Naman Shrestha
In a residential neighborhood of Columbia, Missouri, the sudden passing of a 23-year-old college student and model named Jesse James Valencia shocked the entire community to its core. During the investigation, someone from his casual flings was suspected to be involved in the murder until they came across a shocking revelation. NBC’s ‘Dateline: Before Daylight’ delves deep into the murder of Jesse and the intense investigation that ensued.
Jesse James Valencia’s Remains Were Found Outside His Apartment
On February 22, 1981, in Danville, Kentucky, Lupe and Linda Baugh Valencia welcomed a little bundle of joy into their world in the form of Jesse James Wade Valencia. Growing up in a loving and supportive household alongside his parents and two sisters, Maria and Rachel Valencia, Jesse was a confident and talented individual, which allowed him to pursue a career in modeling after graduating from high school. While focusing on his modeling career, he was also mindful of his academics. Besides working at Campus Inn Motel as a night auditor, he also began studying pre-law and journalism at the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri. He was also a member of Doctors Fork Baptist Church.
Having a strong support system in his family and friends helped him to become an openly gay man who embraced his sexuality. During his college years, he went on dates frequently with young men in his college. The young model had loads of dreams and ambitions in life, but all of them were soon shattered. A group of students came across his remains on the morning of June 5, 2004, out in the open near his apartment, between two campus buildings, in Columbia, Missouri. When the authorities arrived at the scene of the crime, they determined that his throat was deeply slashed with a serrated knife, which was the cause of his death. They also noticed strangulation marks around his neck, indicating that the perpetrator had choked him too. Immediately, a homicide investigation was launched.
One of Jesse James Valencia’s Partners Directed the Police’s Attention to the Killer
The investigation of Jesse James Valencia’s murder included looking into his background and finding out possible motives that anyone could have had to kill him. One of Jesse’s acquaintances, Andy Schermerhorn, reached out to the police and claimed that a police officer, whose name he didn’t know, was sexually involved with the 23-year-old model. Considering his claims, the authorities brought him into the station to try to identify the suspect by looking at the department’s yearbook photos. However, when Andy arrived at the station, he spotted Steven Arthur Rios and claimed that he was the one who had sexual relations with Jesse and forced them to have a threesome with him.
Faced with the allegations, Steven denied his involvement in the murder but admitted to having physical relations with Jesse. As per reports, a couple of months prior to Jesse’s murder, he was at a drunken party when Steven was dispatched to break it up. When the drunken model tried to oppose the officer, he was arrested. Steven then reportedly offered to reduce his charge to a ticket in exchange for sexual favors. Jesse agreed, and from the next day onwards, the police officer would allegedly visit the young man’s place to have sex. During one of the visits, Andy was also forced to participate with them. However, Steven didn’t reportedly keep his end of the bargain as Jesse’s charges were still not dropped.
The Killer Had Sexual Relations With Jesse James Valencia
When the day of his court appearance came on June 5, 2004, Jesse demanded that the charges be dropped or else he would report their affair to the police department. The blackmail allegedly broke out into a physical fight between the two. As Steven chased Jesse out of his apartment, the former choked him until he lost consciousness. The police officer then slit the young model’s throat and fled the scene. During the struggle between them, Jesse reportedly pulled out his arm hairs in self-defense, which later helped incriminate the cop. When Andy made the allegations against him, Steven implied that he wanted to take his own life, after which he was kept in an emergency psychiatric institution for his own safety.
Upon further examination of the physical and DNA evidence against him, on July 1, 2004, Steven Rios was arrested and charged with the first-degree murder of Jesse James Valencia. The following year, he stood trial for the same, during which the prosecution focused on the defendant’s motive for killing him. They also revealed that Steven had made deals with other arrested individuals. Meanwhile, the defense argued that Jesse’s personality was unreliable due to the number of casual partners he had. Ultimately, Steven Rios was found guilty of murder in 2005 and sentenced to life in prison. However, a few years later, he was granted a retrial. The new trial of 2008 resulted in him being convicted of second-degree murder and armed criminal action. In the end, he once again received a life imprisonment sentence in addition to a 23-year sentence.
Read More: Steven Rios: Where is Jesse Valencia’s Killer Now?
