Any weapons? Anything on you? >> No, sir. >> My biggest status focus. >> I'm just going to have you stand right here, sir. I'm going to double check you. All right. >> How do you explain your blood at a murder scene [music] for a crime that happened 34 years ago? 72-year-old Jean Stler sits calmly in an interrogation room as detectives reveal that blood recovered from the murder of Julia Willbanks matches him decades later. But Jean Stuller insists he doesn't know Julia Willilbanks and couldn't explain how his blood became linked to a murder from 1991. There's got to be more to the story cuz I didn't [ __ ] do this. >> And who did? >> I don't know. >> And how did your DNA get on her? >> For decades, the case had gone nowhere until modern forensic science suddenly changed everything. This investigation led us to a primary suspect, Jean A. Stellar. On September 23rd, 1991, investigators in St. Cloud, Florida, responded to a horrifying discovery. The body of Julia Sue Wilbanks had been found outdoors, and almost immediately, detectives realized they were dealing with an extremely violent homicide. Julia had been stabbed 17 times. Investigators believed she had already been dead for nearly 24 hours before her body was discovered. The sheer brutality of the attack stood out immediately. This didn't look like a robbery gone wrong or a random act of violence. The repeated wounds suggested rage, intensity, and something deeply personal behind the attack. And this wasn't the kind of murder detectives forget. Crime scene investigators carefully collected every piece of forensic evidence they could find, including blood evidence that would later become critical to the case. Detectives aggressively worked leads and attempted to identify possible suspects. But the technology available in 1991 simply wasn't advanced enough to give them the answers they needed. DNA testing was still limited and despite the evidence collected, no clear suspect ever emerged. As the investigation stalled, Julia's family was left carrying the weight of unanswered questions. Among them was her [music] young son, who was only 8 years old when his mother was killed. And despite the brutality of the crime, the killer seemed to disappear completely. For years, Julia Wilbanks' murder remained buried inside old case files and sealed evidence boxes, waiting for the moment forensic technology advanced enough to finally reveal what detectives couldn't see back in [music] 1991. As the years passed, Julia Willilbank's murder slowly became what investigators fear most, a cold case. Leads dried up, detectives moved on or retired, and public attention faded with time. But for Julia's family, the loss never disappeared. Her son grew up without answers about who killed his mother or why it happened. Back in the early 1990s, DNA testing was still extremely limited compared to modern standards. Investigators could collect and preserve biological evidence, but they lacked the advanced forensic tools that exist today. There was no forensic genealogy, no massive DNA databases, and no technology capable of extracting the kind of detailed genetic profile detectives would later need. Still, investigators carefully held on to the evidence collected from the crime scene. including critical blood samples. Even decades earlier, some believed future scientific advancements might eventually uncover what they couldn't. The evidence existed the entire time. Science just hadn't caught up to it yet. And while the case sat buried inside evidence storage for decades, the person responsible continued living freely, believing the murder might never be solved. Then, in 2025, investigators reopened the case with technology the original detectives could never have imagined. Modern investigators reopened Julia Willilbanks' case with tools that didn't exist in [music] 1991. Using advanced DNA analysis and forensic genealogy techniques, they began re-examining biological evidence that had been preserved for over three decades. What once seemed unusable or incomplete suddenly became crucial again under modern science. From the old blood evidence collected at the crime scene, forensic experts were finally able to develop a complete DNA profile. That profile led investigators to a surprising name, Jean Stuller, a man who until that point had never been publicly linked to the murder investigation. >> You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can will be used against you in the court of law. You have the right to talk to a law and have him present with you before and during questioning. If you cannot afford to hire a lawyer, one will be appointed to represent your accounting expense before any questions if you wish. If you give up your right to remain silent and later wish to stop answering questions, no further questions will be asked. Do you understand these rights I've explained to you? >> Yes. >> Okay. All right. How long have you been living in Florida? >> Oh my god. 83 or 85. >> Wow. >> Okay. And before that? >> Illinois. Woodstock, Illinois. >> You were the Woodstock, Illinois. Like Woodstock, New York. >> Like Woodstock, New York. >> Okay. >> But before Illinois, is that where you were born? No, I was born in Ohio. >> Born in Ohio. Okay. What part of Ohio were you? >> Canon. >> But detectives didn't stop there. To confirm their findings, they began quietly surveilling Stoer. During that process, they obtained discarded biological material from a used straw and sent it for testing. When the results came back, everything aligned and the DNA from the old crime scene matched Gene Stellar. >> And so 1983 and 85 is when you moved to Florida. How old would you say you were then? Oh god. I'll be 73 this week. So >> Oh, perfect. >> Um what? 50 years. >> 50. >> Yeah. Okay. >> Probably less than that. >> Yeah. What' you do for work up in Illinois and Ohio? [sighs] >> I worked in a factory. Uh I think it's closed down now. I uh God, I can't remember. Um, I worked in a factory. When I come down here, I started at I worked at then I went with that. Well, I went to Disney for a while. Worked in their laundry. >> Oh, laundry. >> Yeah. The maintenance mechanic. >> Okay. >> And then the last 20 years I spent at Advent. >> I'm sorry. I'm scared as hell. >> No, I completely get that. The statistical probability of that match being random was calculated at 1.6 trillion to one. At that point, detectives weren't dealing with suspicion anymore. They were dealing with scientific certainty. >> He's saying there's a reason why we're here talking to you today. Okay? Your blood was on her. >> That cannot change. The percentage is 1.6 trillion to one. There's not even a trillion people in the world that we cannot get away from that you can't get away from. Right? So, I know it was a long time ago. Things happened. All right. But like I said, we know you were there cuz your blood was there. The blood is better than the fingerprint. Much better than the fingerprint. I understand what you're saying, but I don't know anything. >> I can't imagine how this has weighed on you for 33 years. I that pressure and always having that in the back of your mind knowing what happened. And I know it it can build up and I know in 2015 it built up quite a bit. Okay. So, I know you've been stressing out about this since it happened. For investigators, the case had shifted from a decades old mystery to an undeniable forensic link. And for Gene Stellar, an elderly man who had built an ordinary life over the years, everything he believed about the past was now collapsing under the weight of modern science. >> Are those all right, sir? >> All right. >> No problem. Thank you. Have a good day. >> Say any weapons, anything on you? >> No particular [clears throat] status purpose. >> I'm just going to have you stand right here, sir. I'm going to double check you. All right. >> Here's your wallet, sir. >> Wallet. >> Thank you. your phone, sir? >> Yes. >> All right, then. Nothing's tucked up anywhere where you shouldn't have it, sir. I'm going to have you uh widen your stance real quick, and I'm just going to check your legs, sir. All right. I'm going to have you go ahead just sit right here. a little bit tight. I don't know. And when detectives finally confronted Jean Stler, he claimed he had absolutely no idea who Julia Willbanks was. >> When did you meet your wife? >> I got married in 2007, so I'd say 2006 some time in there. >> Okay. All right. Did you know your wife before you guys got married or? >> No, we lived in the same apartment complex and I met her at a Christmas party. Somebody once tapping on the window. >> Well, you met her at a Christmas party. >> Yeah, I believe it was a Christmas party and >> then they wouldn't tell me where she lived and then she moved underneath of my apartment. >> Oh, that's that's a cool story. >> So, we got together and been together ever since. >> Okay. Any relationships or marriages before her? Yeah, back in Manurva, I was married for a year. >> Okay. Okay. Um, and any relationships or or marriages when you first moved to Florida in ' 83? No, nothing. Okay. Um, so you were single that whole time? Any girlfriends? >> None to speak of. No. >> Any trouble with with law enforcement at all here in Florida when you moved here? >> Maybe traffic tickets. >> Some traffic tickets. No arrests or anything like that? >> No. Okay. And you lived in CMI. Do you remember the address you lived in CMI? >> I don't remember that address, but it was apartments. >> Apartments. Okay. Um, can you remember if in 1991 that you lived in CMI? >> God, I can't I can't I I don't know when I moved to Orlando. >> So you moved moved to Orlando, came back a couple times. So you're familiar with the area. Any >> uh Did you live in St. Cloud at all? >> No. >> No. Familiar with St. Cloud? Did you do any work in St. Cloud? No, no. >> I came to St. Cloud because insurance company was there and I had my trailer. I was getting >> the house insurance through them. >> Okay. >> That's the only connection. >> Okay. Well, in in 1991, um uh a female by the name of Julia Wbangs, okay. She was she was found in St. Cloud um close here. Um she was deceased. Okay. Uh, does she look familiar at all to you? She is from CM. Was in CMI area? [snorts] >> No sir. >> No. >> We can take a closer look at it if you want. We can look at it. >> I don't believe that it's not somebody I ever dated or anything. No, I don't. Doesn't ring the bell. >> Doesn't ring a bell at all. >> Okay. At the time of his arrest, Jean Stler was 72 years old and living a quiet, seemingly ordinary life. To those around him, he appeared to be a family man who had stepped away from chaos, focused on caring for his elderly parents and maintaining stability in his later years. He regularly attended AA meetings and had reportedly been sober for nearly 4 years. >> She she's from CM around the same time that you were um that you lived there as well. Okay. and she she did some work and stuff like that. Did you uh in in that time frame were do you have any relationships with any maybe or workers at all? No. >> Nothing that you nothing you did that any drugs or anything like that drug? >> I was going to NA back then. >> Okay. What for? >> And sir, I'm sorry. Continue. >> And uh drinking. And then 4 years ago, the 13th of next month, I'll have four years sober. I damn near lost my wife. I didn't realize how much she was drinking. She had an operation, quit drinking for two days and went into DTS in the middle of the night. I got the ambulance there and when she got out of the hospital and she had to go to nursing home for a while, we both joined uh AA and so where I was headed today to the grocery store and to an AA meeting when I got picked up. >> Okay. Okay. What was he drinking alcohol? What was your drink of choice? >> Okay. >> So, you never did any narcotics or anything? Listen, >> back in the day [music] in Orlando, we lived out by did some coke, my brother and I, and another fellow that's deceased now. >> Okay. >> How often do you think you do that? >> God, I don't know. Weekends if we had it. You and a friend. >> Me and my brother and a roommate and he passed away. >> What's your brother's name? >> He passed away or >> No, the roommate passed away. >> Was it from drugs? >> No. >> He had cancer. >> And does your brother still live around here as well? >> He lives in Winter Park. >> He was in Winter Park. >> And he just walked away from the drugs. He didn't have a problem. >> Okay. Biological brother? >> No. Step brother. >> A step brother. Okay. >> From your dad or your mom's side? my mom's side. >> Okay. >> My dad remarried after my mother died. Married a guy a gal with four girls and a boy. >> And do they all live here in kind of central Florida? >> One lives in Ocali, Ocala. Uh, one lives in Waterford Park. One lives in it's either Delton or Dand. Another one lives in Orlando. And my brother lives in Winter Park. >> Are you still close to them? >> Yeah, very much so. Except the one in Ocala. >> Uh, any children of your own? >> No. No, no children. >> My wife has two grown children. >> Okay. >> Two grown children. >> Okay. >> No biological children? >> No. >> No. >> How old are these children right now? >> 45 and 50 somewhere in there. >> One lives in Oto or Okoi. The other lives in Jersey. >> But behind that image was a more complicated past. Investigators noted a long history of alcohol abuse and cocaine use with references to periods of heavy blackouts during earlier stages of his life. These gaps in memory would later become part of his explanations during questioning. What surprised detectives most, however, was his demeanor. Jean Stuller didn't fit the stereotypical image of aent of. He was calm, polite, but often emotionally detached during the conversations, cooperating with investigators even while denying any involvement in the crime. Now, like the detective here says, we're looking into this case from 1991, which is a long, long time ago, and your name popped up. >> Any idea as to why your name would come up? >> None. Unless maybe she went to NA or something. >> Okay. Did you you went to NA back then, too? Yeah, it was an there was a treatment center off of OBT and I want to say the street was an AA clubhouse. >> It's possible. >> Yeah, that would make sense. >> But she doesn't sound familiar in the newspapers or anything like that? No. >> Okay. And she was found deceased here locally as well. >> Trying to figure out how the hell my name popped up. >> Well, we'll let you know. And it's we've been the detective. I've been working this case for a long time. Okay. Things in law enforcement takes time. It's not like on TV, right? >> You get an hour show. 20 minutes of that is commercials. Okay. As you know, so these cases do take a long time. And some of these cases are expensive, you know, especially when you're trying to get them. Do you know what DNA is? >> Yes. >> Okay. That's very expensive. Very, very expensive. And so it's not like we call up and say run this DNA. That's not how that works. We need to get permission all the way up. Probably definitely goes to the chief. It even goes beyond him because that's how expensive it is, right? So these cases do take a long time, but your name did pop up in the investigation >> and it takes a while. this type of science behind it, it's extravagant. It takes a It took a long time for things to be able to be developed to be able to analyze things as well as they do now. Cuz in 1991, obviously technology is not like it is today. Smartphones and things like that, you can find out things like that. I'm sure that you're aware of that. Um, and like Coral was saying, it it takes time for us to to get the right DNA and to analyze it. Okay. And like I had mentioned, she was found deceased and her name came up in the investigation. Okay. And it was all connected through DNA, blood DNA. >> And you know, we're not here to lie to you, okay? Our job here is to find out the truth, what happened. Some investigators acknowledged that his history of substance abuse could explain certain memory lapses he described, but they also made clear that it could never explain away the DNA evidence linking him to the murder. Jean Stuller didn't look like the image most people imagine when they hear the word killer. But detectives believe the science told a very different story. In the interrogation room, Jean Stuller repeatedly denied any connection to Julia Wilbanks. He insisted he didn't know her, had never met her, and could not understand how his blood could possibly be linked to a murder that took place in 1991. >> So, we want to give you the opportunity of telling us why this happened so we can tell the families. >> I don't have any answers for you, >> Jean. I I I don't believe that. Okay? We wouldn't be sitting here talking to you about this. I know there's a side of the story. Okay? I know you have a side of the story. Everybody has one. Like like he's saying, there's a reason why we're here talking to you today. Okay. Your blood was on her. His answers stayed consistent on a single point, which was complete denial of any involvement. But detectives had already built a case around something much harder to dismiss. They calmly explained that the blood recovered from Julia's body directly matched his DNA, and the statistical probability made accidental transfer virtually impossible. And no matter what we do here, she's not going to come back. Okay. But at least we can give the family some peace of mind. I'm not sure how much peace of mind. It depends on who the person is. I've never been to a situation where a loved one of mine was found the way she was found. So I I can't tell you. I can't tell them. I know how you feel because I don't know how you feel. My our job here is to find out what really happened, why it happened. That's important. The families want to know why. They only know what happened. For 30 years, they don't know why it happened. Her son was 8 years old when this happened and has grown up the rest of his life now knowing what happened to his mom, but not knowing why. Why did it happen? He grew up from eight years. He's in his 40s now with his own family and he has no closure as to what happened to his mom. And that's what we're here trying to figure out. We want to know what happened to her. Can you tell us what happened to her? >> I'm sorry I can't. >> So why would I'm just going to be I'm like I said I'm going to be honest with you and I want you to be honest with us. Okay. There's only three of us in this room. Okay. You can say you don't know what happened to her, right? But we know certain things that we know you were there. We wouldn't be talking to you if you weren't there. We can prove you were there. We can prove that scientifically you were there. Right? So it's not like we just took your name out of a hat and said, "Okay, let's go talk to this guy." That's not how cuz then we're just wasting our time. We know you were there. We can prove it beyond a reasonable doubt that you were there. So we just want to know what happened, why this happened. You know, you don't look like a bad person. We have interviewed some killers. You're not one of them. So we want to give you the opportunity of telling us why this happened. >> Contamination, coincidence, or any kind of misunderstanding were no longer realistic explanations in their view. Throughout the questioning, Gene remained unusually calm, which detectives often consider a sign of defensive actions. He showed little visible emotional reaction, maintaining a steady tone even when confronted with the most damaging evidence. So, to investigators, this emotional distance wasn't proof of innocence. It was something they had seen before, a psychological wall forming under pressure. You battled back that anger and fear the last 33 years from when this happened. Okay. You've made amends in every other way and then corrected every other thing about your life, but you haven't made amends and and fix this. Okay, it's time that we can take care of this. I don't have amends to make here. I don't know. I didn't do it. >> I'm sorry. I got >> now. You don't have to be sorry to us, but it's the problem is the blood. The huge problem is >> All right, we're going to take a break. >> Is there any way I can call my wife and let her know what's going on? >> We'll give you an opportunity. >> Okay. >> You got a phone with you? >> Uh the last policeman that brought me in. If um do you know your wife's phone number off the top of your mind? Okay, you can make sure we get that for you. >> What's your number? >> All right. Let us know if you need to use the restroom or anything. >> Probably got to pay. >> Okay. We'll we'll help get you that get that taken care of. Okay. All right. Get somebody to take you to the restroom. All right. The detectives didn't raise their voices or aggressively push him. Instead, they shifted strategy, speaking with him in a more conversational tone. They started asking about his life, his recovery from addiction, and his family. >> What's your why? >> What's your why? of why I drank. Never felt like I fit in. Blamed everything. I was always the victim. Just not a happy person. Then I could escape it with the booze. >> When do you think that started out? >> As a little kid. >> All kid. >> I was the guy that got picked on. And >> you the youngest? >> I was the only till my mother died. [snorts] And I just They say you can't quit for anybody but yourself. >> Sure. >> But the reason I decided to quit was I promised to take care of my wife. And [clears throat] I drank so much that I didn't know that she was drinking as much as she was. I didn't know she was sick. And that night when I woke up and [music] her bowels had let go and she was throwing up, laying on her back. I called the gutter, turned over and sitting on a stool and called the ambulance and they took her in the hospital and found out she was going through DTS >> cuz she had quit on a Sunday to have an operation on Tuesday, Thursday night in the middle of the night, she went into DTS. Why she went into DTS, I never did, I don't know. >> Everybody's different. It's like you see people out there that are never get fat, but they'll eat a cow. >> Since the last week in December, I've lost 25 lbs cuz the heart doctor said lose the weight or have another operation. >> Wow. Yeah. >> What are you doing? >> Well, he put me on WGOI, but I don't think that's what's doing it. I've cut out candy. >> There you go. >> Cookies, donuts. When I got sober, I figured out I love to eat. and uh pasta, white bread. Gota >> I ate a lot of fruit. I had two tangerines in the car detective meeting with me today. That's a good way to do it. >> Mhm. >> Very good way. We're going to have to figure out how your blood got on this lady. >> Can I ask you a scar? Can I ask what what happened with this when you got the scar? It's on the other side on your left side. I was working at NMS in a maintenance shop and I was trying to bend a piece of angle and somebody walked in. I turned to look at him. I missed it and hit myself in the head >> and it was a about a three lb sledge >> and I walked up front and my wife had come to the office to bring me my phone and when I walked by the director's office he said, "What happened?" I said, "My wife hit me. [laughter] Oh, >> hopefully didn't take you too serious. >> No. >> Okay, good. Good. >> Did you have stitches? >> Yeah, I had stitches here and then here I got a scar. I had cancer taken out of my face and then the rest of the stitches from growing up and getting in fights. [clears throat] >> Yeah. >> How did you do in those fights? >> Mhm. >> How did you do in those fights? >> Nobody wins. I know that nowadays. >> That is true. Nobody wins. This is usually an attempt to break through whatever mental barriers were keeping him from giving clearer answers. Gene spoke about his history of alcohol and cocaine use and mentioned periods of blackouts in his earlier years. Investigators acknowledged those gaps but made it clear that memory issues could not account for biological evidence. >> When um what year were you working with them? >> Head to me 89. >> Okay. How many years do you think you worked with them? >> Uh I worked while I was laid off. So it would have been a year. I said >> 89 90. >> And when I went out there, I had two black guys that worked for him. One was Shorty. I don't know his last name. And the other was Aaron. They worked for BL the Palms. >> Yeah. And we sprayed the orange groves and >> did what we needed to do out there on Pleasant Hill. That was always something to do. Working on the sprinklers or >> Mhm. Now you mentioned back in the day you used to buy not used to buy but use narcotics. >> Yes. >> Right. You mentioned it was cool. Uh where did you get that from? >> My brother knew a guy uh some place over was it in Orlando? Um Avenue. Does that sound right? And it was medical examiners >> once >> once in a we had the money we'd get some and then make it last through >> like a weekend >> usually on the weekend. Yeah. >> Okay. Were that mostly into like a powder form or crack form? >> I don't know. >> Yeah. >> Okay. >> But you said you've never seen this lady before? >> No sir. You don't remember meeting her anywhere at all. >> By the way, that water is yours. >> Okay. Okay. >> And she would she did the same things. She she didn't go and she used drugs. Could be a connection to that. >> No, because uh I lived [clears throat] out by SeaWorld. What's that? Uh off of Orangewood Boulevard. I think it was or something when I lived with my brother and them. So that was prior to me coming to Cassumi cuz I lived there when I first moved down here. >> You live in Orlando when you first moved down here or >> held by SeaWorld. >> How about SeaWorld? >> Yeah. Well, yeah. There first and then I went to my parents a little bit and then I got my own place when I got a job. Yeah. Well, either you threw in your could be aa could be anything. >> Well, it wasn't when we was snorting our cocaine because we lived in, like I said, hope by SeaWorld. There's a bunch of a lotments out there. It was like mount peel green something. >> Now, retirement. >> Who was purchasing the narcotics? Was it you, your brother, or the other gentlemen? >> I think we all took turns. >> Went to the same place. >> Offer Raphael. Yeah. >> And after you purged, where would you guys go? >> Back to house. >> Whose house? >> The one we rented. There was three of us, my brother, me, and another guy. Right. >> Did you guys party with anybody else? >> No. any friends you guys are partying with or just >> maybe a cousin or something would be over, >> right? >> Any girls coming over to party? >> And you know, you said you use on the weekends and you you get some it would last a week and till the weekend. >> And so you move from Orlando out of your brother's house and then you move with your parents. >> I believe I might have stayed there a little bit your own place. Well, I think first I lived at Fountain Head with a couple other guys, the recovering people >> and you just you stopped cold turkey no more. >> I've I relapsed a couple times, but it was with alcohol. >> Okay. So, you moved from Orlando to CM and you completely stopped using >> Yeah. >> Not a lot of people can recreational. >> That's true, too. It wasn't a It wasn't an everyday thing. >> No. >> I mean, that's the way you were able to do it. And know that's hard. >> Very very hard to do. Especially even with the alcohol is very hard. So I commend you. I commend you. That's hard. A lot of people don't have that willpower. >> Willpower won't do it. >> Hello. >> Huh? >> What will? Step one, believing that I can't control my alcohol, that I'm powerless over it. If I don't pick it up, I'm not powerless. Step two, coming to believe that a power greater than myself can restore me to sanity, which mind and body. Step three, believing in that higher power. Step four, making a fearless inventory, moral and fear, fearless and moral inventory. Step five, sharing it with a sponsor, another person. If you don't want to share with your sponsor, you can share it with a priest or whatever. >> Step six, making a list of your defects of character. >> However, Gene insisted again, saying that, "I don't know how my blood got there." Detectives responded that science had already answered the most important question. There had to be an explanation. The interrogation stopped being about whether Gene Stellar was there because DNA had already answered that question. And what remained was whether Gene was hiding the truth from others or hiding it from himself. Julia Willilbanks had been stabbed 17 times, a level of violence that immediately stood out to investigators as overkill. This wasn't a controlled or random act. Rather, it carried the emotional weight of rage. the scar I had uh cancer taken out of my face and then the rest of the stitches from growing up and getting in fights. [clears throat] >> Yeah. >> How did you do in those fights? >> Mhm. >> How did you do in those fights? >> Nobody wins. I know that nowadays. [clears throat] >> That is true. Nobody wins. So, how are we going to get around to letting her this lady's son know what happened? I do not have an answer for that. I do not know and that's not going to change. >> You have no reason why or you don't know why your blood would be on her. >> Okay. >> Got a couple pictures if you want to look at them. Okay. This is this is Julia. Okay. And this was her when we found her. Okay. Mhm. She's got a lot of blood on her. Okay. And this is her. This is where she was. This is her right there. We're not lying about the blood. Mm-m. She was stabbed 17 times. That's a lot. Usually they say cases like this is someone that knows her. because it's has a lot to do with feelings. Somebody wronged me. You know, you see one or two maybe could be a stranger. When you start seeing 17, 20, 30, it's usually the victim and the suspect. There's a connection somewhere. Whether their connection romantically, businesswise, what there is a connection because that's personal. Personal. A guy who's going to do something [clears throat] is not going to wait around to do 17 stab wounds. He may get caught. He may get away one or two. And cuz his main thing is, I'm out of here. I'm leaving. Detectives began to believe the attack was deeply personal, suggesting a confrontation fueled by anger or emotional conflict rather than chance. Some aspects of the scene also led investigators to suspect the murder may not have happened where the body was found. Instead, they considered the possibility that Julia was killed elsewhere and later moved, indicating a level of planning after the attack. We also know for a fact this possibly didn't happen over where she was found was somewhere else because there is as you can see in the picture here there is nothing there side of the road like she was dumped from my experience. Do you know where this is this area? No, looks like a field >> right across the street from the police department. The police department wasn't here, right? Open field. You know where Neptune Road is? >> Vaguely because I lived in that area and I [clears throat] work Oh, I worked when I was working I was laid off and I worked for uh [snorts] and and they had a place in and I used to go take their truck out the so I've seen that. Yeah. There was nothing on this police department wasn't here, which is kind of ironic. You get the police department investigating the crime [snorts] that the police department wasn't there when the crime occurred. But that's cuz 1991 was totally different from what it is now. Now, it takes you probably 50 minutes to go from one end to the next. So, like we said, that's where all that blood hers and yours, nobody else. Was it just an accident? Was it a mistake? Cuz I don't You don't seem like you're the kind of person that's going around being a mass murderer, right? >> Was there something built up that just know the woman? >> I didn't do it. I don't know if you're trying to get me to >> you're not >> do something. I don't know her. I never met her. [snorts] >> Unless she happened to be at one of those NA meetings. I don't know the woman. >> I don't know. Could be. I don't know. We're not trying to get you to say anything here. We just want the truth. >> And if you're telling us what you're telling us, we have a problem. thing problem. >> I guess we have a problem because I don't know her. I don't know nothing about her. I don't know nothing about this. >> Now, what kind of work truck you used to drive back then? >> I didn't have a work truck. >> So, you said the vehicle? >> Yeah. From >> Oh, um Oh my god. There was a white pickup. I don't know what kind. And then I think he got a brown Chevy truck. >> Mhm. >> And I worked for He got in an accident. He went back to drugs and flipped his Jeep. >> From a psychological standpoint, the brutality suggested something more than impulse. Investigators theorized there may have been emotional tension between victim and offender, or at least some form of personal connection. Even though Gene Stellar continued to deny ever knowing Julia Willilbanks. While those theories developed, Julia's family lived through decades of silence. Her son, only 8 years old at the time of her death, grew up without answers about who took his mother or why it happened. >> I'm here to find out what really happened. Why it happened? That's important. The families want to know why. They already know what happened, right? For 30 years, they don't know why it happened. Her son was 8 years old when this happened and has grown up the rest of his life now knowing what happened to his mom [snorts] but not knowing why. Why did it happen? He grew up from 8 years. He's in his 40s now with his own family and he has no closure as to what happened to his mom. And that's what we're here trying to figure out. We want to know what happened to her. >> So to detectives, this didn't feel like random violence. It felt personal. And after 34 years, Julia Wilbanks's family was finally closer to answers than ever before. Jean Stuller was eventually arrested and formally charged in connection with the 1991 murder of Julia Wilbanks. Prosecutors brought charges, including seconddegree murder and abuse of a dead body, marking the first time in more than three decades that the case had a named suspect in custody. Even after the arrest, Gene continued to deny any involvement in Julia's death. His position remained unchanged from the interrogation. He insisted he did not know her and could not explain how his DNA had been found at the crime scene. Hands redone. I've had my shoulder redone. Cuz she fought back when this was happening to try to have this stopped. And that there's evidence to say that. You keep going back to that and I know nothing about this. This is what we're here for. >> Okay, you can jane me all you want. I know nothing about it. My scars have nothing to do with it. This is documented. This is documented. This is documented. This is documented. >> How can How can you explain how your blood ended up on her? >> I don't know. >> Do you understand? Right. When they ask you, "How do you explain that her blood, your blood got on her?" And your answer is, "I don't know." What do you think they're going to think? >> I don't have an answer to that either. >> They're going to think you're not being honest. That's what they're going to think because like I said before, there's only a couple ways your blood gets on her. And the only one way I can come up with is that there was some kind of contact. Had to be cuz it's blood. My blood's not going to get on you. Your blood not get on me unless we're have close contact. We can be probably 5 ft away from each other. My brother not going to get on you and your brother's not going to get on me. Now we're fighting and we are close contact. That's different. And by saying I don't know. It's one thing you say, "Well, I don't remember." That's different. People forget. I forget stuff. You'd be surprised what I forget. >> I believe I would remember if I had something to do with that. Um, I would hope so. That's what we call in the business up close contact. Up and close. 17 stab wounds. That's close. It's not like you shot her or somebody shot her 17 times. You can do it from 25 yards. Period. Good shot. Okay. And that's not close. Her blood is not going to get on you. Now, if you shot her maybe three feet. Yeah. When you have blowback, right? But a knife, you got to get up close. Have to get up close. Matter of fact, butchers, they're all full of blood cuz you got to get up close to cut that animal. So saying I don't know, people are going to wonder. The judge is going to wonder. It's not like somebody else's DNA was on it. Yours yours in a mixture with hers like this. So there's contact her in her blood, your blood mixture, your blood by itself on her. Did you still have that mixture? That's close contact. All right. Experts will tell you that. So >> the contrast was striking. On one side, there was an elderly man sitting in an interrogation room, calm and composed. on the other was a violent crime frozen in time since 1991. Defined by brutality and unanswered questions that had haunted investigators for years. His first court appearance is still pending, but the evidence has already reshaped the entire direction of the case. But what do you think? Can someone genuinely bury memories of a violent crime after decades of addiction, [music] blackouts, and time? Or is Gene Stellar simply refusing to accept what the evidence is showing? Let me know what you think.