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A man driving from Oregon to Wisconsin is found murdered in a Montana landfill.
CASE DETAILS In November 1985, Dexter Stefonek was about to leave his son’s farm near Corbett, Oregon, for a long road trip. Dexter was a 67-year-old widower from Wisconsin. He had come to stay with his son a few months earlier, after his wife, Vivian, died. But according to Dexter’s son, David, as the first anniversary of Vivian’s death approached, Dexter was ready to go back home:
 Dexter Dexter left his son’s home early on Monday, November 18, 1985. He told his son that to save time, he would pull into rest areas when he got tired, instead of looking for motels. On Tuesday morning, local Sheriff Jim George was alerted to a car on fire at the Bad Route rest area in Montana:
The car belonged to Dexter Stefonek. A little over a day had passed since he left Oregon.  Dexter’s body was found in a landfill Sheriff Jim George brought in an arson expert to examine the car. The fire had been set deliberately, using gasoline. Sheriff George also noticed that the driver’s seat was pushed back all the way:
With no other clues, Sheriff George needed witnesses and a timeline. The car was discovered just after 10 a.m. Nearly two hours earlier, Fred Siegle, custodian of the Bad Route rest area, had arrived for work as usual:
About fifteen minutes later, Clyde Mitchell, a highway maintenance supervisor, stopped at the rest area:
 Caption: Have you seen this vehicle? Soon after, Clyde Mitchell left to complete his regular rounds. Fifteen minutes later, Fred Siegle saw Dexter Stefonek’s brown Plymouth Horizon pull in. According to Fred, the driver got out, carrying two large plastic containers:
Fred left the rest stop. Within thirty minutes, Dexter’s car was ablaze. The case went nowhere for nearly four months. Then, local residents Bill and Cindy Shaw made a routine run to a landfill 17 miles from the rest area. Little did Cindy know that she and Bill were stepping into a crime scene:
Bill wasn’t prepared for what he found when he picked up a boot: a man’s foot, partially hidden beneath a mattress. The ID of the body came as no surprise. It was Dexter Stefonek. He had been beaten and shot twice in the head. Lance Silha was the coroner in Dawson County, Montana:
Some of the evidence didn’t quite add up. There was still money in Dexter’s suitcase, making robbery an unlikely motive. Also, Dexter’s clothing was found scattered around the area, but it was in good condition, as if it had just only recently been discarded. But according to the coroner, Dexter’s body seemed to have been in the landfill for months:
One week later, the authorities found a final clue in the men’s room at the Bad Route rest area: a small line of graffiti written in pencil. It began with the words “Hot Jock.” Police have not released the entire message, but believe it may be linked to Dexter Stefonek’s murder. Coroner Silha believed the killer wrote it there for the police to find:
Police have only two clues that might identify Dexter Stefonek’s killer: the description of the suspect’s vehicle and the sketchy description of the suspect himself. The vehicle was a white Chevy 4 x 4 with a wide blue horizontal stripe. It had a white camper shell top and a cattle guard on the front bumper. It also had Arizona plates, with a Phoenix license plate holder. The suspect is middle aged, at least six feet tall, light-complected and clean shaven. He may use the nickname or CB handle, Hot Jock. Watch this case now on Amazon Prime in season one with Robert Stack and season two with Dennis Farina. Also available on YouTube with Dennis Farina. Various seasons available now on Hulu. SUBMIT A TIP |
Bobbert
Wow, great they finally found a suspect. I remember them saying the other vehicle at the rest stop had Arizona plates. Would be interesting to know if events from those close to the suspect put him several states away on the date of the crime. Maybe that’s why they state not enough evidence. It may have been traveling for the Thanksgiving holiday or something. Not sure the motive was gasoline tho, I think the killer just used that as a cover up when he burned the car. I still think more likely dexter saw something he should not have or it was a case of road rage.
Anonymous
I know it sounds like a too much of a coincidence but Charles Gary Sullivan is also, almost definitely responsible for the disappearance of Amy Billig you dont even know how many more people this guy has killed the only problem is this guy doesn’t get too much of attention and he killed a LOT, LOT more and authorities need to check much more from his past and they will get their answer.
Erik
It looks like they may have identified the killer, but, no charges will be applied to the suspect due to lack of evidence. Based on subjective information, I would agree they likely have found their guy.
https://www.rangerreview.com/news/person-of-interest-in-1985-bad-route-rest-area-murder-identified-case-has-been-closed/article_05d3afcc-b6e0-11ee-a184-03b2858d9648.html
Anonymous
There have been some spekulativne that his killer is in Nevada serving life sentence he matches the description and he talked about how he killed him to his cellmates
Dama
On January 19th 2024 a man named Charles Gary Sullivan was named as a “person of interest” in the case. Police feel that he murdered Dexter, but don’t have enough evidence to charge him. He’s serving time in Nevada for a 1979 murder. The case has been officially closed.
Source:
https://www.rangerreview.com/news/person-of-interest-in-1985-bad-route-rest-area-murder-identified-case-has-been-closed/article_05d3afcc-b6e0-11ee-a184-03b2858d9648.html
Anonymous
It’s amazing how i catch more clues everytime I watch the episode. They found a shaving kit out of place at the dump site. I wish they would have saved it for DNA testing. I believe Curtis Holman would of been a match. I kept getting visions of a guy with a red bread. But the witness reported him clean shaven. So I thought he may have grown a bread because of the witness. I was wrong. He regularly had a beard.
Roy
I think that Dexter Stefonek was involved in a homosexual encounter gone wrong. The episode stated that Stefonek would choose to sleep at highway rest stops along the route. Highway rest stops happen to be meeting locations for anonymous gay sexual encounters. It’s possible that Stefonek was involved in homosexual activities and would frequent rest stops along the route from Oregon to Wisconsin. I have a few theories of what may have occurred. Dexter stopped at the Bad Route rest area in Montana in hopes of meeting a stranger for a sexual encounter. Stefonek may have propositioned the man in the blue truck who felt enraged by his request. The stranger then may have killed Stefonek and set his car on fire. Theory number 2 is that Stefonek and the man met and had a sexual encounter. The man then killed Stefonek and set his car on fire out of either shame or guilt of his actions. Either way I feel that this was a gay incident and that Stefonek was having anonymous sexual encounters with men at truck stops and it was a secet he hid from his family for possibly his entire life
Anonymous
I absolutely agree. With robbery not the motive. It likely was a serial killer. And most male serial killers are romanticly violating with their victims.
Karine
2 things that bothered me in this report from UM.
First, in this case as in many others, when a car normaly driven by a woman or shorter man is found, LE always assumed that the car was driven by someone elle if the seat is back. I don’t know about other woman, but I always push my seat back to get ouf of the car. It’s rather un confortable to get out with the seat pulled closer to the dashboard, not much place for the legs and purse and or bag in that position. Anyway, I always find it strange to assume that someone else drove the car based on that.
Second, the guy who saw the man Coming with the gas containers in Dexter’s car didn’t find the situation suspicious the guy is alone in a car, with gas and says that he has no problem, that he just went to pick ou gas because he ran out…how is that possible??? You can’t drive a car who ran out of gas, so it’s obviously not your car, as you can’t drive two car…so you need a second person. But the Guy is alone…isn’t that suspicious??
Anonymous
That is what made the killer really deceptive. It looks like two people where involved. The witness was helpful. I mean everything was real time. In 1984 they didn’t have that many gas stations in Montana. It was a common problem. (Still is.) The worker saw that situation all the time.
Rob
I’ve always found it odd that no-one seemed to question why there was 1 driver who had the 2 cars. As you say there must have been a second driver because what was the lone driver’s plans once he’d filled up the car with the empty gas tank? Was he just going to drive off & leave the car he’d used to get gas in the first place?
Bill Blaski
I come back to Dexter’s case a few times a year to see if there are any updates. Clyde the custodian from the rest stop got the white truck license plate. Why was that truck not tracked down. That was the killer in my opinion? In 1985 there could not have been alot of these vehicles. Can the Montana cold case detectives solve this case?
Anonymous
This case is a very hard one. The most likely suspect is probably someone they thought was dead. But he could still be alive even today. (Curtis Holman.)
Jaime
Someone said that Sheriff George and Clyde Mitchell got away with murder. Why do you say that?
Dick Johnson
August 7, 2020: Today, I watched a re-run of “Unsolved Mysteries” on my hometown Minneapolis television station, and seen this episode. I also am familiar with Dawson county, Montana. With all respect to the victim’s family, the term “Hot Jock” and that phrase written on the men’s bathroom toilet stall, simply appears to be a sexual reference, and/or for seeking a sexual encounter. (I have researched human sexuality since 1968. I know from research, that a male doesn’t necessarily have to be gay, or bi-sexual, to seek a discreet, anonymous, private, quick, same-gender sexual encounter). I hope that the murderer is arrested and convicted.
Bill Blaski
“Hot jock shot wad from Wisconsin 11/85”
Above was wrote in bathroom stall.
Again I ask that The DNA that was found on Dexter be tested. It’s hard for me to believe that DNA can’t find his killer.
Ryan Sellers
It’s unlikely the suspect will ever be found,as a drifter,(i.e. a person who repeatedly drifts or moves aimlessly from state,county or town to another (*ofter times a criminal). In this case,in a (possibility) stolen truck with Arizona plates-and likely a former long haul trucker.
He likely took advantage of your great grandfather’s kindness,motivated by a recurring thirst/criminal appetite,he murdered your great grandfather.
There are criminals walking among us as we speak, “who just wanna watch the world burn.”
J.
I think there is a Arizona connection between the case of the murder of Dexter stefonek and a couple of seperate murders that happened in the late 90s & early 00s off I-17 going towards Prescott. All the people involved were shot either in the head or torso near rest stops. The killer of Dexter stefonek had a, truck with Arizona plates. I can’t help but think these are all committed by the same individual.
Stephen John Ward
Always watch this program, I have for as long as I I can remember
Anonymous
A priest was also lured to a rest area in New Mexico. A witness also reported seeing a blue pickup. The white on the pickup in the Stepanek case seems to blend with the camper shell. Robbery was also not a motive. If any of those cases have LGBT activities, they could have a connection.
Al bundy
There was no hook up and nobody was hitch hiking. It was 20 degrees below zero.
My guess is that the driver of the pickup from Arizona ran out of gas in the rest area parking lot. He probably was sleeping in his truck and had to let it run to stay warm. Maybe he asked Mr. Stefonek for help or was desperate and forced him to help him by car jacking him. He did return to the rest area with gasoline and was driving Mr. Stefonek’s car but without Mr. Stefonek’s. He probably had already killed Mr stefonek and was seen by highyway Dept worker so he put gasoline in his truck and used some of the gasoline to start stefonek’s car on fire to cover his tracks.
Anonymous
It is like looking for Rambo. The killer really knows the woods. And the person that I think did it is known for taking a year off just to live in the woods.
The Ghost of Robert Stack
I watched the UM segment on this case and I have a hard time believing the killer was just sitting there in his truck waiting to kill the next random person who pulled into the rest stop. Did the killer wake up that morning and say to himself, “I think I’ll take a drive to some rest stop and kill the next person I see there”???
Anonymous
I like your alias. Call girls work the rest areas all the time. It is very dangerous. The LGBT also has a community that does that. I’m not a physiological profiler. I don’t know why people do what they do.
Irene
No one has even mentioned that the message may have been not even been related to this case
Rob
I agree. The “Hot Jock” message could very well be a single gay male that used the rest station for a self gratifying act. It is well known that lgbt men use rest areas/rest rooms for random sexual encounters. I never understood why it was connected to the case.
Wes
I’m sure they the cops did this, but since that area seems to be sort of isolated, the cops should question anyone who lives within a 60 miles radius and ask them if they have any friends/relatives/etc who live in Arizona, or who have lived in Arizona sometime in the past. Then base on that, find potential suspects who resemble the description of the man from Arizona
Anonymous
Yes I agree, I believe that I have read that Dexter had family in Arizona also. If so, did they investigate that possibility? Also kind of chilling when I go to a street view map of the Bad Route Rest area and see a more modern day Chevy large suv with cattle guards parked in the parking lot facing southeast (just as one had on the day of this case) when the car camera went buy to show the street view of the rest area about five years ago. Maybe that is just a common vehicle in that area.
Anonymous
To add to my earlier comment, in my opinion the most likely scenario would have been that he walked in on something/ saw something in the rest area that he should not have. I don’t think he was gay, but may have saw something/ may have made a remark or gave a look that made someone upset. I think the watched him/ followed him to his car ( most likely from the restroom). Then attacked him in his car. I think it would be far less likely that his family had anything to do with it. I also find the story of someone running out of gas hard to believe. You normally run out of gas on the shoulder of the highway, not in a rest area parking lot where the truck was. I don’t think it was a local psycopathic person either, as the truck had Az plates I think that is highly unlikely. So in my opinion with all the evidence and hot jock written in the restroom, I think it was most likely activity that the poor old man stumbled Into late at night at the rest area. I think it was someone who traveled thru the area often/ or maybe moved there from AZ. Whoever it was would be Dexter’s age by now and could have already gone to jail for other crimes. Just some food for thought. I feel sorry for his family.
Anonymous
Robert Glenn West, serving two life sentences for 2 murders and robberies in Canada, and suspected of two murders plus an attempted murder and robbery in a rest stop in Blind River, Ontario, fits the description of this murder. Same victimology, physical description, was a cop in toronto and could have written a date like that.
Could be a shot in the dark. But read the stories. There are quite a few similarities.
Anonymous
Robbery was not a motive in the Stepanek homicide. Ronald Glenn West was intelligent enough to change MOs. But just to be straight up, he was more romantically interested in women.
Bobert
This is one of the more interesting cases on unsolved mysteries. I have seen it all my life on re runs if the show most recently last night. There are a lot of possibilities that may have happened. Does anyone know if every one in Dexter’s family were cleared as suspects? I know it’s unlikely, but he could have been taken there to make it look like he was on his way back home (dumped) then his other clothes and stuff brought back later. Looking at the time frame of when he left his sons house this would have put him at bad route rest area in the middle of the night sometime. Maybe he stopped to go to the bathroom and stumbled into something going on in the restroom that he should not have. ( Hence the gay Hot Jock ) theory. Or it could have been similar to what was portrayed, someone hard up out of gas and he was taken victum. Very sad story any way you look at it. I hope they can solve it.
Butch
It is possible Mr. Stefonek planned his own demise.
Chief Wiggum
Yes. I think Dexter killed himself at the dump & then set his car on fire, after going to get petrol.
Chanita
I Think The Reason Why Dexter Was Murdered I Think It’s Because Of This… I Think The Killer Might Have Been Depressed! Umm… That’s So Sad!
Brad
Sherriff George and Clyde Mitchell got away with murder
Mags
Hi.
Im from Canada. There was a guy named Ronald West who is currently serving for murders (1970, Toronto) and robberies (1995, Sault St Marie) just over the border from Upper Michigan/Wisconsin.
Seems unrelated, right?
Heres the thing: he’s also suspected of killing an elderly woman and wounding her husband in a rest stop in Blind River 1991. During his 1970 murders, he was a cop on the toronto police force. The wounded husband described the man as 5’10”, and that he said he was a cop. Husband escaped when some unfortunate soul intervened tracifically being shot.
West was arrested for murders (1970) and robbery but never for the rest stop killings. Serving life sentences.
Ive driven from Wisconsin to Ontario, its an easy cruise. Just thought that these could be related. The rouse is effective, possibly quite effective for the elderly, the distance is not insane, height could match (5’10 vs 6’0), age matches, victimology matches. The way the graffitti was left is strange way to date something but maybe normal for a 70s toronto cop?
Its really a shot in the dark. But who knows.
Chelle
Did anybody think that it could have been Gratias? Maybe he didn’t like the fact that Stefonek proposed to his (Gratias’s) daughter, Amy?
blue bird
what happened ? and whoever this CB Handle OR Hot Jock is that is WRONG Trouble Will BE brought Upon Him That dumb Jerk
Camera
Probably a long shot but was there any kind of surveillance at the rest stop did anyone that was driving by notice the az plate number? I was always told not to stop there and so was my mother never knew why I am praying for his family may they find some peace 🙁
Robert Stack
No. There weren’t any surveillance cameras installed at Montana rest areas in the mid 1980’s. That sort of technology deployment was at least 10 to 15 years away in the future.
rob main
please let me know if there is any updates on this case.thank you robbmain@hotmail.com
Ann
Nice answers in return of this query with solid arguments and telling
everything on the topic of that.
First instance replying. Instantly posted this to my Social Media.
lord rob main
i still think dexter pulled in the rest area and stumbles upon some thing that he should have.meaning someting that he should have.
annonomous
Lets walk thru a few points: 1) it would appear that the suspect with the chevy truck which had Ar. plates could have walked SW on the road which Dexter S. was driving (via the hitch-hiker theory) looking for a victim to rob ,kill, or whatever. IF the killer was the owner of the chevy & he did walk SW to find a victim away from-yet somewhat close to where his truck was stationed, then he would have had to premeditate his plan to hitch-hike for his victim. If the killer is the owner of the Chevy truck from Ar., then he probably frequented the area, in order to know where the dump site was; since it appears he hadn’t asked anyone who was at the rest stop at the time (between 8am-10-am), if there was a dump site near by (this in itself could be a clue to follow up on-did police ever ask nearby residents if anyone had asked such a question months earlier-perhaps someone from Arizona or who had a blue & white chevy truck?). Also,via a 6ft tall man seen getting out of Dexter car carrying 2 plastic container, would also indicate that he walked SW away from his parked truck to find his victim-but perhaps staging his walk on the South side of the road facing East, to look as though he was hitch-hiking in the direction of the rest stop; verses being on the North side of the road walking westward. Dexter pulled over to ask if the man/potential suspect needed help or a ride. Based on the autopsy finds, there’s two possibilities to this scenario & questions to factor in/answer: a) If he staged his crime to be on the S. side & looking to be walking east toward the rest stop, then he would have been on the passenger side of Dexter’s car when Dexter pulled over., Via the head wound; hitting Dexter on the head 1st, perhaps with a gun, means he got in the passenger side of Dexter’s car before doing so. If that hit to the head only dazed Dexter, then he would have had to strangle him next (via the neck wounds) while the car was still stopped at the side of the road-a struggle may have ensued leaving wounds on Dexters hands. The suspect would have had to quickly reach over after striking Dexter in the head, to put the car in park, before strangling him-rendering him temporarily passed out/unconscience. Then perhaps shooting him once? He then puts Dex. in the passenger seat, drives Dex’s car to the rest stop, puts Dex. in his truck, grabs Dex’s luggage (2 plastic containers which the 6 ft mad was seen carrying from Dex’s car) & throws it in the back his truck. Next, the suspect lights Dexter’s car on fire to conceal his prints e.t.c.- then drove to the dump site, shoots Dex once more to be sure he’s dead (or 1st shoots him 2x at the dump to be sure Dex. is dead-hence no shots heard at the rest stop-provided anyone was even at the rest stop when this occured – after Clyde Mitchel & Fred Seagal left the rest stop – Hence no one would have heard any shots). If robbery was a motive, he may have simply taken the $ out of Dex’s wallet & in too much of a hurry to get away from the rest stop-doesn’t check any of Dex’s other belongings. Hence, unaware that his luggage had money in it- e.g. throwing it among the debris at the dump site & again quickly rushes out from the dump site before anyone can see him. 2) In a rush, he forgets some of Dexter’s clothes, that was in one of the plastic containers – laundry or freshly laundered clothes that dumped out of one of the containers.
If he was familiar with the area, the suspect may have returned several times in the months after to watch activity at the crime scenes, & follow the investigation from a distance. Letting the case go cold for a while, he returns months later to dispose of the rest of Dexter’s clothes. This would be clever, because it would confuse investigators & throw off the time line or how events unfolded. He may also have been clever enough to deliberately leave the container with money to throw off the motive of his crime. 3) If it was a closet homosexual encounter, It could mean that the events as I’ve described above, happened, but the motive was anger and/or hatred of Gays when Dex propositions the suspect. But it’s also possible that Dex insulted the suspect when the suspect asked for sexual favors. This would mean that the struggle occured after Dex began driving in the direction of the rest stop. Then the rest of the events unfolded in a similar fashion/order to those indicated above.
I think this better explains motive, as well as what & how this crime unfolded.
In today’s advanced CSI capabilities, You’d think i’d be possible to locate a truck matching the description, once registered in Arizona, perhaps later scrapped or re-registered in another state, by collecting junk yard records that scrapped such a vehicle after the date of the crime, then track vin #’s back to Ar. plates & their owners. Maybe there’s someone who was/is in prison for a similar crime, who had such a vehicle and maybe even spoke to another inmate about such a crime. I also wonder if there are any stolen car reports of such a truck? What about a chop shop, who repainted such a truch soon after the date of this crime?
Poor police work is probably the result of this cold case still being unsolved. I feel bad for Dexters son
Family
This story is about my great-grandpa. He was extremely religious, to the point where even if he was gay he wouldn’t have acted on it. I understand this is a an interesting story to tell to your friends and make fun of stupid people but its been 30 years and my grandpa still won’t talk about his father at all because of how painful this was for him. Please don’t be jerks.
Kelli Wren Crackel
Bless your heart. So sorry for your family’s tragedy. I completely get how awful this must have been and still is for Mr. Stefonek’s relatives. I think it’s all too common for people to forget that these fascinating unsolved mysteries are actually tragedies for the people involved. While slightly insensitive, I don’t think anyone was trying to impune your great grandfather’s memory, It’s just that anonymous gay and straight hookups happen frequently at rest stops nationwide. That being said, simply going by the phrase ‘hot jock’ to decide this situation was a hookup gone wrong is sloppy investigative work. There is no other evidence to back up that theory and, while I personally think there’s nothing wrong with homosexuals, I know if a relative of mine had been murdered, I’d find it rude for strangers to speculate on whether or not that relative was homosexual. I hope they solve this some day just to give your family peace of mind. And I sincerely hope people always remember that as interesting as we may find a mysterious death, these cases were real people with real families who love them.
Tom
It certainly does sound like a hook-up gone bad. I wonder if authorities ever thought to ask the victim’s son if his dad could have possibly been gay.
Anonymous
The victim should not be judged or put on trial. But the killer did prey on gentleman like they were ladies. The gender is not important. The killer was very dangerous.
Garrett
Two theories here: an anonymous gay hookup gone bad or possibly road rage. Because of the remoteness of the landfill and the area in general, I would say the killer is possibly a local. That is a very rural area.
Geoff
I hate the sound weird but am I the only person who thinks that “hot jock” was just a gay dude trying to get laid?
Tyler
No. Because that’s exactly what it is. I knew that the minute I saw it.
HotJock4U
Probably not…the full message (not aired by UM) was:
“HOT JOCK SHOT WAD FROM WISCONSIN 11/85 SATURDAY THE 3rd.”
Dude basically flaunted it. He knew where the remote dump site was, and he went BACK to the same rest stop. I wouldn’t think it would be very hard to run a search of people who lived within 20 or so miles of the rest stop (again, this is in the middle of nowhere, so not a lot of people) and cross reference that with people who lived in AZ/Phoenix area. But hey, what do I know?
Just feel bad for this poor guy who probably just stopped of to urinate and gets shot in the head.
Rob
I agree. Speaking as a “gay dude” I’ve seen messages like the one talked about in this case in public toilets/restrooms as they are popular places for gay/bi/curious guys to hook up while on the road. Let’s be honest, when it comes to sex people tend to exaggerate, so I would bet that who wrote the message was making himself feel like a big man & brag about a sexual encounter.
rob
has this case ever been solved
unsolved
It is still unsolved as of September 2014.