A complex and tragic case known as the “pizza delivery murder” recently came to a close after a jury found defendant Erica Stefanko guilty on one count of aggravated murder for the killing of Ashley Briggs. Stefanko was found not guilty on three other changes.
Prosecutors alleged Stefanko set the plot in motion in 2012, when she called Domino’s and ordered a pizza delivered to a closed business, knowing Biggs would be the delivery driver. Biggs was beaten and strangled to death by Chad Cobb when she reached her delivery’s destination.
Biggs was the mother of Stefanko’s stepdaughter, who was 7 at the time of the murder. Chad Cobb, the child’s father, has been in prison since 2013 after pleading guilty to the murder of Briggs.
Stefanko was tracked for several years following the initial murder investigation. A recently monitored phone call between Stefanko and Cobb’s mother helped break the case.
During the trial, Stefanko appeared undecided as to whether or not she would take the stand. It was obvious Stefanko’s defense lawyer didn’t want to make that play in court. Ultimately, Stefanko did not testify at trial.
Was it the right defense move to keep Stefanko off the stand?
“I think it probably was,” said Denver defense attorney and Court TV correspondent Jeffrey Wolf. “I’m not one of those lawyers that says ‘don’t put your client on the stand’…I don’t go by that…I think your client takes the stand if they need to take the stand.”
“If your jury needs a ‘why,’” Wolf continued, “like…‘how did we end up here, why is this person being falsely accused,’ you put them up there so they can get their story out there. The defense team did a good job of putting the ‘why’ out there without putting her on the stand.”
Stefanko is scheduled to appear in court on Jan. 11 for sentencing.
Watch the complete video to get more trial insight from Denver defense attorney and Court TV correspondent Jeffrey Wolf.
