An Eye For An Eye

A Beloved Doctor Is Murdered In Cold Blood

(CBS)  This broadcast originally aired on Oct. 27, 2007. It was updated on July 8, 2008.

When 37-year-old Dr. Brian Stidham was found murdered in the parking lot outside his office on Oct. 5, 2004, it sent a chill through Tucson.

Stidham had been stabbed 15 times.

At first glance, the well-known and respected pediatric eye surgeon appeared to be the victim of a random crime. "What I knew was that Dr. Stidham had worked that evening. Did not come home at his regular time. His wife didn't know what had happened to him. And his vehicle, his 1992 Lexus, was missing," explains Detective Jill Murphy.

Born and raised in Longview, Texas, Stidham was the only son of Joyce and Mack Stidham.

Asked to describe her son, Joyce tells correspondent Peter Van Sant, "Oh, wonderful. Kind, considerate, always made people around him feel at ease, very hard worker, hard studier, very unpretentious."

After graduating with honors from Harvard Medical School, Stidham began his career in Dallas, where he met his wife, Daphne.

In 2001, Stidham got an offer to move to Tuscon to work alongside one of the finest eye surgeons in the country. Stidham and his wife visited, fell in love with the beauty of the region, and decided to take the offer.

Stidham's sister Andrea says her brother was looking forward to the move. "This was a dream job to him, absolutely," she tells Van Sant.

The dream job was with a practice called "Arizona Specialty Eye Care," where Stidham teamed up with a renowned surgeon named Bradley Schwartz.

Office manager Laurie Espinoza says it was a very successful business, and growing. She says in 2001, Dr. Schwartz's practice was pulling in more than $1 million a year. "We would have seen anywhere between 40 to 60 patients a day. People were having to wait a month just to have a surgery. And he finally said, 'You know what? We're going to have to add another partner.' And that was Dr. Stidham," she remembers.

Stidham's impact was immediate. "He really connected with some patients. And the patients loved him right away," Laurie remembers. "And they were a great team together."

But Laurie says the doctors had a different approach. "Dr. Schwartz was the type of doctor that came in every morning bright and early. And he would have his jacket and his tie on. And Dr. Stidham would come in dressed in just, you know, like a golfing outfit," she remembers.

Nearly a year into the job Stidham decided to start his own practice. Friend and colleague Dr. Joe Miller remembers when Stidham began seeing patients at the new office. "And he was doin' well. He had a good location. And patients were comin' to see him in droves," Miller recalls.

As his practice continued to expand, so did Stidham's family: Daphne gave birth to a daughter in August 2003. "He was so happy out here, in his marriage, with the children, they just had their little girl, they were getting ready to build their dream house," remembers his mother, Joyce.

But those dreams were shattered in October 2004.

Asked how Stidham's wife Daphne reacted to the news her husband was dead, Det. Murphy says, "She, according to the detectives there at the scene, she had already asked them, prior to them even telling her, that her husband was dead. If he had been shot. If he had died. So that was kind of an unusual response."

And this investigation was about to get even more unusual: asked what Daphne was doing that night, Murphy says, "She was looking over an estate planning document."

"Did that make them suspicious?" Van Sant asks.

"Yes, it did," Murphy says.

[Justice411]

My daughter was a patient of Dr. Stidham's. He was the kindest doctor I have ever come in contact with. He wasn't the type of doctor, in my opinion, to get the patients in and out. He made sure my daughter was comfortable. When we first started going to Dr. Stidham, my daughter was wearing a head device for plagiocephaly. He remarked that his son had to wear one for a short time. He offered to hold my daughter while I put her helmet back on. He was just a nice man and the title of "Doctor" just seemed to be that to him-a title. He didn't deserve to die. I think about his wife and his children all the time. He performed my daughter's first eye surgery in June 2004-four months before he was murdered.

Now it's been 5 years since Dr. Stidham was brutally murdered. I wish he could be here to continue caring for my daughter's eyes. I am still angry that such a kind, caring person could be taken away in such a horrific manner. I will continue to pray for his family.

[zazupitts]

I was a patient of Dr. Schwartz.. and got to know him... what I do not understand is......... He was under a therapist's care .. and why didn't the therapist tell the authorities that he was addicted to oxycotin .. (hillbilly herion) why in God's name didn't this therapist (woman) turn him in.. or help him.. he was so hyper and you could tell he needed help.. I fault the woman ... (I think her name was Joy)... for not taking action .. Schwartz is a very dynamic personality .. charming.. and highly intelligent. This is truly a tragedy that I feel could have been avoided if only his therapist would have taken the responsibility of her patient's obvious problems and handled it correctly.

[graceesmom]

buttermilk12, I too am wondering why they are showing all these reruns. I think they have been showing them for at least 3 or 4 weeks now. Maybe they''ll get some new interviews soon.

[graceesmom]

I am also wondering why his wife wasn''t on the program. Murphy tells of the wife looking over an estate document and she also knew that Schwartz didn''t like Stidham. Is there any speculation of the wife because she named Schwartz as an enemy of Stidham because they said that it was a stretch for a Schwartz to do this to Stidham after 2 years. So perhaps the wife could have been involved at some point? Not that she was having an affair with Schwartz but just she might not have been happy with her husband anymore. I know the last thing on my mind in a crisis like this would have been legal documents. Schwartz might not have been totally alone in doing this but I think he would have snitched out the wife for his own gain. Just wondering..

[buttermilk12]

I just want to know why 48hrs keep putting all these show as new, when they are all reruns?

[rn37]

Why wasn''t the wife on the program? They left me to think that although she was not a suspect that somehow she was a bad person/wife. Why only his sister and mother spoke?

[dlucero76]

What baffles me is how vain so many woman can be, having *** with this punk just because he''s a doctor. My advise is get tested for STD''s as for the doc well he''s going to get plenty of *** in the joint because they are going to love his pretty white tail and than there''s the fact that many in the joint fell as though society has delt them a raw deal and there''s a doctor in there and had it all and threw it away because he though he was a tough guy, well I hope he likes it rough because that is how he is going to get it over and over.......See ya there is justice in the world.

[drdavedmd]

What a loser Dr. Shwartz was! Was it all worth it? And he was so dumb to invite his accomplice to dinner. If you''re going to kill someone you do it privately and don''t talk about stuff in the open with other people. This is common sense. And then he gives him the scrubs. What another dumb move. Don''t you think that would look odd??? Wouldn''t that be suspicious? And then using the cell phone to call and tell him that he got his money? Everyone knows that if you were going to commit something so heinous such as this that you should use pay phones! All these murderers are not so smart. They leave so many clues to make the puzzle fit so nicely. Idiots therefore need to pay the ultimate price. Justice was served.

[cricketmk3]

I can''t understand why all those women would want to be involved with Dr. Schwartz. I would never be attracted to him whether he was a doctor with money or not!

[incog-nito]

What kind of a verdict is that? They''re guilty of conspiracy to murder, a man is dead, but they''re not guilty of murder? So does that mean the real murderer is out there somewhere? And if so, why isn''t anybody looking for him? Stupid decision by a stupid jury.

[willyaz1]

We had a son that was a patient of Dr. Stidham. He was a gentle, kind, talented man. Children responded to him well; I understand they were a big part of his practice. He was a natural. When we knew doctor Stidham, he was already in his private practice, at the location which he was killed. Our son was a patient at the time of his death. His untimely death was a terrible shock. So brutal, sad. My wife and I followed the case very closely...and coordinated a collection for Daphne and her children. My wife and I, with son, went on the walk featured in the show--very emotional. To this day, some three years later, I still can not fathom the evil that must be present in a man such as Bradley Schwartz. How many lives did he so selfishly harm...from the entire Stidham family, to his own family, to all the women he deceived, to an entire community... To Daphne...we miss your husband to this day and wish you the very best as you deal with this loss. I hope your young children get to know, in time, what a special dad they had. To his extended family...our prayers are with you: Please know that your son, in a very brief period of life, had more impact than most have in a lifetime. Thanks to the Stidham family for coorperating with this show and helping to bring this story to a broader audience. Perhaps...it will help to prevent a loss for another family. To Brian...it was a honor to know you...

[willyaz1]

We had a son that was a patient of Dr. Stidham. He was a gentle, kind, talented man. Children responded to him well; I understand they were a big part of his practice. He was a natural. When we knew doctor Stidham, he was already in his private practice, at the location which he was killed. Our son was a patient at the time of his death. His untimely death was a terrible shock. So brutal, sad. My wife and I followed the case very closely...and coordinated a collection for Daphne and her children. My wife and I, with son, went on the walk featured in the show--very emotional. To this day, some three years later, I still can not fathom the evil that must be present in a man such as Bradley Schwartz. How many lives did he so selfishly harm...from the entire Stidham family, to his own family, to all the women he deceived, to an entire community... To Daphne...we miss your husband to this day and wish you the very best as you deal with this loss. I hope your young children get to know, in time, what a special dad they had. To his extended family...our prayers are with you: Please know that your son, in a very brief period of life, had more impact than most have in a lifetime. Thanks to the Stidham family for coorperating with this show and helping to bring this story to a broader audience. Perhaps...it will help to prevent a loss for another family. To Brian...it was a honor to know you...