This Cop Was Not Fired Despite 75 Counts of Stalking and Harassment — Now He Just Shot a Mother and Her Daughter.
It was still daylight on December 15 last year when police officer Stephen Rozniakowski learned his ex-girlfriend Valerie Morrow had taken out a protection from abuse order against him.
However, it did little to stop him.
Just hours later, he went to her house and killed her.
In an act of cold blooded defiance he also intended to kill her husband and 15-year-old daughter.
With the forensic evidence stacked up against him, it is hard to believe he denied the charges pressed against him.
It is even more difficult to believe that he was a man the police department has trusted with protecting the residents of Delaware County.
The victim Valerie Morrow was a member of that community.
She had been separated from her husband when she met Stephen.
There is a chance she may not have not known that he had a history of stalking and harassing his ex-lovers.
He also seemed to have an interest in taking paramours.
It’s easy to trust a man in uniform.
Valerie and Stephen began seeing each other romantically, until she reconciled with her husband and broke up with her lover.
That is when all hell broke loose.
The details are still unclear, but there was something that made the victim realize she needed a protection order.
The crimes he is accused of are so heinous that the District Attorney Jack Whelan has decided to pursue what he calls a “rare” course of action for former members of law enforcement.
The department is seeking capital punishment against Stephen.
“He had a callous disregard for that court order, and went and carried out the execution with the intent to kill all three family members,” says the DA.
Valerie’s daughter Bridget Cruz saw her mother being killed.
She was also injured during the ordeal, but family members say it is emotional scars that she is really needs help with.
In an episode that lasted perhaps one hour, she lost her mother and was attacked by the killer.
Had it not been for her stepfather’s heroic attempt to save his family, Bridget could have fallen victim to Stephen’s murderous intentions too.
However, the brave teenager was present at the court when the charges were read out to the man who destroyed her family.
Watch the video below:
