Detectives Stephanie Winter and Devin Rigo of the Hillsboro, Oregon Police Department describe the January 2023 discovery of Kenneth "Kenny" Fandrich's body in an Intel parking garage as one of the most unusual scenes they'd seen. Kenny, 56, a contract pipe fitter, was found seated in his black Honda Civic with his lunch, keys and phone stowed neatly beside him; there was minimal blood and the scene did not immediately appear violent.
Security cameras capture a masked man wearing glasses and a hard hat spraying security cameras with blue paint inside a Hillsboro, Oregon, Intel parking garage. / Credit: Washington County District Attorney's Office
Initial Investigation and Surveillance Breakthroughs
Officers were paged shortly after 9 p.m. reporting a death at Intel's Hillsboro facility. Tanya Fandrich, Kenny's wife, had reported him missing after tracking his phone to the lot. Detectives quickly turned to surveillance footage. Earlier that morning, someone wearing a yellow hard hat and red-mirror tinted glasses had spray-painted multiple garage cameras, obscuring several views. Other cameras remained usable and captured a maroon Dodge van — without a front plate — pulling into the garage near Kenny's vehicle at about 3:21 p.m., just after his shift ended.
Kenny Fandrich seen in the parking garage at 3:21 p.m. on Jan. 27, 2023. / Credit: Washington County District Attorney's Office
On the recordings, the faint flash of Kenny's key fob lights and shadowed movement suggested he was grabbed and carried toward the maroon van. Investigators concluded Kenny was likely killed inside that van and then staged back in his Honda; the autopsy later confirmed Kenny died from blunt and compressive trauma to the neck—his neck was broken.
Security cameras in the parking garage captured a masked man spray-painting cameras in the same parking garage a month before Kenny Fendrich's murder, left, and the day of, right. / Credit: Washington County District Attorney's Office
Stalking Allegations and a Suspect
Tanya told detectives that Kenny had been stalked and provided home-security footage of a person crawling beneath a trailer on their property. She identified the stalker as her former employer, Dr. Steven Milner, a wealthy veterinarian. Tanya said she and Milner had an affair beginning in 2017 that ended after it was exposed; according to Tanya and other evidence, Milner's behavior escalated into harassment, following, threats and the placement of tracking devices on vehicles.
A person, pictured far right on the ground, is captured on home security video from the carport of the Fandrich home. / Credit: Washington County District Attorney's Office
Kenny had pursued legal remedies: he sought orders of protection and retained attorney Michael Fuller after repeated incidents. Milner was previously stopped by police in March 2022 after following Kenny; officers warned him to cease contact. In August 2022 Milner faced criminal charges after another tracking device was found under a car and was awaiting trial when Kenny was killed five months later.
Dr. Steven Milner / Credit: The Wayback Machine
Forensic and Digital Evidence
Detectives noted a distinctive forehead crease visible on surveillance images of the masked figure — a small but persistent clue. While building their case, they used digital forensics on Milner's white Toyota SUV: investigators recovered GPS data points and other records that led them to a Home Depot in Oregon City. Store surveillance and security logs revealed a pattern: Milner's SUV arrived and, minutes later, a maroon minivan or a blue sedan left the lot — behavior consistent with using "burner" vehicles to avoid detection.
Dr. Steven Milner seen on police bodycam video after Kenny Fandrich called police to report he was being followed by Milner. / Credit: Washington County District Attorney's Office
Home Depot footage captured the suspect purchasing safety glasses with red-mirror lenses and footage from earlier parking-lot incidents placed the maroon minivan, the blue sedan and Milner's SUV in the same staging area. Detectives also observed that Milner entered a meeting at the police station with makeup concealing a scratch on his nose — an attempt he later admitted making to hide an injury.
Kenny Fandrich, seen on police bodycam video from March 28, 2022, talks with an officer after crashing his car. / Credit: Washington County District Attorney's Office
Searches of Milner's home revealed a disturbing collection of items investigators described as evidence of obsession: framed photos of Tanya, love notes, women's underwear and a cardboard cutout and collage that detectives characterized as a shrine. Those findings reinforced the prosecution's narrative of fixation and escalation.
Police noticed that the masked man and Steven Milner shared the same facial feature – a deep vertical forehead crease. Were they the same person? / Credit: Washington County District Attorney's Office
Missing Crime Scene: The Van That Disappeared
The maroon minivan — believed to be the primary crime scene where Kenny was murdered — proved vital but elusive. Using a recorded VIN tied to security reports, detectives learned the van had been abandoned and towed from I-5 in North Portland days after the murder. By the time detectives tracked the vehicle to a scrapyard, it had been sold and crushed. Investigators watched video of the van being shredded — a major lost opportunity for potential forensic evidence.
Police reviewed surveillance camera images and determined that Kenny Fandrich had been dragged into the maroon minivan, pictured, by a masked man. Police believed the masked man killed Fandrich inside the minivan, before staging his body in the driver's seat of his own vehicle. / Credit: Washington County District Attorney's Office
Decisive Forensic Link and Arrest
Despite the loss of the van, forensic testing on evidence from the victim proved decisive. DNA swabs taken from Kenny's hands returned a match to Steven Milner — a result detectives described as a critical breakthrough. Milner was detained on Jan. 31, 2023, and charged days later with second-degree murder and multiple stalking offenses.
Dr. Steven Milner is seen on security video after buying a pair of safety glasses at a Home Depot on Dec. 13, 2022 – about a month before Kenny Fandrich's murder. / Credit: Washington County District Attorney's Office
Trial, Conviction and Sentencing
At trial on Jan. 13, 2025, Milner admitted to spray-painting cameras and being at the Intel lot but offered a defense that he was attempting to expose Kenny as a dangerous or intoxicated driver and to protect Tanya. He also claimed the encounter involved mutual struggle and self-defense. Prosecutors John Gerhard and Mahalee Streblow argued that the physical evidence, surveillance, digital records and DNA did not support that narrative.
The maroon minivan, pictured left, moments before it was crushed by the metal jaws of the scrapyard claw. / Credit: Washington County District Attorney's Office
After six hours of deliberation, a jury convicted Milner of second-degree murder and multiple stalking counts. At sentencing on Feb. 18, 2025, Milner received life in prison with the possibility of parole after 25 years. Tanya's victim statement — read in court by a prosecutor — accused Milner of being "a vengeful, deceptive, manipulating, self-serving, aggressive, hateful, lying predator."
Steven Milner at his sentencing on Feb. 18, 2025. / Credit: Washington County District Attorney's Office
Aftermath and Lessons
Prosecutors, victim advocates and Kenny's attorney Michael Fuller emphasized the case as a cautionary tale about stalking: legal protections and civil actions do not always prevent lethal escalation. Fuller filed a wrongful-death suit seeking damages from Milner's estate, stating any recovery would go to Tanya.
The multiagency investigation combined surveillance review, digital forensics and DNA analysis to secure a conviction even after the suspected crime-scene vehicle was destroyed. Investigators called the outcome a testament to meticulous detective work and a reminder to take stalking seriously.
Key Quote (Tanya, read in court): "All you had to do was stop… when I say you are a vengeful, deceptive, manipulating, self-serving, aggressive, hateful, lying predator… all you had to do was stop."
