Stephens’ body positively identified
The body of a Baldwin County man discovered at the close of 2021 has not only been identified by investigators with the Jones County Sheriff’s Office, but an arrest has also been made in connection with his death.
Dafredia Yvette Stephens, 44, was arrested July 11 and charged with concealing the death of another and abandonment of a dead body.
In a July 13 interview with JCSO Capt. Kenny Allen, he said the body of 74-year-old Fredrick Stephens was found Dec. 27, 2021, on Cheehaw Trail by a public works employee. He said the body of the deceased appeared to have been there for a couple of days.
The first step in the investigation of the death was identification of the body. Allen said a GBI sketch artist produced a rendering of what the deceased looked like in life that turned out to be spot on.
The captain said, when the sketch was circulated, a phone call was received from a family member.
“After we thought we knew who he was, we got a DNA sample from a sister who lived out of state. The test had to be outsourced and took almost 18 months to get the results,” he said.
Allen said he received a call from the company a couple of weeks ago but received the official paperwork Monday confirming it was Stephens.
The captain said investigators started digging into who Stephens was supposed to be staying with after the unofficial identification. He said that included financial records.
“We discovered he was still receiving social security benefits and his ‘caregiver’ was spending those benefits,” he said.
Allen said it was discovered that Dafredia Stephens was joint on the account. He said once the identity of the deceased was confirmed, Stephens was arrested on the two charges, which are felonies.
“We took her into custody at the bank when she was attempting make a withdrawal,” the captain said.
He explained that during their investigation, it was discovered that Dafredia was the niece of the deceased. It was her habit to withdraw the funds from her uncle’s check immediately after they were deposited.
Allen said Fredrick Stephens came to Baldwin County to be near his brother. After the brother went to prison, Dafredia was the one who was to take care of him. The captain said he was meeting with the District Attorney and Baldwin County Investigator Robert Butch the following day to discuss additional charges.
A July 13 Facebook post by Jones County Sheriff Butch Reece stated that Fredrick Stephens’ cause of death is undetermined, and he likely died from natural causes. He said, however, it is believed that Defredia Stephens concealed his death so she could continue to financially benefit each month.
“There are those who advocate for free housing, food and medical care.
Yesterday, Dafredia Stephens was arrested and charged with concealing a death and abandonment of a dead body. She is currently housed in our gated community, where she will now receive all of those things, free of charge to her,” he said.
Reece added his appreciation for those to assisted with the identification and arrest.
“I’d like to thank everyone for all their help in this case, from those who submitted tips to all the law enforcement involved in this case. Sometimes the wheels of justice turn slowly, but they do turn,” the sheriff said. “We hope that Mr. Stephens’ family can now have closure, and he can rest in peace.”
