The Stephanie Parze case involves the October 2019 disappearance and murder of a 25-year-old Freehold Township, New Jersey woman by her ex-boyfriend, John Ozbilgen, who killed himself weeks later while under investigation and before her body was found. Parze vanished on the night of October 30, 2019, after leaving a psychic medium event in New Brunswick. Her remains were discovered in a wooded area of Old Bridge on January 26, 2020, and Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher Gramiccioni publicly named Ozbilgen as her killer the following day.
The Night Stephanie Parze Disappeared
Parze attended a psychic medium event in New Brunswick on the evening of October 30, 2019. She was last seen around 10 p.m. leaving to drive home, and her last known communication was a Snapchat sent while she was on the road.1Good Morning America. Stephanie Parze Found Dead in Jersey Woods Months After Going Missing She was staying at her grandmother’s home in Freehold. The next morning her car was in the driveway, but Parze was not inside and had not shown up for work.2SILive.com. Stephanie Parze’s Death: A Timeline
Investigators later learned that Ozbilgen had sent Parze ten unanswered text messages that night, described by prosecutors as “expletive-laced.”3NBC New York. Stephanie Parze’s Ex-Boyfriend Released From Custody Gramiccioni later said authorities believe Parze was killed in the early hours of October 31, 2019.4Asbury Park Press. Stephanie Parze Press Conference
Who John Ozbilgen Was
John Ozbilgen was a 29-year-old unemployed stockbroker who had been in an on-and-off relationship with Parze.5ABC 7 New York. Funeral Held for NJ Woman Who Went Missing for Nearly Four Months He was named a person of interest by mid-November 2019.6The New York Times. Stephanie Parze Body Found
He had a documented history of violence against women. Since June 2019, he had been arrested twice for domestic violence.7The New York Times. John Ozbilgen, Stephanie Parze A June 2019 complaint by another woman, who accused him of pulling her hair and dragging her, was later dismissed.8NJ1015.com. Stephanie Parze’s Ex Admitted Killing Her in Suicide Note, Prosecutor Says In September 2019, Parze herself filed a domestic violence complaint accusing him of striking her hand and injuring her thumb, then hitting the side of her head with the back of his hand. She stated in her complaints that she intended to end the relationship and feared future assaults.9NBC New York. Missing NJ Woman Accused Boyfriend of Abuse Multiple Times
Gramiccioni later said two other women had also filed complaints against Ozbilgen, and he was awaiting trial on one of those cases at the time of his death. At least one other ex-girlfriend had obtained a restraining order against him.10Patch. Parze Ex-Boyfriend’s Suicide Notes
The Child Pornography Arrest and Release
On November 8, 2019, detectives searching Ozbilgen’s Freehold Township home as part of the Parze investigation performed a forensic review of his iPhone and found images of child pornography depicting babies and young girls.11Asbury Park Press. Stephanie Parze’s One-Time Boyfriend Arrested on Child Pornography He was charged with one count of possession of child pornography, a third-degree offense carrying up to five years in state prison.12NJ.com. Man Who Dated Missing NJ Woman Charged With Possessing Child Porn Prosecutors said the pornography charge was “totally unrelated” to the disappearance, though it came from the same search.
Ozbilgen spent 11 days at the Monmouth County Correctional Institution. On November 19, 2019, a Superior Court judge ordered his release, ruling the single charge was insufficient to hold him pending trial. He was ordered to report weekly, avoid alcohol, stay off the internet, and not possess firearms.3NBC New York. Stephanie Parze’s Ex-Boyfriend Released From Custody
Ozbilgen’s Suicide and What the Notes Said
Three days after his release, on November 22, 2019, Ozbilgen was found hanged in the garage of his parents’ Freehold Township home. He left multiple notes. In a letter to his family, he wrote: “Most of the stuff you will hear is true, exept (sic) the child porn, I would never do that.” He also wrote that he “can’t do life in prison” and that he had “dug myself in a deep hole, this is the only choice.”13Oxygen. Suicide Notes of John Ozbilgen Released
In a separate note to an ex-girlfriend, Ozbilgen referred to an unnamed woman, understood by investigators to be Parze, as “the girl in the news,” calling her “a piece of s—” who “hurt me over and over.”14Law & Crime. Parents of Dead Murder Suspect Investigated for Allegedly Hiding His Confession The notes did not say where Parze’s remains were, so the search for her body continued for another two months.
How Her Remains Were Found
On the afternoon of Sunday, January 26, 2020, two teenage boys walking through a wooded area near Route 9 and Jake Brown Road in Old Bridge, New Jersey, discovered human remains.4Asbury Park Press. Stephanie Parze Press Conference The Monmouth County medical examiner confirmed the next morning that the remains were Parze’s, 87 days after she vanished.15Asbury Park Press. Body Found in Old Bridge Identified as Missing Woman Stephanie Parze As of the January 27 press conference, the cause of death had not yet been determined.1Good Morning America. Stephanie Parze Found Dead in Jersey Woods Months After Going Missing
At that press conference, Gramiccioni formally announced: “John Ozbilgen was responsible for the homicide of Stephanie Parze.” He said the suicide notes, together with further analysis of seized evidence, confirmed the conclusion. No one else was believed to have been involved in the killing itself, though the prosecutor said there were “some loose ends” and that “nothing is off the table” as to whether anyone had helped dispose of the body.4Asbury Park Press. Stephanie Parze Press Conference
Ed Parze, Stephanie’s father, spoke at the same conference: “Stephanie is home — she’s coming home, at last, where she belongs.”16NBC New York. Body Recovered in Wooded Area in Middlesex County Because Ozbilgen was already dead, there was no trial.
The Investigation Into Ozbilgen’s Parents
Attention later turned to John Ozbilgen’s parents, Hakan and Cynthia Ozbilgen. Monmouth County prosecutors opened an investigation into whether the couple had hindered the prosecution or obstructed the case. Investigators believed there may have been text communications between Ozbilgen and his parents after the killing, and they suspected the parents may have been aware of their son’s confession.14Law & Crime. Parents of Dead Murder Suspect Investigated for Allegedly Hiding His Confession
Through their attorney, Richard E. Incremona, the parents denied wrongdoing: “We don’t truly know what happened to Stephanie, but what we do know is John never said that he hurt Stephanie to us or in the note that he left us.”17Asbury Park Press. Parents of John Ozbilgen Rebuke Claims and Maintain Son Is Innocent The family maintained that John killed himself under the pressure of what they called false child pornography charges and the searches, not from guilt over Parze’s death. Incremona said the suicide note contents were “subject to interpretation” and contained “no outright admission” of the killing, and he added that the family’s initial cooperation with prosecutors “ultimately stopped because it became adversarial.” As of late 2020 reporting, the investigation into the parents remained open, and no charges had been filed against them.18NJ.com. Parents of Man Named as Stephanie Parze’s Killer Deny Claims They May Have Hindered Case
The Foundation and Stephanie’s Law
Ed Parze founded the Stephanie Nicole Parze Foundation to support victims of domestic violence and their families and to help in missing persons cases. The foundation runs a personal safety alert system, safety monitoring resources, educational outreach on domestic violence, stalking, human trafficking, and strangulation, a care bag program, and resume assistance for survivors rebuilding their lives.19Stephanie Nicole Parze Foundation. SNPF Home
The case also produced proposed New Jersey legislation known as Stephanie’s Law (Senate Bill No. 2601 in the 222nd Legislature), introduced by Senators Vin Gopal and Brian P. Stack. The bill would direct the Administrative Office of the Courts, working with the Attorney General, to build and maintain a publicly accessible domestic violence internet registry. It would list people convicted of domestic violence crimes, those subject to final restraining orders, and those who committed contempt of a restraining order, including the offender’s name, aliases, photograph, offense description, vehicle information, and last known address.20New Jersey Legislature. Senate Bill No. 2601 – Stephanie’s Law The foundation took part in a Senate Judiciary Committee meeting on the bill in June 2024, and as of 2026 it remains pending.19Stephanie Nicole Parze Foundation. SNPF Home