Naman Shrestha
In the episode titled ‘Coached to Kill’ of CBS’ ’48 Hours,’ the primary focus is on the horrific murder of 31-year-old Shea Briar in Jay County, Indiana, in January 2020. As the detectives followed the clues and investigated the crime, they were led to his former fiancée, Esther Jane Stephen. Upon digging deep into her, the investigators discovered that she was motivated by the ongoing custody battle and had orchestrated the entire murder plot with the help of two accomplices. The documentary explores how Esther hatched the plan and executed it, for which she was brought to justice.
Esther Jane Stephen Plotted the Murder of Her Ex-fiancé With Two Friends
Born in September 1990, Esther Jane Stephen was romantically involved with Shea Michael Briar. As the couple got closer, they gave birth to their daughter, Adilyn, in January 2019, and even got engaged. However, their relationship deteriorated, and the two broke up in October 2019. At the time, Esther, who was also known as EJ, was the head coach of the softball team at Fort Recovery High School in Ohio. Following the bitter end to their relationship, Esther allegedly refused to let Shea meet with their daughter, after which the father filed multiple petitions for child support, parenting time rights, and other related rights.
Upset by the custody battle, Esther reportedly got in touch with her assistant coach and best friend, Shelby Hiestand, with whom she discussed ways to get rid of her ex-fiancé. In the couple of months that followed, Esther confided in her friend, Kristi Sibray, and shared her frustration about Shea’s court petitions. She also allegedly told Kristi about her and Shelby’s plan to put pills in Shea’s tea to kill him. When that plan couldn’t come to fruition, in early January 2020, Esther hatched a murder plot with Shelby and another friend, Hannah Knapke. In the early hours of January 12, the three women drove to Shea’s home and convinced him to chill with them for a while.
Hannah drove the car to a remote bridge on County Road 125 West. Esther exited the vehicle with her former lover, and the two began walking away from the car when Shelby shot Shea in the back. A couple of days after the murder, Esther was interviewed by the detectives on January 14. Initially, she denied having any contact with Shea in the past few days. However, as she was pressed for explanations, Esther admitted that she had joked about killing her former lover with her friends. Ultimately, she confessed that she was present when Shelby shot Shea to death. Consequently, she was arrested and charged with murder, alongside her accomplices, Shelby Hiestand and Hannah Knapke.
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Esther Jane Stephen is Currently Incarcerated at an Indiana Prison Facility
More than a year later, Esther Jane Stephen stood trial on March 15, 2021. During the trial, she testified that she and Shelby mixed ten ibuprofen pills into Shea Briar’s iced tea like a chemistry experiment. She claimed that Shelby was possessive of her and wanted to harm Shea. In her defense, Esther told the jury that she only told Shelby about her frustration related to Shea and only jokingly mentioned killing him. Maintaining her innocence, she testified that she didn’t know that her best friend was going to kill Shea. After three days of back-and-forth between the prosecution and defense, the jury deliberated and convicted Esther of murder.
Less than two months later, on May 4, 2021, Esther was sentenced to 55 years in prison, despite the defense’s efforts to convince the judge to impose a minimum 45-year sentence. Not long after, she appealed to have her conviction overturned, challenging the sufficiency of the evidence used to convict her. In her appeal, she also claimed that she deserved a shorter sentence. However, the Indiana Court of Appeals denied the motion and upheld her murder conviction. According to reports, she also filed a petition for post-conviction relief in February 2022. In May 2025, she was denied the request by a Jay Circuit Court judge. As of today, Esther Jane Stephen is serving her sentence at the Rockville Correctional Facility in Rockville, Indiana, with her earliest possible release date scheduled for March 2061.
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