A Psychic, a Warning, and a Halloween That Changed Everything | Stephanie Parze

October 1, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

A Psychic, a Warning, and a Halloween That Changed Everything | Stephanie Parze

In the weeks before she vanished, 25-year-old Stephanie Parze told her family she was scared to be living alone. She had found smudged hand prints on her bathroom mirror—long, spindly fingers dragged down the glass. Then one of her parakeets turned up dead in its cage, ice cold, with no signs of illness. She asked her sister to borrow a gun. She never picked it up. And when her mother later searched Stephanie's nightstand, she found a large kitchen knife—the kind you use to chop vegetables—placed within reach of her bed.

A Life Cut Short

Stephanie Parze grew up in Freehold Township, New Jersey, the eldest of four daughters born to Ed and Charlene Parze, high school sweethearts who built a close-knit family around competitive board game nights, elaborate Christmas light displays, and a philosophy they called "Next"—if someone treats you poorly, you move on. Stephanie was a firecracker: a makeup artist who did special effects for New York Fashion Week, launched a YouTube channel called SMP Creations, and dreamed of being her own boss. She loved horror, Halloween, and creating realistic wounds with prosthetics. She also desperately wanted a family of her own.

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What you'll learn

1 (00:00) **Episode Introduction & Sponsor Pre-Roll** - Kimbyr introduces the episode with ominous imagery (dead bird, hand prints) and a sponsor ad for SimpliSafe.
2 (02:03) **Setting the Stage: The Pars Family & Stephanie’s Childhood** - Kimbyr establishes the loving, close-knit family background that shaped Stephanie’s personality.
3 (06:42) **Stephanie’s Career & Relationship with Tom Senator** - Kimbyr details Stephanie’s cosmetology training, her dream career, and her serious, supportive relationship with boyfriend Tom.
4 (11:20) **Life After Tom: Caretaking, New Job, and Relationship with Mike** - After the breakup, Stephanie moves in with her ailing grandmother, launches a YouTube channel, and starts a new relationship with Michael Arena.
5 (14:14) **Online Dating & Meeting John Ozbilgen** - Feeling lonely, Stephanie turns to dating apps and matches with John Ozbilgen, a charming stockbroker who initially seems perfect.
6 (18:00) **A Traumatic Health Scare & John’s Return** - Stephanie nearly dies from severe pneumonia linked to vaping, and John uses the crisis to win his way back into her life.
7 (22:56) **A Second Chance & Family Concerns** - John and Stephanie become official, but her parents are immediately suspicious of his character after a few awkward encounters.

+ Full timestamped outline available in the app

Show Notes

My Halloween Series has begun! The name of these series are chosen by the community every year & I reveal a special intro for each one. Our first case is one that really affected me. What happened to Stephanie, and what her poor family went through, still makes me tear up when I think about it today. Stephanie Parze was a vibrant 25-year-old makeup artist and social media influencer from Freehold Township, known for her warmth, creativity, and fierce love for her family. On the night before Halloween in 2019, Stephanie went out with her mom and relatives for a girls' night, a show featuring a well-known psychic. The family came home together. Stephanie headed to her own place just minutes away. And then… nothing.

When her car and phone were found at the house the next morning, but Stephanie was nowhere to be seen, her family knew immediately that something was horribly wrong, she would never leave without her phone, and never go silent on the people she loved. What followed was an agonizing search that would grip all of New Jersey, as her devoted parents refused to stop until they found her.

In this episode of True Crime with Kimbyr, we trace the full Stephanie Parze case: the bright young woman she was, the chilling night she vanished, and a father's relentless fight to bring his daughter home.

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🚨 This video is for educational purposes & documentary purposes ONLY. All info is gathered ONLINE from multiple sources, and though each case is thoroughly researched, not all info is always 100% valid. Please do your own research.

👩🏻‍🎓 ABOUT ME: I'm Kimbyrleigha; thanks in advance for reading this. I think it's important to know someone's background and education because it helps explain how they view situations and why they may hold a particular point of view. I hold a bachelor's degree in Psychology and Sociology.

I graduated from law school in 2010 and have a Juris Doctor (law degree). I'm also currently in school studying Medicolegal Investigation.

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