Inset, left to right: Christopher B. Foiles (Bonneville County Jail) and Megan Ashley Stedman (Bozeman Police Dept.). Background: The RV where Foiles killed Stedman (BPD).
A 44-year-old man in Montana is facing a lifetime in prison for the murder of his girlfriend, whom he fatally stabbed in the neck and chest nearly two years ago.
On Tuesday, Gallatin County District Judge Rienne McElyea sentenced Christopher Brandon Foiles to the maximum term of 60 years in a state correctional facility for the 2023 murder of 34-year-old Megan Ashley Stedman. This sentence follows Foiles’ guilty plea to one count of first-degree deliberate homicide, a result of an agreement with prosecutors reached in October, according to court documents.
During the sentencing, Stedman’s 16-year-old daughter delivered a heartfelt victim impact statement, urging the judge to impose the harshest penalty on Foiles.
“I’ve had dreams about this courtroom. I wake up in a sweat because it’s just so overwhelming — but it’s finally over, and I can move on,” she shared, as reported by Bozeman CBS affiliate KBZK. “I have to continue without her, and it hurts. I know she’s still with me in spirit, even if not in person.”
Foiles, given a chance to speak, expressed remorse for his actions.
“Megan didn’t deserve what I did to her. There isn’t a day that goes by without thinking of Megan,” he reportedly stated.
As Law&Crime previously reported, authorities in Montana had been searching for Stedman in January 2024 and had linked her to a 1973 RV that was later located in Idaho Falls, Idaho. Shortly after local police knocked on the RV door, Foiles exited the vehicle.
“I am Chris Foiles,” he said, according to a probable cause affidavit. “I killed my girlfriend. She is in the RV.”
Her body was recovered from the back of the RV.
In an interview with detectives, Foiles admitted to killing Stedman several weeks before his arrest while they were parked at a Walmart in Bozeman, Montana. He said they got into an argument and, afraid she was going to call the police because of a no-contact court order between them, he stabbed her in the neck and chest with a kitchen knife, intending to kill her.
Foiles exited the RV but soon returned to finish the killing — stabbing Stedman several times in the upper back until she stopped moving.
Surveillance footage from the Walmart showed Foiles and Stedman both entering the Walmart on Dec. 14, 2023, which was the last time she was seen alive. The following day, Foiles made a series of suspicious purchases.
“On December 15, 2023, the Defendant is seen entering Walmart alone,” authorities wrote in a probable cause affidavit. “The Defendant makes various purchases including, but not limited to, an area rug, paper towels, pliers/box cutter combination, zip lock bags, bleach/cleaner, spray paint, stickers, duct tape, a lock, bolt cutters, a hack saw, drywall saw, gorilla grip gloves, paracord, 55-gallon contractor bags, and various food and hardware items.”
Foiles had faced a slew of additional charges, including aggravated animal cruelty for killing Stedman’s dog, but they were dropped in exchange for his guilty plea.
