Naman Shrestha
Besides the 1982 murder case of Cathleen “Cathy” Krauseneck, CBS’ ’48 Hours: The Brighton Ax Murder’ and NBC’s ‘Dateline: The Bad Man’ also explore the 1991 homicide of Stephanie Kupchynsky. Her disappearance and murder left the entire community shell-shocked, while the investigators tried their best to get to the bottom of the case and apprehend the killer. Decades later, a shocking confession cracked the case wide open and also left lots of unanswered questions at the detectives’ disposal.
Stephanie Kupchynsky Carried Forward Her Parents’ Musical Legacy
Jarema Markian AKA Jerry and Jean Estelle Brown Kupchynsky welcomed Stephanie Joy Kupchynsky into this world on February 17, 1964, in New Brunswick in Middlesex County, New Jersey. While spending her childhood in East Brunswick, she also had the support of her sister, Melanie, alongside the love and warmth of her parents. Post her disappearance, her father married Joan Rear, the mother of Rachel Rear, making her the stepsister of the Kupchynsky sisters. Stephanie was a deeply empathetic, generous, and selfless individual. She was full of kindness and also tended to her mother, who was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. The bright and determined individual graduated from West Virginia University in 1986. Both her parents were revered in the world of music.
A longtime Orchestra Conductor (high school) and Supervisor of Music, her father also served as an active member of the American String Teachers Association, the National String Orchestra Association, the Music Educators Association, and many more. For his contribution to the art, he was rewarded with the Merle J. Isaac Lifetime Achievement Award in 1994. Meanwhile, Jean also had a significant background in music, serving as a music teacher, excelling in organ and piano, as well as the organist and choir director at many churches. Therefore, she developed a passion for the musical arts early on and pursued it by enrolling at New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, for her Master’s degree. Following in her father’s footsteps, Stephanie secured employment as a string music teacher at Martha’s Vineyard Public Schools in 1988.
Stephanie Kupchynsky’s New Beginnings in Rochester Took a Fatal Turn in 1991
Two years later, in 1990, Stephanie left her job in Massachusetts and eventually relocated to Rochester, New York. In the early 1990s, the accomplished violist mentored multiple young musicians at an elementary school music teacher in the Greece Central School District in the state. In May 1991, her personal life took a pleasant turn when she began dating Ken Sullivan, a 33-year-old Ithaca-based violin maker. On July 31, 1991, Stephanie reportedly took the kids of her friends out for ice cream and returned to her apartment. That was the last time anyone had seen the 27-year-old alive.
Three days later, when Ken still hadn’t heard from her and learned that she had not shown up to work, he filed a missing persons report. Upon initial investigation, the authorities found her 1985 red Nissan Sentra parked at Rochester Regional Airport. Her wallet and cars were stuffed in the glove box, while her checkbook was discovered at Lake Ontario State Parkway. Her loved ones grew concerned as it was quite uncharacteristic of her to go anywhere without telling someone. Their nightmares came true when some kids in the town of Murray in Orleans County stumbled upon remains while fishing in a shallow creek bed. The remains were soon identified as belonging to Stephanie. According to medical reports, the cause of death was determined to be strangulation.
Stephanie Kupchynsky’s Alleged Killer Made a Confession
After Stephanie Kupchynsky’s disappearance from her home, the police had a list of potential suspects and persons of interest, including a man named Edward “Ed” Laraby. What made him more suspicious in the eyes of law enforcement was the fact that he had been in prison for sexual abuse, rape, and armed robbery multiple times. At the time, he was working at her Newcastle apartment complex in Rochester as a maintenance worker, after getting released from prison about eight months before Stephanie vanished. However, they didn’t have enough evidence against Ed to obtain an arrest warrant for him. Some time after Stephanie vanished, Ed committed a series of sexual assaults and was sent to prison again.
At some point during his incarceration, Ed also reportedly attempted to strangle a corrections officer who was guarding him. With the case of Stephanie gone cold for more than a couple of decades, the investigators had yet to find anything incriminating against any possible suspects. That was until Ed’s shocking yet chilling confession in 2012. While serving his two life sentences for attempted murder and sexual abuse in a hospice unit of Wende Correctional Facility in Alden, New York, he admitted to going into Stephanie’s apartment, strangling her to death, and disposing of her remains.
Ed Laraby Passed Away Before His Trial Could Begin
Since Ed Laraby was terminally ill and battling Lou Gehrig’s disease, his primary motive behind his confession was to strike a deal with the authorities about getting buried off prison grounds after his inevitable demise. Soon after his confession, Ed was scheduled to be tried, but he refused to plead guilty. He also claimed to have committed other murders and crimes, including the killing of Cathleen “Cathy” Krauseneck. While his confession to Stephanie’s killing consisted of facts that only the killer would know, he was wrong about certain other aspects of the case. Before he could stand trial, Ed met his demise in 2014 and was buried outside the prison grounds.
Read More: James Krauseneck: How Did Cathy Krauseneck’s Husband Die?
