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The Dateline episode, "The Strange Life of Dr. Schwartz," delved into a brutal crime record.
Dr. Steven Schwartz was a well-respected kidney specialist in Tampa, Florida. He was a well-respected kidney specialist with an estimated fortune of up to $30 million. Then, in May 2014, someone murdered him violently in his home. The initial police call reported a random robbery.
Investigators soon exposed a life filled with family conflict and a shocking hidden history. The doctor's death involved strangulation, a shooting, and a stabbing.
Investigators quickly ruled out the possibility of an accident. Now, we review five strange details that define this bizarre case.
Dateline: Five bizarre details about Dr. Steven Schwartz’s murder
1. The killer knew the security system
Police found Dr. Steven Schwartz murdered in his Tarpon Springs waterfront home. The crime scene, sadly, appeared staged to look like a burglary. The killer used multiple weapons on the doctor and clearly wanted to guarantee his death. Investigators quickly realized one key item was missing.
The hard drive from the home's elaborate security camera system had disappeared. The security system was costly and complex, suggesting that a person close to Dr. Schwartz pulled the trigger. That killer knew exactly where to look for the drive. Carter Schwartz, the victim's son, said the crime scene felt staged. He told police to look closely at everyone in the family. This detail is pure Dateline material.
2. The widow’s embezzlement past
Dr. Schwartz's wife, Becky Schwartz, stood to inherit his vast fortune. She managed his medical practice and his investments. The police examined her financial history next. They found she had a prior felony conviction. She had embezzled thousands of dollars from Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and used the stolen money to buy a car and a boat for herself.
This prior crime fueled the Dateline theory that financial greed drove the murder. Dr. Schwartz's medical partner, Dr. Patton, stated her motive clearly. He said,
Money. Money. Money. She is into money like you and I are into breathing air.
This greed pointed straight at the woman who stood to gain everything.
3. The son named the killers immediately
Carter Schwartz followed in his father's footsteps into medicine. He had always maintained an "uneasy" relationship with his stepmother, Becky. Earlier, he had found that she moved money into accounts only in her name. Carter was traveling when his father died. He called his uncle from the airport, then immediately declared to Van Sant,
It's Becky, Ben or a combination thereof. I don't know how, but I know one of the two of them or both are involved,
He felt certain his father was worth much more to Becky dead than alive. He believed her motive was purely financial. Carter later learned his father had secretly changed his will, the new will left his entire estate to Becky. That information made the local Dateline affiliates pay attention.
4. The contractor claimed a murder-for-hire offer
Anton Leo Stragaj, the family's contractor, was the only person criminally charged with the murder. Stragaj's DNA was found at the crime scene. He admitted he discovered the body but did not call the police, insisting he did not kill the doctor. He claimed Becky was the real killer instead. Stragaj told police that Becky had previously asked him to find someone to murder her husband. He told CBS News,
She set me up. She planned it. She planned it for a long time
Stragaj pleaded guilty to being an accessory after the fact. He was deported to Albania. The ongoing nature of the legal battle keeps this story current for Dateline.
5. Dr. Steven Shwartz had a secret, murderous past
The most shocking detail surfaced years after the murder. As a young man in 1961, Steven Schwartz was involved in a murder. He tried to rob a dentist in Hobbs, New Mexico, and the robbery resulted in the death of Dr. Victor Cook. Schwartz served nine years in prison for the crime.
He was eventually pardoned, a secret he kept hidden for over five decades. Attorneys suggested Becky knew about this crime and theorized she blackmailed her husband. Attorney Wil Florin stated this possibility, asking,
Is the suggestion... that Rebecca Schwartz may have said to him, 'If you don't transfer everything in the estate over to me, I will make this deep dark secret public?
A police document also noted that an office worker claimed Becky had blackmailed the doctor.
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Dateline revealed the in-depth details about Dr. Steven Schwartz's murder. His life ended violently, and the shocking secrets still haunt his family. The motive centered on his immense wealth. A civil court later found Becky Schwartz responsible for the death. The court ordered her to pay the doctor's children $200 million. Becky Schwartz has never faced criminal charges for the murder. Justice for Dr. Schwartz remains a complicated goal in Florida.
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