An Eye For An Eye

A Beloved Doctor Is Murdered In Cold Blood

(CBS)  But the lies didn't protect anyone: nine months after the DEA raid, both Schwartz and Lourdes Lopez were indicted for their roles in the prescription drug scam. Dr. Schwartz had his medical license suspended and was ordered into a drug rehab facility; Lourdes lost her job at the district attorney's office. Both agreed to plea bargains that would keep them out of jail.

Asked why she didn't confront Schwartz about being used to obtain prescription drugs, or why she didn't walk away from the situation, Lourdes tells Van Sant, "Because I was stupid. As simple as that sounds, I was stupid. I believed him. I believed in him."

After the Schwartz indictment, Stidham gave 30 days' notice and made plans to open his own practice.

"What does Dr. Schwartz think of the fact that his employee, Dr. Stidham, has now made the decision to leave. To start his own practice?" Van Sant asks Lourdes.

"How dare he?" she recalls. "The only reason this guy has any patients? Anybody knows about him? Is because I brought him here."

But before Stidham was able to quit, an enraged Brad Schwartz called his office manager Laurie, from rehab. "He goes, 'Just fire his ass. Fire his ass. I want him fired.' I said, 'I'm not going to fire him. You fire him,'" she remembers.

"Dr. Schwartz was incensed. He was angry. He felt that Dr. Stidham was taking patients. And Dr. Schwartz was, he was powerless to do anything about it, because he was unable to practice," says Det. Murphy.

By all accounts, Schwartz's life was in turmoil. His wife filed for divorce and he was broke.

Almost a year would pass before the medical board returned Schwartz's license. In August 2003, he set about the slow process of rebuilding his practice.

Dr. Joe Miller says he was taking the steps he needed to take. "He was doing, by all reports, reasonably well. Patients were going to see him. He wasn’t using drugs," he explains.

All along, Lourdes stuck by Schwartz, and in January 2004 the couple became engaged. But she says their happiness was marred by his obsession with Stidham. "His tone was, 'I hate that guy. I hate him,'" she remembers.

As the case gained momentum, Murphy says the focus shifted to Schwartz.

But her investigation was about to hit a major roadblock: Schwartz had an ironclad alibi the night Stidham was murdered: another woman, named Lisa Goldberg, said she was with him.

Months before Stidham's murder, Lourdes - tired of his cheating and lies - broke off her engagement with Schwartz. Now, the murder made her think her ex was also a killer.

And she was not alone in her suspicions.

Lisa Goldberg, who says she met the doctor on an online dating site, had gone out with Schwartz only five times. But by that fifth date she knew something wasn’t right. It was Oct. 5, 2004, the night of Stidham's murder.

"We were at dinner at a Thai restaurant and he got a phone call. And he asked if I minded if he had a friend join us for dinner," Lisa remembers.

The "friend" was introduced as "Bruce," an acquaintance from Schwartz's days in rehab. "The first thing he does is order a glass of wine. And I found that to be very strange. And he looked like he was on drugs. And that’s the moment when things started clicking in my head," Lisa remembers.

Their date, along with Bruce, continued after dinner. First, they stopped at an ATM, and then a series of stops in search of a hotel room.

Asked why they were going to hotels, Lisa says, "'Cause Brad is going to give Bruce a room for the evening."

It didn’t make any sense to Lisa, but she didn’t become suspicious until Schwartz called her the next day with the news of Stidham's murder. "He said it very matter of factly. He said, 'Did you hear what happened last night?' And I said, 'No.' And he said, 'My partner was killed.' And my heart sunk. And I can’t describe what I went through when I heard that," she remembers. "I confronted him. I asked him if he did it. And he said, 'How could I have done it? You’re my alibi.' And I hung up the phone."

That’s when Lisa called police. When Murphy heard Lisa’s story, a light went on. "Some of the witnesses that came forward had told us that Dr. Schwartz had said that he would not have committed the murder himself. That he would have someone do it for him," she explains.

[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...