Chris Foiles said he stabbed Megan Ashley Stedman to death, according to cops. (Mug shot: Bonneville County Jail; image of Steadman: Bozeman Police Department)
Cops have released the worst possible news in their search for a missing woman: Her ex-boyfriend allegedly stabbed her to death and possibly lived with her body for weeks in an RV.
Chris Foiles, 42, is being held in the Bonneville County Jail in Idaho on a charge of first-degree murder.
Police in Bozeman, Montana, have been looking for the victim, Megan Ashley Stedman, 34, saying she was linked to a certain RV. That ended tragically on Friday, when someone found a 1973 Dodge RV with no license plate or vehicle identification number, matching the description in Idaho Falls, Idaho, according to court documents obtained by The Spokesman-Review.
Officers said they received no answer when they knocked on the RV door and did surveillance while waiting for their Bozeman counterparts to arrive with a search warrant. Before they could arrive, however, Foiles allegedly exited the vehicle.
“I am Chris Foiles,” he said, according to the reported documents. “I killed my girlfriend. She is in the RV.”
Chris Foiles stabbed Megan Ashley Stedman to death in this RV, police said. (Image: Bozeman Police Department)
Chris Foiles stabbed Megan Ashley Stedman to death in this RV, police said. (Image: Bozeman Police Department)
Cops found Stedman’s body in the back of the RV, according to the Spokesman-Review.
Foiles allegedly claimed he and Stedman arrived in Idaho Falls on around Dec. 22, parking the vehicle on the south side of the Walmart on Utah Avenue. Two weeks before his arrest, he and Stedman got into an argument while parked at the Walmart, he allegedly said.
Afraid she would call the cops because of a no-contact order between them, he stabbed her in the neck and chest with a kitchen knife, intending to kill her, then he returned to finish the killing — stabbing her several times in the upper back when he heard her moving, according to documents.
Stedman’s family reportedly described her disappearance as out of character. She would not have left without communicating with her children and loved ones, especially in light of Christmas and her daughter’s birthday on Jan. 10, according to KXLY.
Stedman’s family described the relationship between her and Foiles in troubled terms.
For example, Janelle A’narie, a close friend, said Stedman called her in a panic during their last conversation; she was trying to leave her ex-boyfriend, according to Spokane, Washington, radio station KXLY.
“There had been some type of escalated situation between the two of them, and she wanted to know if I could wire her some money to get cash and come home,” she reportedly said.
The police investigation is ongoing. Bozeman cops asked the public for any information regarding previous sightings of the motorhome between this past Dec. 15 and Jan. 12., or any other information connected to Stedman’s disappearance. Idaho Falls officers, who are investigating the murder, asked for information on Foiles’ movements between Dec. 15 and Jan. 12.
From Idaho Falls police:
Investigators are asking for public assistance gathering information about Foiles movements between December 15th and January 12th. Anyone who saw Foiles or the motorhome pictured over the past 4 weeks is asked to report the information to the Idaho Falls Police Department by emailing IFPD Detective Reed at [email protected] or calling the non-emergency dispatch line at (208)529-1200. Please reference case number 2024-1289. The motorhome is a 1973 tan motorhome with obvious damage to the rear driver’s side, and a red stripe down the side. At some point in the last 4 weeks, the stripe was painted blue.
