Shivangi Sinha
In January 2023, Tanya Fandrich called the police because she was worried that her husband, Kenny Fandrich, had stopped returning her calls. She had tracked his phone, which showed it was at his workplace, the Intel campus parking garage in Hillsboro, Oregon. The police quickly rushed to the scene, and that was when Kenny’s remains were found in his car. The most baffling part was that the security cameras all over the parking lot had been spray-painted hours before the incident. CBS’ ‘48 Hours’, particularly the episode ‘Murder in the Parking Garage’, details the timeline of the case and how Steven Milner, the well-known local veterinarian, was eventually arrested in connection with it.
Steven Milner Began Stalking Kenny Fandrich After His Affair With His Wife Ended
Steven Neil Milner had grown up near Tillamook, Oregon, before attending Oregon State University. In 1993, he earned a doctorate in veterinary medicine and opened Milner Veterinary Hospital in Oregon City, Oregon, in January 2000. He was a respected member of the community, known for being kind and patient with pet parents. People in the area placed a great deal of trust in him, and he also worked with various rescue groups by offering them low-cost treatment. Around 2017, Milner began a romantic relationship with one of his longtime employees, Tanya Fandrich.
Milner had been married twice before, and when his affair with Tanya began, she was married to Kenny Fandrich. About five months after her husband found out about the affair, Tanya ended it quickly. It was then that a series of events began to unfold. In August 2019, Kenny obtained a temporary stalking protection order against Milner. This stemmed from an alleged incident in August 2019 in which Milner had stood outside their house and threatened Kenny’s life. Milner himself admitted that he had used GPS tracking devices on Kenny, but maintained that he did so to protect Tanya, as they were allegedly still in a relationship. She denied his claims, saying she had cut off contact with him and had even left his office in 2019.
Tanya and Kenny alleged that there were incidents involving Milner almost every month. The police were frequently called to their house, although these encounters did not lead to any arrests. In March 2022, when Kenny spotted Milner trailing behind him on the road, he called the police. The episode features bodycam footage of the interaction, which shows Milner admitting that he was following Kenny but claiming that he was doing so only to keep Tanya safe. Shortly afterward, another stalking protective order was issued against Milner. In April 2022, Milner violated the order by placing another tracking device on Fandrich’s car, resulting in a criminal charge against him.
Steven Milner Attempted to Mislead the Investigation Before He Was Identified as the Perpetrator
Kenny Fandrich was also growing tired of fighting a situation that was not coming to a resolution. In September 2022, he filed a civil lawsuit against the veterinary doctor and accused him of running a psychotic campaign intended to harm him. Milner was out on conditional release at the time, but he continued the stalking. He later admitted that he bought additional vehicles through Craigslist, which he would use to follow and trail Kenny whenever he could. On December 13, 2022, the surveillance cameras in the parking garage at the Intel Ronler Acres Campus, which was Kenny’s workplace, were spray-painted. The perpetrator was initially identified as someone in disguise, and it was only much later that he was revealed to be Milner himself.
In January 2023, Milner bought another vehicle under a false identity, setting his plans in motion. On January 27, 2023, Milner disguised himself by wearing a hard hat, tinted glasses, and a mask before arriving at Intel’s Ronler Acres campus again. He spray-painted some of the major surveillance cameras and left. He returned later that afternoon in another vehicle, a maroon Caravan, and parked it next to Kenny’s car. The police were only able to see shadows of movement, but they believed that Milner attacked Kenny as he was getting into his car and then proceeded to kill him in his Caravan. They theorized that Kenny’s remains were placed in his own car after he had been killed, and Milner then left the scene.
As soon as Tanya Fandrich found out that her husband had passed away, she immediately informed the police about Milner. The detectives decided to call him in under the pretext of signing papers related to his stalking case so they could gauge his reaction. When Milner arrived, the detectives featured in the episode said that he looked distraught and that they also noticed he had some makeup on his face. He appeared to be trying to hide a scratch mark. Based on the circumstantial evidence gathered during the investigation, he was arrested on January 31, 2023, and charged with second-degree murder, stalking, and violating a stalking protective order.
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Steven Milner is Serving His Sentence in an Oregon Prison Today
A search warrant was executed at Steven Milner’s house, where detectives found receipts for the eye mask that the man who had been seen spraying the surveillance cameras had been wearing. A video from the store confirmed that Milner was the person who had purchased it. They also found a drawer filled with pictures and items belonging to Tanya Fandrich. Investigators were unable to recover the maroon minivan because it had been taken to a scrapyard and pulled apart. Finally, the biggest piece of evidence was the confirmation of Milner’s DNA on Kenny’s hands.
Milner’s trial started in January 2025. In his defense, his lawyers argued he acted in self-defense, but the prosecution’s evidence was strong enough to convince the jury otherwise. Milner was found guilty of second-degree murder, stalking, and seven counts of violating the stalking protective order. In February 2025, he was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 25 years, along with an additional six years to serve for the stalking convictions if parole is ever granted. In November 2025, Milner also agreed to pay Fandrich’s estate $700,000 as part of a civil settlement. He is now being held at Snake River Correctional Institution in Ontario, Oregon. The details of his parole eligibility have not been made public.
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