No one was a winner here especially Gabe. He is a little boy that is going to miss his mommy.