Man sentenced for killing wife 11 years ago

Public Opinion (Chambersburg, PA) - June 15, 2006
Author: Public Opinion Online

MCCONNELLSBURG -- Stephen Vanderbeek, 52, was sentenced in Fulton County Court for strangling his wife, Cynthia Vanderbeek, more than 11 years ago and discarding her body on a mountain between Fulton and Franklin counties.

Fulton County Court Judge Carol Van Horn sentenced Vanderbeek to serve seven to 14 years in state prison. He will serve a one-year sentence for abuse of a corpse concurrently. After his jail time, he will be on probation for two years.

Vanderbeek was arrested a year ago in New Jersey.

The Doe Network ( www.doenetwork.org), a world-wide organization that aids police in cold cases concerning murders and missing persons, helped identify the victim in April 2004. DNA tests in December 2004 confirmed her identity.

Vanderbeek had attempted to convince investigators that his wife was alive after the time of her disappearance. Her family in Montgomery County, Md., reported her missing in late March 1995.

A medical examiner estimated the time of her death to be between March 27 and April 10, 1995.

The Vanderbeeks were traveling from Maine to their home in Florida at the time of her death.