Erica Stefanko goes on trial a second time in the pizza delivery murder case
After delays caused by the first jury pool being dismissed and illness, Erica Stefanko’s retrial in the pizza delivery murder case began this morning with opening statements.
Stefanko, 41, of Rittman, is accused of making a bogus pizza delivery call that lured Ashley Biggs to a New Franklin business where she was killed in 2012.
Stefanko was convicted of aggravated murder in November 2020 but won a new trial when an appellate court ruled that Chad Cobb, Stefanko’s ex-husband who is serving a life sentence for Biggs’ murder, shouldn’t have been permitted to testify via video.
Her first trial in Summit County Common Pleas Court happened at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, when few trials were proceeding and safety protocols were in place.
About the case: Rittman woman to be retried in pizza delivery murder case in Summit County court
Stefanko, who is being held at the Summit County Jail, will be retried only on the charges she was convicted of – aggravated murder and murder.
Stefanko’s trial is again being livestreamed on Court TV.
Erica Stefanko is arrested years after Ashley Biggs’ slaying
Stefanko was arrested in 2019 in the June 2012 slaying of Biggs, the ex-girlfriend of Chad Cobb, Stefanko’s husband at the time of the murder.
Detectives said new information had come to light about Stefanko’s involvement, including making a fake pizza order that drew Biggs, 25, a Domino’s delivery driver, to the New Franklin business where she was killed.
Biggs, who lived in Jackson Township, was shocked with a Taser, beaten and strangled with a zip tie.
At the time of the slaying, Cobb and Biggs, the mother of Cobb’s then-7-year-old daughter, were in a heated custody dispute.
Cobb, now 41, pleaded guilty to aggravated murder and several other charges in February 2013 in an agreement that prevented him from facing the death penalty. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Convicted in her first trial, Stefanko wins the right to a new trial
Stefanko’s first trial included testimony from Cobb, as well as Cobb's and Biggs’ daughter, who said she heard Stefanko order a pizza on the night her mother was killed. Cindee Cobb, Chad’s mother, who made a secret recording in which Stefanko discussed Biggs’ slaying, also testified.
Jurors deliberated for more than 14 hours over three days before returning with a verdict that found Stefanko guilty of one type of aggravated murder and murder. They acquitted her of another type of aggravated murder and murder and numerous other charges.
Former Judge Amy Corrigall Jones sentenced Stefanko to life in prison with possible parole after 30 years.
Stefanko appealed based on several errors she claimed were made during her trial, including allegations that the COVID-19 procedures used by the trial court violated her right to a fair trial and due process and to confront witnesses as guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution.
The 9th District Court of Appeals overturned Stefanko’s conviction in July 2022, zeroing in on Chad Cobb’s remote testimony.
Retrial features new judge and attorneys but same prosecutors
Judge Jennifer Towell, who took over Jones’ seat, is presiding over Stefanko’s second trial.
Jeff Laybourne and Angie Kille are Stefanko’s new attorneys.
Assistant Summit County Prosecutor Brian LoPrinzi and Felica Easter will again prosecute the case.
First pool of jurors is dismissed in Stefanko’s retrial
Jury selection in Stefanko’s retrial began Jan. 9 but this pool of 60 jurors was dismissed the next day after attorneys learned that several jurors had researched and discussed the case.
The attorneys selected a jury that Thursday from a new pool of 60 jurors who were admonished from the start not to discuss or look into the case.
On Jan. 12, jurors were taken to several locations pertinent to the case.
Start of trial is delayed because of illness
Opening statements were set to start Jan. 16, but were again delayed — this time because of illness.
Brian LoPrinzi, the lead prosecutor on the case, had tested positive for COVID-19 the day before. Felicia Easter, his co-counsel, was also sick, though she had tested negative for COVID.
Towell ordered that LoPrinzi continue testing for COVID and that the trial resume as soon as he felt up to proceeding, with jurors on stand-by until then.
The judge rejected a request from Easter that the trial be delayed for 30 days.
Stephanie Warsmith can be reached at swarsmith@thebeaconjournal.com, 330-996-3705 and on Twitter: @swarsmithabj.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Erica Stefanko's retrial begins in pizza delivery murder case
