Murder in the Heartland on ID: How did Leigh Jennings die?

In late March 2012, Leigh Jennings, a 67-year-old mother and grandmother from Aurora, Indiana, was beaten to death inside her apartment. Her brutally bludgeoned body was found days later on the floor near a pool of blood.

Trigger warning: This article contains mentions of murder. Reader discretion is advised.

Reports stated that Jennings had met her mother and taken her to the hospital on the day she was murdered. She then returned home to meet a friend named Charles "Steve" Stephenson. The victim had met Steve while working at a barber shop in Florence.

As the investigation began, all signs pointed to Stephenson being the perpetrator and he was charged with robbery and murder after his DNA was found at the scene.

ID's Murder in the Heartland previously chronicled Leigh Jennings' case in an episode titled Fear Travels Fast, which will re-air on the channel on Thursday, February 2, 2023, at 7 pm ET.

The synopsis states:

"In Aurora, Ind., the townspeople are horrified when beloved mother and hairstylist Leigh Jennings is killed in her own home."

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Leigh Jennings was scheduled to meet a friend for coffee on the day she was bludgeoned to death in her apartment

On March 29, 2012, Leigh Jennings spent her day meeting her elderly mother, who resided in the apartment next door. She then took her mother to the hospital before returning to meet a friend for coffee. Leigh told her mother that she would pick her up later, but never showed up.

A few days later, on April 5, 2012, Jennings was found beaten to death in her apartment at 107B Aspen Ridge Road. Jennings died of a fractured skull caused by blunt force trauma to her head.

There was a large amount of blood splatter in the kitchen and the dining room along with a bloody pepper grinder and a bloody iron skillet. While the pepper grinder was on the kitchen table, the iron skillet was hanging on the kitchen wall.

Authorities were able to conclude that the time of her death was a week prior to her body being found. They determined this based on the condition the body was discovered in. Further investigation revealed that she was scheduled to meet a friend, 58-year-old Charles "Steve" Stephenson of Walton, Kentucky.

Steve and Leigh met while working at a barber shop, Young's Barber Shop, in Florence, where the latter was raised. Her family members claimed that they later found out that she had invested several thousand dollars with Steve.

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Both Leigh Jennings' blood and Steve Stephenson's DNA were found on the two murder weapons

According to investigators, Stephenson had two goals: to make money and stay out of jail. He needed the money to settle a legal obligation to his aunt Faye Sparks, and was expected to pay her $500 per month, but he got behind on his payments. Steve was allegedly scheduled to pay $1,000 by March 30 of that year.

At the crime scene, authorities discovered a Papa John’s pizza box in Leigh's kitchen with both her and Stepehenson’s names on it. Additionally, phone records revealed that the two had been exchanging texts until March 29, the day the murder took place, which was the day they stopped.

Later, forensic tests showed that both the murder weapons had Stephenson's DNA and Jennings' blood. The bedroom safe where the latter stored her money also contained some of her blood.

Investigators determined that Stephenson stole an unknown sum of money from the safe after committing the murder and the following morning, turned in the $1,000 money order. They claimed that the accused confessed that he was desperate for money and allegedly assaulted Jennings in her kitchen with two unusual murder weapons.

Steve Stephenson was eventually found guilty in Leigh Jennings' case about a year later and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

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Watch Murder in the Heartland on ID to learn more about the case.