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'Don't stay silent': True-crime TV show examines pizza-delivery murder of Ashley Biggs

"Someone They Knew" is a new true-crime show on Court TV that examines murders involving people who weren't strangers.
"Someone They Knew" is a new true-crime show on Court TV that examines murders involving people who weren't strangers.

Ashley Biggs knew the man and woman who murdered her.

She and Chad Cobb were locked in a bitter custody battle over their young daughter.

And Erica Stefanko, Cobb’s wife at the time, called in the bogus pizza order that lured Biggs, a delivery driver, to the back of a New Franklin business where Cobb killed her.

A snapshot of murder victim Ashley Biggs.
A snapshot of murder victim Ashley Biggs.

Biggs’ 2012 slaying will be explored in a new true-crime show that will air at 9 p.m. March 20 on Court TV. The show, called “Someone They Knew,” examines killings involving people who are intimately tied.

This is one of three true-crime shows that have been done or are in the works on Biggs’ case. The first aired in November 2021 on “Killer Cases” on A & E. “American Justice,” also on A & E, will be in New Franklin next week to tape interviews for an upcoming episode.

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New Franklin Det. Michael Hitchings, who led the investigation into Biggs’ slaying, will appear on each of the shows. He said this isn’t his favorite part of this job but he’s willing to do it.

“It gets a little recognition out there for the family – a little closure,” he said.

Hitchings also doesn’t mind talking about this case because he’s pleased with the outcome.

“It’s a good feeling to know we got to the end of it – and both people are paying their dues now,” he said.

Two people sentenced to prison for Ashley Biggs' murder

Chad Cobb is serving a life sentence for the murder of his former girlfriend Ashley Biggs in 2012.
Chad Cobb is serving a life sentence for the murder of his former girlfriend Ashley Biggs in 2012.

Chad Cobb, 40, is serving a life sentence for the murder of Biggs, 25, of Jackson Township, the mother of his then-6-year-old daughter. He pleaded guilty shortly after Biggs’ murder in a deal that prevented him from facing the death penalty.

Erica Stefanko breaks down as she listens to family members speak before her sentencing in Summit County Common Pleas Court in July 2021. She was sentenced to life in prison with possible parole after 30 years for her role in the 2012 pizza-delivery murder of Ashley Biggs.
Erica Stefanko breaks down as she listens to family members speak before her sentencing in Summit County Common Pleas Court in July 2021. She was sentenced to life in prison with possible parole after 30 years for her role in the 2012 pizza-delivery murder of Ashley Biggs.

Stefanko, who divorced Cobb after he went to prison and married one of his good friends, was convicted in a high-profile trial in November 2020 of helping Cobb with the murder. Her role included making the bogus pizza delivery call.

Stefanko, 39, of Rittman, was sentenced to life in prison with possible parole after 30 years. She has appealed.

Both Chad Cobb and his and Biggs’ daughter, who is now a teenager, testified in Stefanko’s trial. The daughter recalled Stefanko ordering a pizza and using a fake name on the night of Biggs’ murder.

Teen daughter of victim testifies: Daughter of slain woman recalls stepmother ordering pizza on the night of the murder

New true-crime show explores Biggs' slaying

The “Someone They Knew” show includes footage from Stefanko’s trial, which was broadcast on Court TV and covered by the Beacon Journal, and several interviews, including with Hitchings; Cindee Cobb, Chad’s mother; and Ryan Foster, a friend of Biggs.

Cindee Cobb, the mother of Chad Cobb, speaks during the sentencing of Erica Stefanko for her role in the 2012 pizza-delivery murder of Ashley Biggs. Stefanko was sentenced to life in prison with possible parole after 30 years.
Cindee Cobb, the mother of Chad Cobb, speaks during the sentencing of Erica Stefanko for her role in the 2012 pizza-delivery murder of Ashley Biggs. Stefanko was sentenced to life in prison with possible parole after 30 years.

Tamron Hall, the show’s host and an Emmy-award-winning actress, referred to the relationship between Biggs and Chad Cobb as “a powder keg of domestic violence that is about to explode,” according to an advance copy of the episode provided to the Beacon Journal.

Teen daughter of victim shares her story: Rittman teen prevails despite loss of parents to murder and prison

The daughter of Chad Cobb holds a cell phone showing a photograph of her father in December 2020. Cobb is serving a life sentence for the 2012 murder of Ashley Biggs, his daughter's mother.
The daughter of Chad Cobb holds a cell phone showing a photograph of her father in December 2020. Cobb is serving a life sentence for the 2012 murder of Ashley Biggs, his daughter's mother.

Cobb and Biggs’ daughter doesn’t appear in the show but provided a statement that was read during the episode.

“I’ve gone through tragedy and survived to be a strong young person that does my own fact-finding to make my own decisions and has the strength and knowledge to be able to stand on my own two feet,” she said. “I feel safer after experiencing the outcome of Erica’s sentencing, knowing that the world will be one person safer for at least a few decades.”

Foster, Biggs’ friend, urged others who are in complicated relationships and are feeling threatened to seek help.

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“Don’t stay silent,” Foster said. “Those who remain silent are those who lose their lives.”

Stephanie Warsmith can be reached at swarsmith@thebeaconjournal.com, 330-996-3705 and on Twitter: @swarsmithabj.

Victim agencies that can help:

Battered Women’s Shelter of Summit and Medina Counties: 330-374-1111 (24-hour hotline.) Website: https://hopeandhealingresources.org.

Victim Assistance of Summit County: 330-376-0040 (24-hour hotline.) Website: https://victimassistanceprogram.org.

National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-SAFE (7233).

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Pizza-delivery murder of Ashley Biggs featured on 'Someone They Knew'