Accused Kansas City killer had protective order issued against him in the Fresno region
A Northern California man whose recent arrest helped solve a 1998 cold case murder in Kansas City spent some time in the central San Joaquin Valley, where he also caught the attention of law enforcement.
Timothy Stephenson, 48, of Contra Costa County was recently extradited to Benton County, Missouri, where he is accused of killing 26-year-old Randy Oliphant after the two met at a Kansas City bar 24 years ago.
Stephenson is charged with second-degree murder and has pleaded not guilty. He was released last week on a $250,000 bond, placed on house arrest, and is staying with a family member in Benton County until his preliminary hearing, scheduled for August, according to the Kansas City Star.
More than a decade after he was accused of killing Oliphant, Stephenson was in the San Joaquin Valley.
Court records show that a woman in Kings County was granted a restraining order against Stephenson in 2010. And in 2014 Stephenson attempted to file a restraining order against a different woman in Fresno County.
Stephenson got married to a doctor named Joseph Ginejko in 2008. A photograph captured by the Associated Press during a 2013 Gay Pride rally in San Francisco shows the couple looking happy with their twin baby girls, now 9 years old.
It was Ginejko who Stephenson allegedly revealed that he had shot and killed Oliphant and disposed of his body, The Kansas City Star reported.
He said he later “remodeled the bathroom in an attempt to conceal the crime scene and evidence of the homicide.” Ginejko tried to research Oliphant’s death but found little online, according to the probable cause statement. Ginejko initiated a divorce from Stephenson in January 2020; the matter is still pending in Contra Costa County Superior Court.
Ginejko also sought a restraining order against Stephenson related to alleged domestic violence, according to the Kansas City Star.
This story was originally published May 17, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
