Suicide Note Confirmed Killing Of Stephanie Parze: Prosecutor

FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP, NJ — The discovery of the body of Stephanie Parze on Sunday confirmed what the Monmouth County prosecutor's office had determined during the 87 days since her disappearance: that her ex-boyfriend, John Ozbilgen, had killed her.

And it was Ozbilgen himself who apparently confirmed their suspicions, doing it in a suicide note, prosecutors acknowledged on Monday.

Prosecutor Christopher Gramiccioni said Ozbilgen, 29, was the sole person responsible for the death of the 25-year-old Freehold Township woman, who disappeared Oct. 30, during a news conference Monday morning where authorities provided more details of the case.

"That guilt belongs to John Ozbilgen and John Ozbilgen alone," Gramiccioni said.

Evidence found during searches of Ozbilgen's Freehold Township home had pointed in that direction early on. But it was the note Ozbilgen left for his parents when he hung himself on Nov. 22 that sealed their conclusion, Gramiccioni said.

In the note, "he said he had had enough and could not do life in prison," Gramiccioni said. Ozbilgen said he had "dug himself a deep hole and this was the only choice."

Gramiccioni said the note further said Ozbilgen's parents "were going to learn that everything they were hearing in the news was true, except for the child pornography charge."

Parze's remains were found Sunday in a wooded area off Route 9 in Old Bridge Township, by two teenage boys, 17 and 18 years old, who were walking south and saw them from the side of the road, acting Middlesex County Prosecutor Christopher Kuberiet said. He would not provide additional details beyond acknowledging that her body was significantly decomposed.

Her identity was confirmed during an autopsy by the Middlesex County medical examiner Monday morning. Gramiccioni said the cause and manner of death were still pending.

Stephanie's parents, Ed and Sharlene Parze, wiped tears from their eyes as Gramiccioni spoke. He called them "the picture of grace despite the most difficult of circumstances."

"Our lives are never going to be the same," Ed Parze said, but thanked everyone from the investigators to the hundreds of people who participated in searches and provided support of all kinds, from meals to manpower for searches and everything in between.

"We have to thank all of Steph's Angels," he said. "We could not have gotten through this without you."

Stephanie Parze went missing after a night at a comedy club in New Brunswick where a psychic was performing, her mother, Sharlene, said in a recent interview with Patch. The family returned home to Freehold Township, and Stephanie left about 10 p.m. to go back to her grandmother's house, 3.2 miles away, where she had lived and was taking care of her grandmother's dogs.

Sharlene said Stephanie Snapchatted her along the way and was supposed to call her or text her when she got home. Stephanie never checked in.

The next day, when Stephanie was not responding to text messages, the family went to the house. After several hours of searching for her, they reported her missing about 8 p.m. Sharlene Parze told a 911 operator that she found Stephanie's phone in the side cushion on the couch, and her car was in the driveway. Stephanie's purse was on the table.

Stephanie had received several text messages from her employer — she worked as a nanny — including one asking if she was OK because she had not shown up for work, Sharlene said.

"She never went anywhere without her phone," Sharlene said in the Patch interview.

Ozbilgen told Stephanie's sister on Oct. 31 he had seen her getting ready for work on Halloween morning but had not heard from her after that, Sharlene Parze told the 911 operator.

Ozbilgen was arrested Nov. 9 on child pornography charges when authorities executed a search warrant at his home in connection with Stephanie's disappearance. Gramiccioni said Monday it was one of five search warrants executed on his home and one of 50 search warrants executed in the case.

Gramiccioni on Monday said the case was investigated as both a missing person's case and as a homicide from the start, and by early to mid-November had identified Ozbilgen as the likely killer, based on information and evidence they gathered from a number of sources.

Though he was named a person of interest, Ozbilgen was never charged. Gramiccioni refused to speculate on whether authorities were close to charging him before his suicide.

"It's very difficult to prosecute a homicide without remains," Gramiccioni said.

Ozbilgen was found dead by hanging at his parents' Freehold Township home on Nov. 22, two days after being released from jail to await trial on the child pornography charges.

Gramiccioni said the prosecutor's office also had told Stephanie's parents they believed Ozbilgen had killed her but did not reveal it to the public as they continued to search for evidence and her body.

Ozbilgen had a pending domestic violence charge that had been filed in September by Stephanie. After Stephanie's disappearance, her parents learned there had been two previous domestic violence charges filed against him, Sharlene Parze said.

What happened between 10 p.m. Oct. 30 and 9 a.m. Oct. 31, when Stephanie was supposed to be at work, is still unclear. Kuberiet would not reveal any details surrounding the discovery of Stephanie's body, saying the investigation is ongoing.

Gramiccioni said while there are "loose ends to be tied up," investigators believe Ozbilgen is solely responsible for her death.

The recovery of Stephanie's body means Ed Parze can put away the maps that were rolled up and piled on the kitchen table — maps he had used to plot search areas from Freehold Township to Staten Island and everywhere in between.

There had been more than 50 searches conducted by volunteers over the last 87 days, including one in the area where Stephanie was found.

Kuberiet declined to say whether authorities believe Stephanie's body had been in the location it was found the entire time, or whether it had been moved there at a later point, citing the ongoing investigation.

Ed Parze said he tried to pick out areas that would make sense given the information they had, including the fact that Ozbilgen's phone pinged in Staten Island, where authorities searched for Stephanie just days after she disappeared.

"You're trying to think like him, but he's just evil," Ed Parze said.

Two weekends ago they searched a 19-mile area in Turkey Swamp Park, a massive effort that included a search of the lake at the park with cadaver dogs capable of detecting a scent in as much as 40 feet of water. That search also included drones, riders on horses and dozens of people walking.

On Sunday, the group searched another area in Freehold Township, after being forced to call of the search Saturday due to the torrential downpours and wind.

Each night, Ed Parze would post updates and reminders on Facebook to keep the search for Stephanie going. On Sunday evening, after news broke of the body found in Old Bridge, he posted a photo of memorial candles.

At the news conference, he expressed relief that she had been found.

"Those boys were her angels," Ed Parze said. "Stephanie is coming home at last."

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