They Bragged About The Video They Had Filmed About It To All Their Classmates
On September 9th, 2022, construction workers were putting up a fence near a medical complex in Wasau. Just a few yards away from a golf course. They noticed a strong smell. In the tall grass, they found the remains of a woman. Because of the condition of the body, investigators couldn’t determine exactly how she had died.
There was no obvious cause of death and no visible signs of a struggle. The only things found nearby were a vape device and a scalpel that showed no signs of being used. The woman was identified as 44year-old Stephanie Pavlons. No one had reported her missing. No one was looking for her. The last time Stephanie was seen alive was on August 23rd.
That morning, she left her apartment with her boyfriend, Matthew Paul. Surveillance cameras captured them driving to an orthopedic clinic. Stephanie never went inside the building. About an hour later, the cameras picked up Matthew again, but this time he was alone. He returned to the apartment holding Stephanie’s pink water bottle.
And then he carried her black bag back inside. And for the first time in a long time, he didn’t hold the door open for her. Almost like he already knew she wasn’t coming back this time. But the most disturbing part came later because while police still hadn’t even found Stephanie’s body, Matthew Paul was already searching Google for her obituary.
Hey guys, let me grab you for just a second. I’m really curious where my audience is watching from. So, I’d love for you to drop a comment and tell me what city you’re in and what time it is for you right now. Thanks for taking a moment. Go ahead and share that in the comments. And now, let’s keep going. In September of 2022, the remains of 44year-old Stephanie Pavlons were discovered by construction workers in a wooded area near a large medical center in Wasau, Wisconsin.
Her body had gone unnoticed there for weeks. By the time she was found, investigators could no longer determine exactly how Stephanie had died. Detectives could only speculate about how she ended up there, hidden in plain sight out in the open. Still, they strongly suspected foul play. Piece by piece, investigators began putting Stephanie’s story together, and the picture that slowly emerged became a story filled with secrets, deception, and murder.
On September 9th, 2022, three construction workers in Wasau, Wisconsin were installing fencing around a vacant lot on G Road. Uh, the area was overgrown in places and bordered a small wooded section tucked between a large medical building and a golf course. As the workers walked toward the treeine to put up no trespassing signs, they were suddenly hit with a strong and disturbing smell.
- What’s the address of the emergency? Uh, it’s the Orthopedic Hospital of Wisconsin on Gulf Road. Okay. Is that the Orthopedic Associates of Wisconsin? Yep. It’s behind it. It’s in the vacant lot next to it. And tell me exactly what happened. Uh, we found a dead body in the woods when we were putting up uh putting up stakes for no trespassing sign.
We smelled something and then saw there’s a dead guy back there. He’s for a long time. So, he ain’t coming back from it. So, okay. In the tall grass near the treeine lay the remains of an adult woman who had clearly been dead for quite some time. Later, she was identified as 44year-old Stephanie Pavlons.
Investigators couldn’t determine exactly how long her body had been in the woods, but based on the level of decomposition, they believed she had been there for at least several weeks. Stephanie had never been reported missing. Stephanie was not married. She was the mother of a daughter, 19-year-old Isla, whose calls, texts, and voice messages to her mother had gone unanswered since late August.
Stephanie also stayed in fairly regular contact with her parents, especially her mother, Georanne. And over the previous 5 years, she had periodically lived at their home in Deloffield. It wasn’t until September 12th, 3 days after the body was discovered, that Stephanie’s parents were informed of her death.
During the previous 2 weeks, Georanne had continued sending messages to her daughter. Stephanie not responding felt unusual, but it didn’t immediately raise serious concern. According to Georgianne, her daughter was a very private person who handled her life on her own terms. There was no obvious trail leading to Stephanie’s body in the woods, although investigators did notice signs that people had been in the area before, mostly empty alcohol cans and scattered trash.
Within about 15 ft of the body, detectives found two important items, a vape device and a scalpel. The vape belonged to Stephanie. She had been trying to quit smoking. The scalpel showed no signs of use. No other personal belongings were found on or near the body. Stephanie was wearing dark jeans, white sneakers, and a loose black long-sleeve shirt.
The medical examiner who performed the autopsy faced major challenges because of the condition of the remains. Due to the advanced decomposition, it was impossible to determine either the cause or the manner of death. Toxicology testing was performed, but that process was also limited because there was not enough tissue available for a complete analysis.
The results showed traces of several prescription medications in Stephanie’s system. Stephanie had been taking medication for seizures. She had also been prescribed oxycodone for neck pain following a car accident. In addition, she was taking Xanax for anxiety. Whether Stephanie’s death was natural, related to a medical condition caused by medication, or the result of a crime was something the autopsy simply could not answer.
When investigators notified Stephanie’s parents about her death on September 12th, they learned that she had not been living full-time at their home during the previous few months. Instead, Stephanie had been staying with her on again, off-again boyfriend, 55-year-old Matthew Paul. Matthew lived in an apartment at the Willow Park Apartments complex on Deloffield Street in Wasau.
He was also the father of Stephanie’s adult daughter. And despite their complicated relationship, the two had remained connected for more than 20 years. Interestingly, Matthew had never reported Stephanie missing either. Instead of speaking with Matthew immediately, detectives first contacted the management at Willow Park and requested surveillance footage covering the previous several weeks.
They hoped to track Stephanie’s movements and build a timeline leading up to her death. Matthew, who was slowly recovering from a broken leg, appeared on the cameras throughout late August, limping as he exited through the north entrance of the building. He regularly came in from the parking lot side and stopped to hold the door open behind him.
Detectives quickly realized why he kept doing that. Stephanie was usually walking right behind him, and she clearly didn’t have her own key. The two often entered and left the apartment separately, although usually only a few minutes apart. Under the terms of Matthew’s lease, he was not allowed to have another person living there.
But the surveillance footage made one thing obvious. Stephanie had been living with him. The last day Stephanie was seen on the Willow Park cameras was August 23rd, 17 days before her body was found in the woods. At 8:39 that morning, she walked out the north side of the building wearing the same jeans, sneakers, and oversized shirt she would later be found in.
She was also carrying a black purse with a chain strap and a large pink water bottle. At 8:40, Matthew appeared on camera, leaving through the side entrance carrying a plastic bag. Investigators couldn’t clearly tell what was inside. Footage from Matthew’s dash cam captured only a few seconds from that morning, showing him driving around the apartment building to pick Stephanie up.
Um, the couple then drove to a quick trip on Grand View where Stephanie went inside to buy breakfast for both of them. Matthew stayed in the vehicle while she shopped. At one point, Stephanie briefly stepped out of the car to throw away some trash. That was the last time surveillance cameras captured her alive. Around 910 that morning, the couple finished breakfast and got back on the road.
Their destination was Orthopedic Associates of Wisconsin, known as OAW, where Matthew had an appointment related to his leg injury. By 9:34, Matthew was sitting in the clinic waiting room. He even took a photo of himself there and sent it to a friend. 4 minutes later, he was called in to see the doctor. Stephanie never entered the building.
She was not with Matthew during the appointment. Investigators believe she most likely stayed behind in the vehicle waiting for him. Cell phone data from both Matthew and Stephanie showed that their phones were in the area of the OAW building starting around 9:20 that morning. Connections to nearby cell towers suggested that both phones remain together in or near that same area.
Matthew’s appointment ended at 10:33. At 10:52, both phones moved east toward the wooded area. That leaves roughly a 20-minute window during which the couple was most likely somewhere together on the property before both devices later appeared heading back toward the Willow Park apartments. When detectives reviewed the surveillance footage from later that day, they found video of Matthew returning, but not Stephanie.
17 days later, she was found dead in the woods east of OW. Matthew was brought in for questioning on September 17th. While he answered questions, a team of investigators searched both his truck and his apartment. By that point, it had already been 5 days since Georgianne and Rich Pavlons were informed about their daughter’s death.
No one else had been told. There had been no press release confirming that the body found in the woods belonged to Stephanie. The Pavlons had not shared the news with Matthew either. They had never been close with him. Throughout the entire interview, detectives in Wasa never once told Matthew that the mother of his only child was dead.
We have some real basic questions and you can answer whatever questions you choose to. If you don’t want to answer a question, don’t answer it. I Yeah, but I’m not. Do you have any Are you curious at all about why we want to talk to you? Well, of course I am. Something that happened yesterday.
I mean, I went right over by but please. I mean, nobody I’m not we’re not here about anything yesterday. Okay, let’s talk about Stephanie. What is she to you? Oh my god. Stephanie is the mother of my daughter. You guys already know that. Yeah. Did you guys have a current relationship? Uh we’ve we’ve always had some type of relationship with helping helping each other.
So um when Matthew was asked to talk about Stephanie, he explained that she had been helping take care of him lately because his foot and ankle injury made it difficult for him to get around. But he also said that he had been helping her too. According to Matthew, Stephanie was constantly battling what he described as demons in her head.
And he added that the side effects of some of her medications could create a dangerous combination. Do you know where she is? Do you know like where when’s the last time you saw her? No. You don’t know where she is? Do you remember the last time you saw her? No. Weeks ago. Weeks ago. And I’m sick to my stomach.
Why is that? Because I have a bad feeling. What? Walk me through the the lesson. When you said you saw her a few weeks ago, where were you guys? I I can’t recall the exact time that I saw her. She um Do you want to go to that or do you want to stick on the anti-depressants? Uh, and the few times I I had to go to the hospital with her because she was in such poor condition.
We’ll come back to that. According to Matthew, Stephanie had previously overdosed on prescription medications. He also said she struggled with depression, even though he still claimed he couldn’t remember the last time he had actually seen Stephanie. Matthew was able to tell detectives about past occasions when she would suddenly disappear for long periods of time without giving him any explanation.
Eventually, investigators managed to steer the conversation back to the last confirmed time Stephanie was seen alive the morning of August 23rd when she rode with Matthew to the OA building. You you went with her to an appointment at orthopedics. You guys You guys know something telling me. No, we’re trying to figure out where she is or who left her.
So, I guess you just told me you said you guys went to orthopedics to get there. Yeah. Oh, we I’ve been going to orthopedics since Right. This is the day after May, right? This is the day after, though. You guys went mattress. I can’t I can’t recall the exact dates, but she she went there with me a few times. Okay. This would be the last time that you would have seen her though in the last few weeks.
You said this will be the this one would be kind of I would I would you know if you’re thinking back this you haven’t seen her since this day and you said you guys went there. I believe so you went into your appointment. So this the last time you would have seen her it sounds like. Okay. Do you did she come in the building with you? Do you remember? No.
She stayed in the truck. Yeah. I got in your truck. You finished your appointment? Yeah. Come out your truck. 101. She’s gone. She’s not in the truck anymore. She’s gone. Yeah. Did she have the keys or No, you remember? Oh, no. No. I had keys. Matthew told investigators that when he returned to the car and realized Stephanie was gone, he started driving around the area searching for her.
He said he couldn’t call her because according to him, he already knew she had left her phone behind at the apartment. While Matthew continued talking with detectives, officers searched his apartment. Inside they found two items that immediately raised serious suspicion. The first was the large pink water bottle Stephanie had been carrying on the morning of August 23rd, the last time she was ever seen leaving the building alive.
Now, that same bottle was sitting on the floor inside Matthew’s apartment. The second item was Stephanie’s black purse, the one she had been carrying in the days leading up to her disappearance, including the final day she was seen alive. Detectives found the bag hidden inside a bedroom dresser. Matthew claimed he first became concerned about Stephanie when he discovered her purse in the backseat of his pickup truck.
According to him, he found it more than a week after the last time he had seen Stephanie while cleaning out his vehicle at a car wash. When I really got worried and didn’t understand what was going on is she put her purse in the back of my truck. Okay. In the back seat. Uh I didn’t I didn’t notice that the purse was in the back seat until I went to the car wash about a week ago.
Yeah. And um I took out my car mats and I started cleaning everything and lo and behold, I see it first. And then that’s when I was like thinking, well, this is strange. Um surveillance footage from a car wash on September 6th does show Matthew Paul cleaning out his pickup truck, but the video never shows him pulling out a purse, cleaning floor mats, or reacting as if he had just made some alarming or unexpected discovery.
Of course, detectives in Wasau already knew that because they also knew Matthew had not found Stephanie’s purse a week later. In reality, he had brought it back into his apartment on the afternoon of August 23rd, only a few hours after leaving the OA building. At around 11:10 that morning, Matthew entered through the north doors carrying Stephanie’s pink water bottle tucked under his arm.
What stood out to investigators was that for the first time in many days, he did not stop to hold the door open for Stephanie. He simply walked inside and let the door close and lock behind him, almost as if he already knew she would not be coming back this time. About an hour later, surveillance cameras captured him leaving the building again.
And when Matthew returned a few minutes later, he was carrying a plastic bag. Detectives believe Stephanie’s black purse was inside it. Okay, this is where we need to to figure out something because it doesn’t make any sense. All right, that’s you coming back the same day at 11:14. Okay, hold on.
Listen, Matt, you’re you’re holding her water bottle and Matt the same day. And at 12:29, so less than an hour later, you walk in and that’s her cursing her in the bag. Okay. So, this whole story, Matt, about that’s her purse in the bag. Yes, ma’am. So, the whole story about finding the purse in the truck later makes it it wouldn’t have happened.
Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no. Matt, that’s her purse in a plastic bag. Okay. That you carried inside after you carried her water bottle. She walked. Matt, look. You see that’s her water bottle and that’s her purse. Okay. You walk in with her water bottle. You go. What kind is this? Oh, when you got home, Matt.
Yeah, that’s where I came. That’s when I came back from my appointment. Right. Matthew claimed that two of Stephanie’s bags had been left behind in his pickup truck, the black purse with the chain strap along with another gray bag. He wasn’t exactly lying. Instead, he was telling detectives about a different bag that he said he had found later at the car wash.
There were also contradictions in his statements about Stephanie’s phone. At first, Matthew said she had left it at the apartment that day. Later, he changed his story and claimed he found the phone in the apartment afterward, and that was supposedly what first made him concerned about her. Not too long ago, I asked you what property she left in the in the truck, and he said nothing.
She didn’t leave anything. You said she left her phone at home. Okay. You said she left nothing in there. You went looking around. Nothing. Okay. And then a week later or two weeks later, you found her purse. I honestly don’t recall everything. I don’t know. The phone might have been Phone might have been in the car. You told her when you went to your appointment, Dad, I’ll text you.
And she said, “No, I left my phone in the house.” That’s what you told us a little while ago. If you’re going to charge me, charge me. I I didn’t do anything. I can’t You’re the only one who can give us info about her. Just answer her. I can’t be I can’t be honest anymore. What do you mean you can’t be honest? You’ve been honest.
I can’t be honest because you keep everything that I say anything you say. All we’re doing is pointing out the inconsistencies on what you’re saying because I can’t I can’t remember everything. Stephanie’s bags, or rather multiple bags and her cell phone were not the only things Matthew claimed to have discovered after she disappeared.
During that same cleaning of his truck, Matthew said he also found a note written by Stephanie on a piece of yellow paper. According to him, the note had been hidden underneath a floor mat. The message seemed to offer an explanation for why Stephanie was suddenly gone, whatever that reason may have been. Um, because the note was filled with anger and frustration.
Part of the note read, “I hate you. I hate being blamed for stuff I didn’t do. I’m tired of being used, put down, and taken for granted. All you care about is yourself, and how you can use other people. My parents are the same way. I’m not allowed to speak my mind around you, drive a car, spend money, or even just feel okay.
The notes seemed to support Matthew’s claims that Stephanie had been unhappy with her life, and may have decided to leave on her own on August 23rd. But at the same time, it also painted a picture of a controlling and emotionally abusive relationship. At the Pavlon’s home in Deloffield, where Stephanie occasionally stayed, officers discovered a collection of journals.
Investigators became especially interested in entries written between the summer of 2020 and the spring of 2021. In those writings, Stephanie described arguments with Matthew when he would lose control of his temper. She wrote about how he monitored her prescription medications, took pills for himself, and often became angry if she tried to take her own medicine.
She described his eyes as being filled with hatred. Later that same year, she compared him to Dr. Jackekal and Mr. Hyde. There were periods, sometimes days, and sometimes entire weeks when things seemed calm, and she even felt happy. But those stretches never lasted long. Eventually, the journals would return to describing Matthew’s behavior once again.
During some of her lowest emotional moments, Stephanie wrote harshly about herself. She said she felt lonely and that her partner treated her like a doormat. The fact that Matthew Paul had been a terrible boyfriend to Stephanie was never really in dispute. But by itself, that did not prove he murdered her. In some ways, it actually supported the defense he was trying to build.
Matthew claimed Stephanie may have chosen to leave him because of how unhappy she was and then either became the victim of a crime or suffered a medical emergency somewhere in the woods. He also suggested that because of the pain and emotional struggles in her life and relationship, she may have made a tragic decision on her own that day in the woods.
Before long, detectives discovered that Matthew was also involved with two other women. There was evidence that Stephanie knew about at least one of those relationships. Both women lived in the Philippines. Matthew mainly communicated with them through Skype, but investigators believed he was planning to take those relationships further.
Even before injuring his leg, Matthew had been planning a trip to meet one or possibly both of the women. And apparently, Stephanie had originally been expected to go with him. After Stephanie’s death, investigators came to believe that Matthew only wanted her around long enough to take care of him while he recovered before starting a new life in the Philippines without her.
Matthew Paul was eventually arrested and charged with the murder of Stephanie Pavlons. He pleaded not guilty and his trial began in late October 2025. The prosecution’s case relied almost entirely on circumstantial evidence. Physical evidence was not just limited. Prosecutors could not even say with certainty how Stephanie had died.
Her official cause of death remained undetermined. Even the theory of how Matthew may have killed her near the OA building that day remained unclear. Was she killed inside the vehicle and later moved? Or did the two of them walk into the woods together? a cadaavver dog trained to detect the scent of human remains around vehicles alerted to the trailer attached to Matthew’s pickup truck.
But investigators still could not fully explain under what circumstances Stephanie’s body might have ended up there. Much of the prosecution’s case focused on Matthew’s behavior before and after Stephanie disappeared. He had been a controlling partner. his relationships with two women in the Philippines uh gave prosecutors a possible motive and one fact remained impossible to ignore.
Matthew and Stephanie had arrived together at the exact area where she was later found dead. That was also the last place Matthew admitted seeing her alive, something detectives believed he desperately tried to hide from them. Prosecutor Sue Opper then delivered the opening statement for the state. During these two gaps, the 16minute gap before the appointment and the 20-minute gap after the appointment, we have no idea where Mr.
Paul is or what he’s doing. There’s no activity on his phone. He’s not moving anywhere. There’s nothing that we could find that tells us what he’s up to during these gaps of time. The defense, meanwhile, tried to cast doubt on how believable the prosecution’s theory really was. Matthews attorneys repeatedly argued that the case was built mostly on circumstantial evidence and assumptions, not on undeniable proof of what actually happened that day.
Throughout the trial, they worked to draw the jury’s attention to what they described as major gaps in the prosecution’s timeline and to convince them that too many important questions still had no clear answers. How could Matthew have committed a murder in broad daylight in such a busy area near a large medical complex, a golf course, and surrounded by people without anyone noticing something suspicious.
The defense emphasized that the area around the OA complex was not isolated or deserted. Patients, clinic employees, visitors, and people moving around the golf course were constantly nearby. The attorneys asked the jury to consider how such a serious crime could have happened without anyone hearing a disturbance, noticing unusual behavior, or seeing any kind of struggle.
They also stressed that no witnesses ever reported screams, a fight, or any obvious signs of violence that day. According to the defense, the prosecution’s theory required the jury to believe that everything happened quickly, quietly, and completely unnoticed, despite the open surroundings and the presence of other people nearby.
They also focused heavily on another question. How could Matthew have moved Stephanie’s body and hidden it in the woods while dealing with a broken leg and trying to navigate rough, overgrown terrain? The defense returned to that point again and again. Attorneys reminded jurors in detail about Matthew’s physical condition during that period.
They argued that his leg injury made it difficult for him to move normally, let alone drag a body through thick vegetation and uneven ground. The defense tried to paint the prosecution’s version of events as physically unrealistic. According to them, the state’s theory depended on Matthew carrying out a task that would have required major physical effort at a time when he himself was struggling just to get around.
Those contradictions became the foundation of the defense strategy as they tried to convince the jury that the case was far less clear-cut than prosecutors claimed. Keep in mind, her body was found in a wooded area that is bound by a heavily traveled frontage road and interstate, a very busy health center, a golf course, and homes.
Ask, if Matt carried Stephanie into that wooded area, when would he have done that? Keep in mind, the government has hundreds of hours of camera footage and cell phone mapping. Keep in mind, Matt was still dealing with a broken foot. Finally, ask, “What proof does the government have that Stephanie was even killed by another person?” It could have been suicide.
It could have been medical issues. It could have been anything. The data recovered from Matthew Paul’s cell phone looked extremely suspicious. During the trial, prosecutors repeatedly directed the jury’s attention to the digital evidence, arguing that it painted a disturbing and highly revealing picture of his behavior after Stephanie disappeared.
Search history, messages, and device records became a major part of the state’s case because, according to investigators, they did not reflect the actions of someone worried about a missing loved one. Instead, they looked more like the actions of someone who already knew what had happened. From late August into early September, Matthew repeatedly searched Stephanie’s name online, apparently looking for any news connected to her.
The searches happened over and over again. Detectives determined that he kept checking for information related to her possible discovery, almost as if he was waiting for the moment the case would suddenly become public. What stood out even more was how often he searched her name alongside words like obituary and the names of funeral homes.
And all of those searches happened before Stephanie’s body was ever found. In court, that detail landed heavily with the jury. Prosecutors argued that it was difficult to explain those kinds of searches as simple concern or coincidence. To the state, it looked as though Matthew already knew Stephanie was dead long before authorities officially discovered her body.
Prosecutors also pointed to the fact that Matthew suddenly began communicating with his father far more often than usual. Investigators noticed a sharp increase in calls and contact between the two men immediately after Stephanie disappeared. Um, according to the prosecution, that sudden change in behavior seemed unusual and raised even more questions.
Search history recovered from his father’s devices contained similar searches as well. Investigators believed Matthew may have performed some of them while visiting his parents’ home. Those searches included the same disturbing phrases related to Stephanie’s death and possible funeral notices. For prosecutors, it became yet another piece of a larger picture that in their view suggested Matthew already understood exactly what had happened.
In one message to one of the women he was involved with in the Philippines, Matthew wrote, “I’m really worried about something, but I can’t tell you through messages. Some things just can’t be talked about in texts. I called my father and he’s really worried, too.” Something happened, baby. I can’t explain it over text.
In court, that message became one of the strangest and most unsettling details in the entire case. Prosecutors emphasized that Stephanie still had not officially been found at that point, which made Matthew’s words seem even more suspicious. The message gave the impression of someone who already knew a serious event had taken place, but was afraid to discuss it openly.
After sending that message, Matthew spent roughly 2 hours talking with his girlfriend over Skype. The contents of that conversation were never revealed, but investigators were still interested in both the length of the call and the timing of it. Detectives also recovered dash cam footage from Matthew’s pickup truck while searching his father’s home.
For investigators, those recordings became another important source of information that helped reconstruct Matthew’s movements during those days. Although no additional footage from the morning of August 23rd was ever recovered, detectives did find video showing Matthew driving to the OW building on September 9th, the same day Stephanie’s body was discovered.
That recording became especially important to prosecutors because of Matthew’s strange behavior near the scene where investigators were actively working. That day, Matthew was supposedly heading to a medical appointment, but when he arrived, he saw police vehicles and crime scene investigators all over the parking lot and surrounding area.
The footage showed law enforcement activity, official vehicles, and visible commotion near the exact area where the investigation was unfolding. Um, what stood out was that instead of pulling into the complex for his appointment, Matthew simply drove past the parking lot, he then took a long detour through a nearby residential neighborhood farther down Gulf Road before slowly circling back toward the OAW building.
Prosecutors argued that the behavior did not look natural for someone who supposedly had no idea what was happening there. According to the state, the most obvious explanation was that Matthew saw the police presence and panicked. Prosecutors claimed his reaction looked far more like the behavior of someone who suddenly realized investigators were getting close to a terrible truth.
Because unlike every other patient there that day, Matthew allegedly knew exactly why police were at the scene and what, or rather who had been found near the golf course. That was how prosecutors explained his unusual driving pattern and nervous behavior that morning. Matthew ultimately chose not to testify and the only time he addressed the courtroom directly, he used the moment to make a sarcastic remark toward prosecutor Sue Opper.
After weeks of evidence and disturbing testimony, the moment left many people in the courtroom with a deeply uneasy impression, especially since many had expected some kind of explanation or emotional response from Matthew himself. Have you discussed your decision whether or not to testify with your attorneys? Yes. Have you made a decision? Yes.
What is your decision, sir? Well, I I think Oper’s too good at fabrication, so I don’t think it would be a good idea for me to testify. Okay. The defense’s key witness was a toxicologist who reviewed the autopsy report prepared by the medical examiner. Her testimony became a major part of the defense strategy as attorneys tried to challenge the prosecution’s theory and offer jurors an alternative explanation for Stephanie’s death.
The atmosphere in the courtroom remained tense throughout her testimony because the defense was clearly trying to convince the jury that the case might not be as straightforward as prosecutors claimed. Dr. Stacy Hail carefully walked through the purpose and possible side effects of each medication Stephanie had been taking.
She explained how the drugs could affect a person’s body, mental state, and overall condition. Much of her testimony focused on how certain medications might interact with one another, especially in someone dealing with physical pain or emotional stress. During her testimony, the toxicologist also pointed out that some side effects could include disorientation, weakness, and other potentially dangerous conditions.
The defense used those explanations to strengthen doubts about the prosecution’s theory and to emphasize that Stephanie’s official cause of death had never been conclusively determined. Dr. Stacy Hail suggested there were still other possible explanations for Stephanie’s death, including accidental causes, natural causes, or scenarios somewhere in between.
According to her, the available evidence did not completely rule out alternative possibilities that became a central part of the defense strategy as they tried to convince jurors that too many unanswered questions still remained. Her testimony was ultimately meant to create doubt about whether Stephanie’s death was truly the result of an intentional killing as prosecutors insisted.
In this case, a se a seizure a possibilityility. Yes, there is a reports in her medical records about depression. Yes. In this case, was an overdose a possibility? Yes. Do you believe a natural cause of death is a poss possibility? Yes. In June of 2022, Stephanie posted a heartbreaking message on her Facebook page about feeling alone and unwanted.
Even in just a few sentences, the post carried a sense of exhaustion, emotional pain, and deep disappointment that she no longer seemed able to hide from the people around her. To those who knew Stephanie, the message felt like a cry for help from a woman going through an incredibly difficult period in her life.
That post eventually reconnected her with an old friend named Andy, who was also struggling through a hard time in his own life. Their conversation started almost by accident, but it quickly turned into something honest, supportive, and deeply personal between two people who understood loneliness, emotional burnout, and the need to find comfort in someone else.
Over the following weeks, their conversations remained encouraging, hopeful, and sincere. They exchanged messages about life, personal struggles, and hopes for the future. There was no sense of hopelessness in those conversations. If anything, the messages showed Stephanie as someone trying to find the strength to keep moving forward despite everything happening around her.
In direct contrast to the defense’s claims that Stephanie was completely miserable, those messages painted the picture of a woman searching for happiness, friendship, and a fresh start. Prosecutors specifically highlighted that contrast to the jury. According to the state, the conversations did not sound like the words of someone who had given up on life.
Instead, Stephanie’s messages reflected a desire to change her circumstances and leave behind the things that were making her unhappy. Prosecutors also showed jurors one of Stephanie’s final Facebook messages to her friend, including a photo she had taken inside her parents’ garage. It became one of those small but emotionally powerful pieces of evidence that stayed with people long after the trial ended.
In the photo, Stephanie looked toward her friend with a slight smile on her face. She did not appear defeated or emotionally empty. In their messages, the two talked about plans to meet up and have dinner together. It was a simple, ordinary conversation, but prosecutors argued that details like that showed Stephanie was still making plans for the future and thinking about the life ahead of her.
According to the prosecution, this was the face of a woman who was ready to move on and search for a better life. Prosecutors insisted that Stephanie had been trying to leave behind a toxic relationship and begin a new chapter for herself. The the state argued that the yellow note left in the vehicle was Stephanie’s way of telling Matthew she was leaving him.
Prosecutors believed it was not just a random emotional message, but a clear sign that she intended to end the relationship for good. According to investigators, Stephanie got out of the vehicle that day on her own trying to get away from Matthew, but he followed after her. That became one of the most disturbing details presented during the trial.
Prosecutors claimed Stephanie was trying to distance herself from him and leave the conflict behind, but she never made it far enough. The prosecution also suggested that the cadaavver dog later picked up Stephanie’s scent from the trailer attached to Matthew’s pickup because that was where he had discarded evidence after the murder, including Stephanie’s black purse.
For prosecutors, it became yet another piece of the larger picture they carefully laid out before the jury while reconstructing the events of those tragic days step by step. She says, “I hate you. I hate being with you. All you care about is yourself. I’m not allowed to speak my mind around you, drive, spend money, or even feel good.
Karma came back to you cuz you cuz your foot injury, not me. Go be with your virgin cuz I’m done and keep the money. She can’t just sit there any longer. So, she decides to walk towards that wooded area. She’s probably thinking, “Hey, maybe I can go into the woods for some cover. Maybe I can walk over to a subdivision, call my mom, maybe I can get to the golf course, call my mom.
I just got to get out of sight. He can’t see me leaving.” And he goes after her. He gets out of the truck. He comes after her. He grabs her by the back of the shirt. That shirt’s too big. He’s pulling the shirt up at her neck and there’s a struggle just outside the area of the woods. Maybe Miss Pavlons is vaping.
During that struggle, she drops her vape. Mr. Paul continues to grab at her shirt. He’s not letting her go. And then what happens? Mr. Paul grabs her purse. And ladies and gentlemen, this is the murder weapon. He wraps this around her neck. He strangles her for just a minute or two. That’s all it takes. She goes unconscious and she’s dead. He uses the strap of her own purse to kill her.
The jury returned a verdict on all charges after just over an hour of deliberation. For a case this high-profile and emotionally heavy, it was an incredibly fast decision. A tense silence filled the courtroom as everyone waited for the final words that would bring the long trial to an end. After weeks of testimony, evidence, and disturbing details that slowly revealed the full picture of what happened, the jurors needed very little time to reach a unanimous conclusion.
For many people in the courtroom, the verdict marked the moment when the story of Stephanie Pavlons stopped being a shocking investigation and became a completed criminal case with a final and irreversible ending. The verdicts read as follows. We the jury find the defendant Matthew E. Paul guilty of firstdegree intentional homicide as charged in count one of the information.
The second verdict reads, “We the jury find the defendant Matthew E. Paul guilty of hiding a corpse as charged in count two of the information and each is dated today’s date.” On November 11th, 2025, Matthew Paul was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
For many people, the sentence felt like the final chapter in a case that had sparked shock, fear, and endless questions for a very long time. The atmosphere inside the courtroom that day remained tense and heavy. After everything revealed throughout the investigation and trial, the outcome seemed almost inevitable. By that point, the name Stephanie Pavlons had already become a symbol of a tragedy that left a lasting impact on everyone who followed the case.
And that was the tragic story of Stephanie Pavlons.
