Rittman woman to be retried in pizza delivery murder case in Summit County court
In a recorded conversation played during her first murder trial, a Rittman woman talked about the role she played in the 2012 slaying of a Jackson Township woman — and her concern that she would be held accountable.
“Every time I hear a siren, I think, ‘They’re coming for me,’” Erica Stefanko said in the conversation with Cindee Cobb, the mother of Chad Cobb, who is serving a life sentence for Ashley Biggs’ murder.
Stafanko is accused of making a bogus pizza-delivery call that lured Biggs to where she was killed.
Whether Stefanko will remain behind bars for the role she is accused of playing in Biggs’ slaying will be decided in Stefanko’s second trial that starts Tuesday.
Stefanko, 41, was convicted of aggravated murder and murder in November 2020 in a highly publicized trial in Summit County Common Pleas Court that occurred when few trials were proceeding because of the COVID-19 pandemic. She was sentenced to life in prison with possible parole after 30 years.
Her conviction was overturned in July 2022 when an appellate court ruled that Chad Cobb shouldn’t have been permitted to testify via video from prison because of pandemic health concerns.
Stefanko’s second trial began with jury selection Tuesday. On Wednesday afternoon, jurors will visit several pertinent places, including the back of the New Franklin business where Biggs was killed and the Wayne County field where her body was found. Opening statements are expected to be Thursday morning, with the trial anticipated to last up to three weeks.
Stefanko will be retried only on the charges she was convicted of — aggravated murder and murder.
Stefanko, who had been incarcerated at Ohio Reformatory for Women in Marysville, is being held at the Summit County Jail so she can confer with the new attorneys handling her retrial.
“She’s nervous because she’s been through this once and it didn’t turn out the way she wanted,” said Jeff Laybourne, who is now representing Stefanko with attorney Angie Kille. “I think she’s optimistic that we’re going to be able to put our best foot forward.”
Summit County prosecutors, who typically don’t discuss pending cases, declined to comment on Stefanko’s second trial.
Stefanko is arrested years after Biggs’ slaying
Stefanko was arrested in 2019 in the June 2012 slaying of Biggs, the ex-girlfriend of Chad Cobb, Stefanko’s husband at the time of the murder.
Detectives said new information had come to light about Stefanko’s involvement, including making a fake pizza order call that drew Biggs, 25, a Domino’s delivery driver, to the New Franklin business where she was killed.
Biggs was shocked with a stun gun, beaten and strangled with a zip tie.
At the time of the slaying, Cobb and Biggs, the mother of Cobb’s then-7-year-old daughter, were in a heated custody dispute.
Cobb, now 41, pleaded guilty to aggravated murder and several other charges in February 2013 in an agreement that prevented him from facing the death penalty. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Cobb lost an appeal of his conviction and a request to withdraw his guilty plea. He claimed his attorneys were ineffective and said he was under duress when he pleaded guilty. He said he was concerned that, if he didn’t plea, his children would be taken and placed up for adoption, according to a motion Cobb filed.
Judge Jennifer Towell, who was elected in November 2022 to take over former Judge Amy Corrigall Jones’ seat, denied Cobb’s request. She said the trial court lacked jurisdiction because Cobb lost his appeal, according to court records.
Stefanko’s first trial was during pandemic when few were proceeding
Stefanko’s first trial, which was broadcast on Court TV, happened at a time when few trials were proceeding because of the pandemic.
Stefanko, her attorneys and prosecutors wore masks and plastic partitions divided the courtroom.
Three people were permitted to testify via video, including Chad Cobb, who is incarcerated at Richland Correctional Institution.
Kerry O’Brien, one of Stefanko’s attorneys in her first trial, objected to remote testimony and, in particular, to Cobb not appearing in person.
Cobb attempted during his testimony to shift blame for Biggs’ slaying from himself to Stefanko.
Defense attorneys claimed Cobb was trying to curry favor among police and prosecutors with the hope of getting out of prison.
Cobb said Stefanko ordered the pizza that lured Biggs to a closed New Franklin business and followed him in Biggs’ car to a Wayne County cornfield near Cobbs’ parents’ home where they left her body. He said Stefanko, again with their children in their vehicle, returned to the business where Biggs was killed to clean up the crime scene, but police had already arrived.
Cobb and Biggs’ daughter, who was by then 15, testified that she overheard Stefanko order a pizza on the night of Biggs’ slaying.
Cindee Cobb, Chad’s mother, testified about a secret recording she made of Stefanko in March 2014 that she provided to police in 2018.
“If everything had been told exactly as it happened, we both would be in prison right now,” Stefanko said in the nearly three-hour conversation.
Jurors deliberated for more than 14 hours over three days before returning with a verdict that found Stefanko guilty of one type of aggravated murder and murder. They acquitted her of another type of aggravated murder and murder and numerous other charges.
In an emotional sentencing in which family members of Stefanko, Cobb and Biggs spoke, Jones sentenced Stefanko to life in prison with possible parole after 30 years. The maximum she faced was life without parole.
“Your reign of terror has come to an end,” Cindee Cobb told Stefanko.
Stefanko pleaded with Jones for leniency.
“I would like to be back with my family someday,” she said, her voice catching.
Stefanko's conviction is overturned
Stefanko appealed based on several errors she claimed were made during her trial, including allegations that the COVID-19 procedures used by the trial court violated her rights to a fair trial, due process and to confront witnesses as guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution.
The 9th District Court of Appeals overturned Stefanko’s conviction in July 2022, zeroing in on Chad Cobb’s remote testimony.
Lynne Callahan, a former Summit County Common Pleas judge, said in the ruling that there was no suggestion in Stefanko’s trial that Cobb was at an increased risk of COVID-19 or that he was experiencing symptoms that would put others in jeopardy. She noted that Stefanko’s speedy trial rights weren’t an issue.
Callahan said Cobb’s testimony was a key part of the trial.
Judge rejects defense request for a lower bond
After the appellate decision, Stefanko’s newly appointed attorneys requested that her bond be lowered while she awaited a new trial.
Laybourne argued in a hearing in October 2022 that Stefanko lacked the means or motivation to skip town.
“She intends to go to trial again,” he said. “She wants to clear her name. She’s anxious to do so.”
However, Assistant Summit County Prosecutor Felicia Easter said Stefanko had more reason to run after her conviction.
“The defendant is more of a flight risk now,” she said.
Judge Joy Malek Oldfield, then the court’s administrative judge, opted to continue Stefanko’s bond at $200,000.
Attorneys sought to suppress statements in new trial
Many of the same people are scheduled to testify in Stefanko’s second trial, which is expected to again be shown on Court TV.
That includes Chad Cobb — who will appear in person — Cobb and Bigg’s daughter and Cindee Cobb, Chad’s mother.
However, defense attorneys sought to suppress oral and written statements made by Chad and Cindee Cobb that they claimed were hearsay. This includes Cindee Cobb’s recording of Stefanko.
The attorneys also claimed any statements between Chad Cobb and Stefanko should be protected by spousal privilege because they were married at the time.
Easter and Brian LoPrinzi, the same prosecutors who handled Stefanko’s first trial, said statements by Chad Cobb about Stefanko’s bogus pizza order aren’t privileged because they were made in front of Cobb and Bigg’s daughter. They said statements Stefanko made to Cindee Cobb also weren’t hearsay because they were made about Stefanko by Stefanko, according to court records.
Towell ruled Tuesday that the statements would be permitted, as long as they fall under an exception to the hearsay rules, such as a third party being present.
That means Cindee Cobb's recording will be admissible, as will Chad Cobb's testimony about the overheard bogus pizza delivery call.
Laybourne said a decision hasn’t been made on whether Stefanko, who didn’t testify in her first trial, will take the stand in her retrial. He said the defense may call Mike Stefanko, who is Erica’s husband and Cobb’s former best friend, and Joelle Hendrick, Erica’s mother.
Hendrick spoke during Stefanko’s sentencing, saying her daughter wasn’t the monster others have made her out to be.
“She does not have a violent bone in her body,” Hendrick said.
Stefanko, who showed little reaction to the sentence she received, made a heart sign to her family and lowered her mask to say “I love you” to her mother.
Stephanie Warsmith can be reached at swarsmith@thebeaconjournal.com, 330-996-3705 and on Twitter: @swarsmithabj.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Erica Stefanko to be retried in pizza delivery murder case
