WICHITA, Kansas – Officials have arrested two women in Joplin, Missouri who were wanted for killing a Wichita man in a homicide that’s baffled investigators for a decade. The arrest came after a tip to Park City police. After investigating, the tip was linked to a body dumped near Severy along Hwy 400 back in 2000.
KSN first profiled the death of Todd Stover six years ago. Back then, it wasn’t even clear it was a homicide. Now, 10 years later, the KBI tells KSN there is no doubt and the details are starting to emerge.
When the body of Todd Stover turned up in a ditch near Severy, there were no visible signs of homicide. Authorities say Stover didn’t exactly live squeaky clean, but no one, including Stover’s family, expected murder.
"His last words to me were 'drive safe', and I said, ‘OK. We'll see you later,’” said Stanley Stover, Todd’s dad, in an interview with KSN in 2004.
Now KBI officials tell KSN they believe Stover was killed by an intentional overdose administered by Sharon Huddleston and Rhonda Pischel. The women were arrested in their current hometown of Joplin, Missouri and face charges of first-degree murder in Sedgwick County.
Agents say they lived in Park City at the time of Stover’s murder and met him in a Wichita bar. They allegedly retaliated against him after he failed to deliver on work-related promises. Now, 10 years later, a tipster with a conscience was the break in the case for a family waiting for answers.
"It was supposed to be he and I when it's all said and done,” said Brenda Clarke, Todd’s sister, in an interview with KSN in 2004. “He was supposed to still be my big brother."
The women arrested are set to be transported to Sedgwick County to face murder charges.
