In the early morning hours of January 23, 2022, the life of 34-year-old Ashley L. Roberts was tragically cut short in the Sheraden neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. A devoted mother of four, Roberts was found on Minton Street, having been shot multiple times and struck by a vehicle. The grim discovery was made after police responded to a ShotSpotter alert that detected 22 rounds fired in the area just before 5:40 a.m.
For nearly a year, Ashley's family and friends were left
without answers, holding vigils and pleading for justice for the woman they remembered as a wonderful mother and a great friend. She was an avid supporter of the Sto-Rox football team, where her son played, and her absence was deeply felt within the community. Her loved ones described the pain of learning about her death through news reports of her car at the crime scene and were haunted by the brutal nature of her killing.
A significant breakthrough in the case came in December 2022, when police arrested 27-year-old Alec Stefanovits and charged him with homicide. The investigation revealed a sinister murder-for-hire plot. According to witnesses who came forward, a man named Steven Bundridge had hired Stefanovits to kill Roberts. The motive appeared to be rooted in a belief that she had been involved in the theft of Bundridge's vehicle. The agreed-upon price for her life was reportedly $10,000, though Stefanovits ultimately received about $4,000 in cash, drugs, and clothing. In a turn of events, Bundridge himself was shot and killed in a separate incident in December 2022 before he could be brought to justice for his role in orchestrating Ashley's murder.
In January 2025, Alec Stefanovits pleaded guilty to third-degree murder. He admitted to police that he was paid by Steven Bundridge to kill Roberts. At his sentencing, Stefanovits, then 30, expressed remorse, attributing his actions to a drug-fueled state. He was sentenced to serve 18 to 36 years in state prison. While the conviction brought a measure of legal closure, it could not fill the void left by the loss of a mother whose four children now have to navigate life without her.
