Bio

Steven Edward Stein was born on March 6, 1968. He grew up in Duval County, Florida. Stein became a Pizza Hut employee in his later years. While working there, he met Marc Christmas, another employee who would later become his co-defendant. The two became roommates. During this time, there were discussions about committing a robbery, which eventually led to their involvement in a serious crime.

On January 20, 1991, various events led to a robbery at Pizza Hut where Stein worked. After the robbery, he and Christmas returned to their apartment later that night. They were arrested just three days later.

Murder Story

On January 20, 1991, Steven Edward Stein and his co-defendant, Marc Christmas, committed a robbery at a Pizza Hut in Duval County, Florida. Stein and Christmas planned to rob the restaurant where Stein worked. They entered the pizza store late at night when there were still customers inside. The shift supervisors, Dennis Saunders and Bobby Hood, were present to oversee the late-night shift.

During the robbery, Saunders was shot four times, and Hood was shot five times. After the murders, Stein and Christmas took $980 from the restaurant. The next day, the bodies of Saunders and Hood were discovered in the men’s bathroom of the Pizza Hut.

Ronald Burroughs, a restaurant employee, witnessed Stein and Christmas there that night. He confirmed that the two men were still inside when he left the restaurant shortly after 11 p.m. A fingerprint matching Christmas was found on an unpaid guest check. Furthermore, Kyle White, a roommate of Stein and Christmas, testified that they had spoken about robbing a Pizza Hut earlier.

Stein and Christmas left their apartment around 9:30 p.m. with a rifle. They told others that they were going to visit Christmas’s father about selling it. However, Christmas's father later stated that Stein and Christmas never visited him that night. The two returned to their home by 11:45 p.m.

Three days later, on January 23, 1991, Stein was arrested. He waived his rights and spoke to the police, admitting to being part of the robbery but did not confess to shooting either Saunders or Hood. A trial followed, and on June 20, 1991, Stein was found guilty of two counts of first-degree murder and one count of robbery with a deadly weapon.

On July 23, 1991, the court sentenced Stein to death for the two murder charges and life imprisonment for the robbery. His co-defendant, Marc Christmas, received three life sentences for his role in the crimes. Stein appealed his conviction multiple times, but the courts upheld the ruling.