Murder in the Parking Garage | Post Mortem | Forensic Files

[Music] Welcome back to Postmortem. I'm your host, Ann Marie Green, and today we're
discussing the mysterious death of Kenneth Bandridge. He was found murdered inside a parking garage on January 27th,
2023 in Hillsboro, Oregon. When police reviewed the security footage from that garage, they noticed a masked man spray
painting the cameras wearing a disguise to obscure his identity. But incredibly,
as we're going to discuss, they were still able to find the killer. So, joining me now to discuss this is 48
hours correspondent Natalie Morales. It's a fascinating case. Thanks for joining us again, Natalie.
>> Sure is fascinating. Good to be with you, Anorie. As usual, a reminder to everyone. If you
haven't already listened to this episode of 48 Hours, head on over to your podcast feed. You'll find it uh just
below this one. Listen to the hour and then come on back for this conversation. All right, let's get into it. The victim
here is Kenneth Vandrich. He he also went by Kenny and investigators discovered his body in the driver's seat
of his car in a parking garage run by the tech company Intel. The garage is located on this massive campus, very
large campus of one of Intel's production facilities. This is where he's been working as a contract pipe
fitter. Natalie, you actually went to the garage and I I just want to get a sense of just how big is the garage?
What was it like there? How many cameras are we talking about? Was it like finding a needle in a haystack?
>> You know, this was actually almost the opposite of a needle in a haystack when
you think about it. I mean, this is an this is a huge tech company, Intel. We're talking the maker of all those uh
incredible super speedy chips that we all use on our computers, but you know, this is an area, the garage especially,
where there are, you know, loads of security cameras all the way inside the garage as well as on the campus. Um,
it's an area that is well covered. There is a lot of security. So obviously the garage of a tech company like Intel is a
very interesting choice and place to commit a murder. Intel's security staff told investigators that a month earlier
the security cameras had been spray painted. It was investigated as just sort of criminal mischief. But do
investigators think that maybe this was a a dry run? And I'm also curious. I don't know if you know this or not,
Natalie, but was it the same security cameras or different ones? I imagine there's, you know, there are many,
probably hundreds. Well, you know, it seemed that Steven Milner had been plotting this for a
while. Uh, according to investigators, I mean, they do believe it was a test run.
And the cameras that he spray painted were the cameras that he then spray painted, you know, a month later in the
act of killing Kenny Fandrich. They did notice it. They filed a suspicious activity report, as you said, but they
couldn't pinpoint exactly who it was at the time. You see in the hour the security
footage, I mean, almost all of it is blacked out except for the probably the most crucial camera, right? There's one
camera where he spray paints almost all of it. There's probably like onetenth at
the top where you can actually see what's happening. And because of that little slip up, investigators were able
to identify what they believe was the scene of the murder. Right. It's this maroon minivan.
>> Yeah. You know, that onetenth of a slip up, as you said, was huge for the investigators because with that, they
were able to see that maroon minivan just kind of making its way through the parking garage. Now, keep in mind as
well, though, that that they did have other security cameras all the way through. So, as the minivan was making
its way up, it was tracked throughout with other cameras that had not all been spray painted. That said though, they
were never really able to see the driver or to identify, you know, the killer in
the garage. They needed to do all the police work to connect all those dots. So, you know, what was really
fascinating about covering this case is you see this is a real police procedural. I mean, this shows you how
well the police built their case from the minute they had just that little sliver of video that they could see.
When you say connect all of the other dots, I guess when you have it seems like you have a little bit to work with,
everything is incredibly important. And so in this video where you can like see the person just a little bit, but he's
almost completely covered. The only bit of skin that you can really see is right
above his forehead. And so they identify this crease. I gotta tell you, looking at that, that was something that I did
not notice. I didn't even like consider it as like a defining feature. I just thought maybe like the mask was pushing
his head, his skin down. That would not have jumped out at me, but it became crucial. Oh, it became huge. That
forehead crease was such an identifying characteristic. Now, this was from the video from the security cameras a month
before in that testr run case that they were able to see a little bit more of that mysterious person behind the mask.
And that crinkle in the forehead, it turns out that's a genetic trait. I don't know if you know since viewing the
hour if you've started looking at people but I know when I'm in airports or when
I'm you know out and about I start noticing that and and it's very rare that you see that forehead crinkle. So
um it was definitely something that was a huge break in in the case when it came
to trying to identify the suspect. >> I had no idea that was a genetic trait. Now you're like making me think about my
forehead, but there's a wee bit of Botox up there. So it's not crinkling the weight the other way.
>> Yeah, exactly. >> All right, so this turns out to be sort of a critical clue and the Hillsboro
police immediately focus on Kenny Fandrich's wife, Tanya. It's not completely surprising. I mean, if you're
a 48 hours fan, you know, often the spouse is sort of the person that investigators focus on, but it's also
about access, knowing his schedule, knowing where he is. is there's only going to be a handful of people who know
that information. So, inevitably, that's where investigators are going to start.
Now, I think maybe some people might see the video of Tanya and think that her demeanor is maybe a little cool, maybe
suspicious. I I didn't get that. I thought she seemed adequately, you know, concerned. Um, but why did police
ultimately rule her out? As you said, people do look at the partner or the spouse, the person closest to the
victim. Tanya is there on the scene even before the uh responding officer arrived
that arouses some suspicion. However, um as Tanya tells the that officer, she said, "My husband has a stalker." And
Tanya revealed that she had had a relationship with Steven Milner and they had had an affair that it had ended
years prior, but that Steven Milner was still actively stalking Kenneth Fandrich
and also keeping track of her even though she had said many times, "Leave us alone." And she had also reported
that to police. >> Let's talk about Steven Milner. Um here we have this veterinarian. He's a smart
guy. He's popular. Um, he seems sort of pretty normal, though. I mean, when they
did have the affair, they were kind of eventually sort of blatant about it, right? So, that's a little odd for a guy
who's, you know, you would think would be concerned about his professional reputation. Um, but did you learn
anything more about who he was and his personality? We talked to a couple of his clients as you saw in the hour and
they say that by all accounts, you know, he was very involved in the community, very well-liked,
um was pretty much a a well-known figure in Oregon City where his vet practice was. They also knew Tanya because she
worked with him um and they had seen their interaction. So, they talked about that as well. something in the hour that
I was really fascinated by. I don't know if it kind of hooked other viewers, but
that police body cam video where he's being pulled over, right? And he tells the police officer that, you know, Tanya
is in danger. Is he just sort of making this up or or does he really believe this that this is justifying his
behavior when she wants nothing to do with him? you know, when he was pulled over um for following Kenny, uh Milner
told police, "Look, I'm the only one who really gives a blank," as he said to the
officer at the time, and and I'm not allowed to give, you know, an a blank at that point. There had been issues
between Tanya and Kenny Fandrich of domestic abuse. Steven Milner really felt like he was the one that could save
Tanya from what he felt could be a dangerous situation for her. Now, one of the videos that we see in the hour that
kind of really touched me was it's of Kenny. He's sitting on the back deck. He's really distraught. He's crashed his
car after an argument with his wife and he just looks so sad and heartbroken. What more do we know about this marriage
and the problems they had experienced? >> Tanya and Kenny, they had struggled over
the years. Alcohol typically um came into play according to Tanya when there were these instances of domestic
violence. It became something of a he said, she said. Um Tanya acknowledged their issues and as I said she was, you
know, very firm in saying this relationship with Steven Milner happened years ago. It was in her past and that
she and Kenny Fandrich were really trying to work through all those issues and they were stronger than ever as a
couple. Welcome back. So Natalie, as you mentioned, investigators really didn't have a lot to go on linking Milner to
Kenny's murder. So, they really have to kind of dig in and find this evidence at
they go to his house. So, I I want to ask you, what sort of things did they discover? And I definitely want to ask
you, what was up with that cardboard cutout in his house? >> Yeah, that was a very odd clue. Um, you
know, Milner did have a male roommate who was living with him at the time of his arrest, but you know, investigators
when they saw that cardboard cutout, they assumed, rightfully so, that that was um Steven Milner's room because then
they open the drawers and they see he has this so-called shrine to Tanya with all the love notes and letters that he
had kept. He even acknowledged in those notes and letters, you know, I know you don't want me there's no future here in
this relationship that you want this to be over, but he couldn't get over it. So, they felt that Steven Milner seemed
like the likely suspect based on all of that. But that said, they still had to make their case and they had to have
solid proof to connect that this Steven Milner, who had this stalking history and past is the guy who was in the
garage at the time when uh Kenny Fandrich was killed and to prove that he was the one who actually committed the
murder. That's the thing, you know, all that extra stuff that perhaps goes to motive, but you need some sort of solid
evidence. So then what ultimately allowed investigators to build their case against Milner?
>> Well, it really came down to, you know, the good detective work as we talked about and following the maroon minivan
trail. So Steven Milner usually drove a white Toyota SUV and once they seized the car, investigators were able to
analyze the data on the computer within the car and they noticed that he had been going to an Oregon City Home Depot.
Um he had been there in fact on the day of the murder. So once uh detectives Rigo and Winter went to that Home Depot,
they asked uh security there if there had been any suspicious activity on the parking lots. Turns out the security did
notice there had been a couple of cars that had been parking and had gone in and out of the parking lot a couple of
times. Local law enforcement was called and local law enforcement then saw these
vehicles. They were able to get the VIN numbers off of them, these so-called burner cars that Steven Milner was
using. Detectives Rigo and Winter were able to then track down that maroon minivan to a scrapyard, which as you saw
in the hour, unfortunately, their biggest clue, I mean, they believe the minivan was the murder scene just a week
earlier had been crushed. So unfortunately that that big clue that they were hoping for in the minivan was
then gone right before their very eyes. It still amazes me just um how much how often we were all on camera. Right. But
this is the first time that I've seen video as investigators sort of watched a key piece of evidence being destroyed.
I'm sure they wanted to kind of like reach into the the screen and just pluck that vehicle out.
>> Yeah. Unfortunately, they were a week too late, you know, to get that vehicle.
Had they gotten there a week earlier, they probably could have had that and have gotten all the evidence they
needed. That said, they were able to eventually get DNA that was uh the concrete proof that they needed.
>> Yeah. And we're going to talk a little bit more about that later, but before we
do that, I want to talk to you about the two lead detectives. What was your take
on this pair? >> Oh, yes. Detective uh Stephanie Winter and Devon Regal. I mean, these are like
the dynamic duo of an investigation team. I I really we all said were saying they really need their own TV show. I
mean, Stephanie uh is about 6'2 or 6' 3, former college basketball player, and this was actually her first homicide
case that she worked on. So, um she was paired up with with Deon Rigo, um who had, you know, a real solid background
in working homicides. And uh it was a real breakthrough case for for both of them because you know you don't see a
lot of murders in that area of Hillsboro, Oregon. And here you have this mysterious such a suspicious case.
It really came down to to them chasing all the leads and and knowing where to go. And so finally on January 13th,
2025, Steven Milner goes on trial for stalking and murdering Kenny Fandrich. But as we pointed out, a ton of forensic
evidence is lost because that maroon van is crushed. So the prosecution has to work around that. Was that sort of the I
guess that was the biggest hurdle. So, of course, when the detectives see that key piece of evidence, that maroon
minivan being crushed, they think, well, there goes our key evidence for trial. However, it really came down to the
great police work in this case and being able to connect all the dots. And they had plenty of surveillance footage, not
to mention past orders of protection that proved that Steven Milner had been stalking Kenny Fandrich and Tanya, and
that there had been a history there between them. They did have DNA as well. You know, Steven Milner's DNA was on
Kenny Fandrich's hand, so that was was crucial as well. So, of course, Milner has an explanation for that. He did take
the stand. Um, there were no cameras in the courtroom, but there is audio. And so, we're going to play some of what he
had to say to explain why his DNA was there. This was not included in uh the 1-hour broadcast. He is uh speaking with
defense attorney Amanda Tebo. Uh he's under a direct examination and here's what he had to say.
>> What happened next? >> I jumped out towards him. >> What happened next? >> Then we
basically fought for a little bit. >> Okay. Describe Can you describe that fight for me?
>> Um there was pushing and shoving. I was kind of trying to push him back into his
car and he was punching at me. >> Did you punch Kenneth Vandrich? May I don't know. Okay.
>> Did you kick him? >> I didn't kick him. >> Did you grab onto him? >> Yes. >> What happened next?
>> Um, eventually I was able to kind of push him up against the car and and then
shove him into the car. >> How much force were you using when you were pushing and shoving him, Mr.
Miller? >> As much as I could. Why? >> I was scared. It was It was We were fighting.
>> What were you scared of? >> Him that he was going to hurt me. >> It's so interesting to hear. And first
of all, even to just see him take the stand. Um, you know, here Steven Milner is is not denying that he was there. He
said, "I was there. Yes, I was the one who spray painted the cameras." Um, but he claimed he did it all out of
self-defense. and he said when Milner confronted Kenny, he's like, "Kenny is the one who attacked me." He says that
he's defending Tanya. Um, I would think a self-defense claim is is is pretty tough when I mean, it's
not like Tanya's there. He's seeking out Kenny at his place of work. His whole, you know, self-defense defense really
didn't make sense. Steven Milner said that his reasons for being there in the parking garage and for going after Kenny
in that case was because he felt that Kenny Fandrich was a continued threat to Tanya because of the past abusive claims
in their relationship. Now, the prosecutor, Mah Streblo, said that in that testimony did not line up at all
with the physical evidence at the scene. and it goes against everything that they
were able to piece together. But, you know, I I imagine that his defense attorney thought letting him take the
stand uh and speak to his own defense and reasons for being there, perhaps if he could convince one jury member that,
you know, he was the guy who was really just there trying to do a good deed, trying to protect Tanya, and that it was
um, you know, Kenny Fandrich who came after him. All he needed to do was to convince one juror. Clearly, the jury
didn't buy his self-defense defense. Steven Milner found guilty of murdering uh Kenny Vandrich a and also found
guilty of multiple stalking charges. He was sentenced to life in prison uh with the possibility of parole after 25
years. But I think what's really sort of tragic about this, this is a couple that
did everything right. They did everything that they were supposed to do and they they still were not protected.
>> Yes. And and that in fact is what is so tragic about the case is that there's
such a clear history of stalking here. And you know, previously Milner had been criminally charged back in August of
2022 when he had planted another tracking device um on Kenny's car. Then Kenny filed that civil suit where he was
seeking hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages uh for infliction of emotional distress. Prosecutors brought
all of this up and and Tanya even raised it herself in her victim impact statement. She looked at Steven Milner
and she said all you had to do was stop. She said that she and her husband Penny
Fandrich are doing everything they possibly could to try to alert authorities to Steven Milner's stalking
behavior. Prosecutors acknowledged the only other thing they possibly could have done because there had been
multiple orders of protection already taken out would be to track Steven Milner himself. I mean, had authorities
been tracking Stephen Milner, um, they would have seen there's about a 45 minute drive where he's going back and
forth from Oregon City to Hillsboro, tracking Kenny Fandrich and following him as he went to work. How is Tanya
doing today? >> Well, you know, Tanya obviously has experienced a lot of loss in her life.
Um, nothing, no amount of money will make up for that, but Kenny's estate has a wrongful death suit against Steven
Milner. If any money is won, Tanya would stand to benefit. Um Kenny's estate is seeking damages of several millions of
dollars and reportedly Steven Milner sold his veterinary clinic um years ago and apparently has an estimated net
worth of several million dollars. But you can imagine she has to be shattered. She's a victim in this case. She was a
stalking victim and then her husband was was murdered. So, she is a victim on so
many sides of this case. >> Yeah, absolutely. Um, you know, you always sort of try to look for the
lessons in all of these stories. I think if there is a lesson, it's that stalking
behavior is not normal, right? It's not something to be dismissed and you should
take it seriously. >> Yeah. And certainly Tanya and Kenny Fandrich did and still it was not enough
in this case. No, absolutely not. Um, Natalie, thank you very much. >> Thanks for having me, Amarie.
>> And to everyone else, follow and listen to Postmortem on the free Odyssey app or
wherever you get your podcasts.

"48 Hours" correspondents Natalie Morales and Anne-Marie Green discuss the murder of Kenny Fandrich and how images captured by security cameras showed a masked man holding a can of blue spray paint. Police later identified that man as Steven Milner, a local veterinarian who had been stalking Kenny for years. They discuss the layered detective work that solved the case and share unaired audio of Milner's testimony at trial.

Crime. Social justice. Impact. "48 Hours" investigates the most intriguing crime and justice cases that touch on all areas of the human experience including greed and passion. "48 Hours," which premiered in 1988, has developed a rich history of original reporting and impact journalism that has helped exonerate wrongly convicted people, caused cold cases to be reopened and solved, and along the way changed lives.

For video licensing inquiries, contact: licensing@veritone.com

Brief Summary

The episode covers Kenneth Bandridge's murder, the investigation, and Steven Milner's trial for stalking and murder.

Key points

The Mysterious Death of Kenneth Bandridge. Kenneth Bandridge was found murdered in a parking garage, leading to a complex investigation.
The Role of Security Footage. Investigators used security footage to identify crucial details about the murder.
The Trial of Steven Milner. Milner was found guilty of murder and stalking, sentenced to life in prison.
Steven Milner's Stalking History. Milner had a history of stalking Tanya and Kenny, complicating the case.
Tanya's Tragic Loss. Tanya experienced profound loss, including being a stalking victim and losing her husband.
Lessons from Stalking. The discussion reveals that stalking should never be dismissed as normal behavior.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

This is a huge tech company, Intel.

Natalie discusses the significance of the murder location.

1:48WatchOct 11, 2025

Tension

75/ 100High tension

More from 48 Hours

Solve the Crime

Read a real case one clue at a time, then see how your call held up against the investigators.