Northern Crimes

The Montana Rest Stop Murder

Episode Summary

In 1985, Dexter Stefonek’s car was found burning at a Montana rest stop—and the mystery of what happened to him still lingers.

Episode Notes

In November 1985, 67-year-old Dexter Stefonek set out on a cross-country drive from Oregon back to his home in Wisconsin. But along Interstate 94 in eastern Montana, his journey ended in tragedy. His Plymouth Horizon was found engulfed in flames at the Bad Route Rest Area, and months later, his body turned up in a remote landfill—shot, beaten, and discarded. Who killed Dexter Stefonek, and why? From strange graffiti in a rest stop bathroom to a long trail of dead ends, this is the haunting story of The Montana Rest Stop Murder—a case that underscores how quickly an ordinary journey can turn into a deadly mystery.