An Eye For An Eye

A Beloved Doctor Is Murdered In Cold Blood

(CBS)  Murphy wondered if the man in the restaurant could be the hired killer. She subpoenaed Schwartz’s cell phone records, hoping that information would lead her to Bigger. Instead, it led her to a convenience store.

"What's so significant is that this store is across the street and just about 400 feet north of the murder scene," Murphy explains.

Records show Schwartz called the payphone minutes before the murder. "When we came here we talked to a woman by the name of Jennifer Dainty. She was a clerk in the store at that time. And she described a man who had come in that night who was acting very agitated," Murphy says.

"I was working that night. A gentleman came in, wearing scrubs, walked around the store looking for something," Dainty recalls. "Plus, he used the phone. Nobody ever uses the phone."

The man was described as wearing light blue surgical scrubs, looking like a doctor. But Murphy says that man did not look like Schwartz.

Dainty's description of the man in scrubs was a turning point in Murphy’s investigation. It linked curiously to something Lisa Goldberg had told her: a bizarre question Schwartz had asked "Bruce" at the dinner.

Asked what Schwartz had said to the man, Lisa says, "How did the scrubs work out?'"

"That particular phrase became a very important part of this case," Murphy says.

Murphy believed the man in scrubs at the convenience store was the killer. But was he the "Bruce" who joined Goldberg and Schwartz for dinner?

"Dr. Schwartz wanted to have an alibi at the time of the murder. Therefore we wouldn’t be able to pin it on him. So we needed to find Bruce," Murphy says.

Detectives looked for a connection to Schwartz and caught a break when one of his employees gave them a name: Ronald "Bruce" Bigger, a former patient. Bigger had a record and a mug shot detectives could show to the store clerk.

"She immediately picked him out as being the man in scrubs that was in her store the night of the murder," Murphy explains. "We are putting together a case where we're saying a doctor hired a hit man to kill another doctor."

Hotel surveillance video captured Schwartz and Bigger looking for a room, which according to Murphy, was a small part of the payoff.

But Bigger checked out by the time Murphy started looking for him. And now she was worried he might be going after a new target - Lisa Goldberg.

Goldberg says investigators were concerned for her safety because she was the only person that could identify Bigger at that point.

Det. Murphy had to find Bigger. Was he on the run? Would he kill again? "So we had a lot of concerns about, 'What was this man capable of? What is he willing to do to get out of this?'" she recalls.

Ten days after the murder, investigators captured Bigger hiding just outside of Tucson. Later that night, police slapped the cuffs on Schwartz. He had been at home in bed with yet another woman.

Both men were charged with murder and conspiracy.

For Lourdes, it was a relief until she got a phone call. "And it's Brad, and I’m thinking to myself 'Is this a sick joke?' Because they just arrested him," she recalls.

Calling from a cell phone in the interrogation room, Schwartz begged his former lover to be his lawyer, but she told him she couldn't help him.

As Det. Murphy prepared for trial, she was learning a lot more about Schwartz’s past. "There was a man by the name of Danny Lopez that Dr. Schwartz had approached," the detective says.

Danny Lopez, Murphy says, was Lourdes' ex-husband.

[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...