The Murder of Rebecca ‘Becky’ Vargas
For this case I watched an episode of American Monster. It’s season 3, episode 3, titled ‘Backyard Daddy.’
A young mother is killed at her new apartment.
Background
Rebecca ‘Becky’ Vargas
Becky met Stephen Vargas in 1987. Becky was best friends with Stephen’s sister Melinda, and they had an instant connection, despite Stephen being 13 years older.
They eventually moved in together, and had two daughters, Madeline and Stevie. The family seemed very happy together, but it was later discovered that Becky and Stephen had issues due to Stephen’s jealousy and controlling behavior.
Two Marriages
In 1991, after a few years together and the birth of their two daughters, Becky and Stephen finally got married in Las Vegas.
Melinda said she recalled that everything seemed fine for awhile, until she found out that Stephen had told Becky she couldn’t be friends with her anymore. He wanted to isolate her as much as possible.
In 1993, Becky filed for divorce. Her relationship with Stephen was amicable, because they wanted to stay close for their daughters. It brought them closer together, and they decided to remarry in January 1994.
Becky was happy for awhile, she was even able to hangout with Melinda again. It didn’t take long for Stephen’s jealous and controlling behavior to reappear, and Becky had enough. Ten months later Becky filed for divorce again, but Stephen asked her to wait until after the holidays. He wanted their daughters to enjoy Christmas, and Becky agreed.
The Murder
After the holidays, Becky moved 15 minutes away from Ogden, Utah, to a new apartment. She also started seeing someone, and so did Stephen.
In the early morning hours of December 28, 1995, the Ogden police responded to a 911 call. The body of a young female was found outside of an apartment building around 6:30am. It was Becky, and Melinda had been the one to find her body.
Becky had been found outside, near the side entrance of her apartment complex. She had been violently attacked, and her hair was saturated with blood. It was obvious that her cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head.
The police also found a set of keys near her body, and believed she had been attacked while trying to get into her apartment. The crime scene had also been staged to look like a sexual assault had taken place. Becky’s sweatshirt and bra had been pushed up, but her pants were still on and zipped up. There was no sign that Becky had been actually been sexually assaulted.
The Investigation
The first person that the police asked to come in for questioning was Melinda. Melinda told them that Stephen had called her, and asked if she had seen Becky. Melinda said she hadn’t. Stephen said that Becky had gone to dinner and a movie with him and their daughters the previous evening, and was supposed to call him when she returned home. Melinda said Stephen asked her to go over to Becky’s to make sure she was okay.
Melinda said she and her husband David drove to Becky’s around midnight on December 28. Melinda said they went around the back, and heard moaning coming from Becky’s apartment. Melinda said she wanted to go in, but that David told her not to. They then left, and drove to a payphone to call Stephen. They told him that Becky was fine, and that they heard noises coming from her apartment.
Next, they asked Stephen to come into the station. They asked him about his timeline from the previous night. Stephen told them that he, Becky, and the girls went to dinner and to see Toy Story. He said Becky decided to grab some things from the house, and take them to her apartment. Stephen told the police a few other details that Melinda left out. He said he drove by Becky’s apartment because he was worried about her, and that he also saw and spoke to Melinda and David.
The police confronted Melinda about this, and she said she was in shock about what she had found. Melinda said she and David had seen Stephen at a nearby intersection, then drove by Becky’s apartment again. Melinda said it was quiet this time, so they left.
The police didn’t have any evidence against Melinda, Stephen or David, so they were released.
It’s Always the Husband
During the investigation, the police found a flashlight at the crime scene, which they determined was the murder weapon. It had hair and blood on it. They also discovered that there were two pools of blood, and discovered that Becky had been attacked, dragged and attacked again in a different spot.
About a week after the murder, the police received a call from the Cheyenne, Wyoming police. They had received some information from a man named Robert Escobal, Stephen’s half-brother. Robert had said that on December 22, Stephen asked him to drive to Ogden to kill Becky. Robert said no, and thought Stephen was kidding.
After learning this information, a search warrant was obtained for Stephen’s house and car. Inside the car on the floor mats, the police found dried leaves with a red substance on them. The leaves were tested, and Becky’s DNA came back as a positive match.
Arrest and Trial
On January 11, 1996, Stephen Vargas was arrested. He was charged with pre-meditated murder.
At his trial, Stephen maintained his innocence. It didn’t matter to the jury because on November 14, 1996, Stephen was found guilty. He was sentenced to 5 years to life in prison.
The Confession
Stephen maintained his innocence until 2016. At a parole hearing, he agreed to tell everyone what really happened. He said that on December 27, 1995, after the dinner, movie, and after his daughters were asleep, he went with Becky to her new apartment. Stephen’s confession, or a part of it at least, was played in the final few minutes of this episode. Stephen said he was “pissed, jealous and embarrassed,” and grabbed a hammer. He said he kept hitting Becky, and learned that he hit her a total of 8 times. He said he then left to drive home.
Once he returned home, he called Melinda to ask her to go check on Becky. Melinda called him back, and said she heard Becky moaning. Stephen realized that Becky had survived, and he drove back to finish the job.
He found Becky still alive, dragged her to a different area of the backyard, and grabbed a flashlight. He hit her in the head a few times until she finally passed away.
Melinda said Stephen didn’t want anyone else to have Becky. Stephen’s family wrote letters, begging for them not to release Stephen. His parole was denied until May 2026.
Stephen Vargas
FINAL THOUGHTS
I got a little emotional watching this episode. Stephen’s daughters, and Melinda were completely heartbroken over the loss of Becky. Stephen was selfish, controlling and jealous. He took matters into his own hands to stop Becky from moving on. He then let his sister find her body. He doesn’t deserve to ever get out of prison, and hopefully he never will.
I also want to add one more note. This is my blog and my opinions. I can say whatever I want, and for anyone who wants to attack me over my opinions, I will delete your posts and not respond. That is all!
Sources
https://thecinemaholic.com/where-is-stephen-vargas-now/
https://www.deseret.com/1996/12/21/19284087/man-gets-5-to-life-term-for-killing-his-wife-a-year-ago
