Stephen Christopher Stanko (born January 13, 1968,[1][2]Guantánamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba[3]) is an American convicted murderer, who killed two people and raped a teenage girl in Murrells Inlet, South Carolina in 2005.
Stanko has been described as "a highly intelligent, polished ex-convict who didn't mind talking about his life in prison or the book he'd written about it.
"[5] After his release in 2004, Stanko moved to Myrtle Beach, renting a room in the home of a Socastee widow for almost a year.
"[7] After a nationwide manhunt,[8] based on tips received after the posting of a $10,000 reward for information leading to his capture,[9] Stanko was arrested without incident by the U.S.
[10] Stephen Stanko is currently on death row at Broad River Correctional Institution in Columbia, South Carolina.
[11] The first phase of Stanko's appeals process began on September 23, 2007, when he appeared before the South Carolina Supreme Court in a bid to overturn his death penalty conviction in the Laura Ling case.