An Eye For An Eye

A Beloved Doctor Is Murdered In Cold Blood

(CBS)  Just hours after the murder of Dr. Stidham, his wife Daphne was ruled out as a suspect after questioning by detectives. But the case took an unexpected twist when they asked Daphne a routine question: did her husband have any enemies?

"She told them that the only person she could think of, the only person that disliked her husband, was a man by the name of Dr. Bradley Schwartz," Murphy recalls.

Murphy initially discounted the comments. After all, Schwartz and Stidham hadn't worked together in almost two years. "I thought there was no way. There's no way a doctor's gonna hold a grudge for two years. Then just seemingly out of the blue attack," she says.

Besides, Murphy had already developed a theory of the crime: Stidham had been ambushed in a violent carjacking. "I think it was very, very fast. It didn't give him a moment to react. He wasn't able to fight back," she says.

The crime scene yielded few clues. There was no murder weapon or bloody fingerprints were found at the scene.

But in less than 24 hours, there was a break in the case when investigators found Stidham's Lexus just six miles from the crime scene. "There was blood on the outside of the vehicle. There was blood on the inside of the vehicle," Murphy explains.

News of the murder generated a slew of tips to police. One of them came from one of Schwartz's ex-girlfriends. "She told us that Dr. Schwartz had confided in her that he hated Dr. Stidham. And that he wanted to see Dr. Stidham six feet under," Murphy says.

But why would Schwartz want Stidham dead? Murphy's team began an intensive investigation that soon discovered that Schwartz was having problems long before Stidham arrived. "He was having marital issues. He was having affairs," Murphy says.

According to office manager Laurie Espinoza, Schwartz, who was married with three children, had developed a wandering eye. "If patients came in he would tell our techs, 'Here comes a GLM' - good looking mother. And if there was a good looking mother, the techs knew to give them extra time," she recalls.

Espinoza believes Schwartz had affairs with at least 50 different women and sometimes even had sex in his office. "I would put my ear to the door. And I'd say, 'Oh my Gosh. Here he goes again,'" she remembers.

As her investigation continued, Murphy got a call from yet another woman, Lourdes Lopez, an assistant district attorney and a single mother who met Schwartz when her daughter became his patient in December 2000.

"And there was this guy who looks like Doogie Howser. Who's about ready to, you know, do major surgery on my daughter. And I thought, I asked him. How old are you? Do you know how to do this? And he laughed. And from then on I thought he was very charming," Lourdes remembers.

She admits she fell in love with the Schwartz.

But while she was falling for the doctor, he was falling apart. "When I would go in the morning he'd be sound asleep in front of the office. Sound asleep. Late for surgery," Laurie remembers.

By 2001, Schwartz claimed to be suffering from chronic back pain and had become secretly addicted to Vicodin; his chronic pain problems soon became Laurie Espinoza's. She says Schwartz had her fill the prescriptions.

Asked how many pills, Laurie tells Van Sant, "I would say at least 200 pills or more."

Lourdes knew about Schwartz's use of painkillers but says she never knew he was addicted; she even let him fill two prescriptions under her name.

Asked if he was getting high off these painkillers, Lourdes says, "Not as far as I could tell. As far as I could tell it was helping him with his chronic root canals. And his spinal surgery."

In November 2001, Schwartz was juggling both his worsening addiction and his booming medical practice. That's when he hired Stidham.

But just four weeks after Stidham's arrival, armed agents from the Drug Enforcement Agency raided Schwartz’s office.

"I was afraid for what was going to happen to Brad. So I didn't tell the DEA agents what I knew," Lourdes admits.

Asked why she lied, Lourdes tells Van Sant, "To protect him. He's going to lose his license. Oh my God. And I know better. I'm a prosecutor. I'm a smart girl. They'll find out."

[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...