STROUDSBURG, Pa. — It's been a week of developments in a cold case that spans two counties in the Poconos
Investigators in Monroe County are piecing together the 2012 death of Stephen Lepore.
Authorities laid out where the case stands during a news conference Friday morning at the Monroe County Public Safety Center near Stroudsburg.
Stephen Lepore's family got the news this week that they have waited 11 years for.
Lapore's remains were found earlier this week in Wayne County, more than a decade after his disappearance. Forensic investigators identified the remains as Lepore.
The Wayne County coroner said Lepore died from a gunshot wound to the head.
Lapore first went missing back in 2012, and investigators say they quickly hit dead ends.
Court paperwork shows that at the time he disappeared in 2012, Lepore may have been involved in a dispute over money with a man named Brian Hewson. Police say the remains of Lepore were found in the backyard of a home owned by a relative of Hewson.
Then in 2015, according to court paperwork, a former employee of Hewson's came forward. He told police that Hewson cut a deal with him to kill Lepore because of a dispute over money.
Investigators said just this week, nearly eight years later, Hewson told investigators Lepore's body would be found near the pool at his relative's home off Peet Road, Dreher Township, in Wayne County.
That's exactly where police cadaver dogs and excavators located the remains earlier this week.
They believe Lapore was shot in the head and killed in Hewson's garage about 20 minutes from where his body was found.
Police say this investigation was incredibly lengthy because of the changing stories.
"2015, those statements were given with a grant of immunity. At that point, we had no idea where Mr. Lapore was or what happened to him. So, since that time, he claims not to have known where the remains were placed. It was only recently this week we discovered where to search," said Det. Craig Vanlouvender, Monroe County district attorney's office. "It wasn't a place that I thought they were located. So, whether they have been there the entire time or whether they were moved from somewhere else, that's something that will be investigated."
Investigators who have worked on this case from the beginning say they have been waiting a long time to deliver answers to Lepore's family.
"Investigators never stopped thinking about it, so even when the case runs cold, even when the tips stop coming in, even when there's no evidence over the years, it's never really out of your mind," said Pocono Mountain Regional Police Chief Chris Wagner.
Brian Hewson is currently in custody in Florida on separate misdemeanor charges. His former employee who gave the tip is not in custody.
Investigators say they expect charges to be handed down in the case soon but did not give a timeline.
Images from news conference on Stephen Lepore homicide
