Sister tells Craig's side of the story
MISSING PLAINFIELD MOTHER
Since Lisa Stebic disappeared April 30 from her Plainfield home, her husband's family has not been nearly as vocal as her own.
But Craig Stebic's sister Kim Dove spoke out in an e-mail to The Herald News this week, saying she's afraid the worst has happened to Lisa -- and that her brother has been unfairly hounded by the press.
"I pray for a good outcome but fear that it has gone too long for that to be. I don't know what has happened or what will be but I do know my brother and I know that this is really hard on him," she wrote. "I can only imagine how I would feel if I was a victim of the media for no reason except that they need to make news."
Stebic's lawyer Dion Davi has advised him not to speak to the media or the police. Stebic has blocked police from re-interviewing his children, also on Davi's advice.
Earlier this month, Stebic's children, ages 11 and 12, testified before a Will County grand jury.
"(Craig) has gone on the advice of his divorce attorney and that is why everyone has condemned him," Dove wrote. "I believe he has done what anyone else would have done in this given situation. People just get caught up in the media hype and cannot think for themselves. It is really awful."
Dove also countered recent reports that Stebic isolated Lisa and their children from her parents, saying Lisa had a strained relationship with her parents before Craig was in the picture.
Lisa's sisters last month said Craig has cut them off from contacting his children because he was upset about a billboard with Lisa's picture posted near his vacation home in Michigan.
Lisa's family said Craig had told his in-laws they were not to speak to their grandchildren or Lisa.
"There are two sides to every story and you have continuously printed the side that you want the public to hear," Dove wrote. "My brother is a good father and a good person and would do anything for you and his kids love him. They have a great relationship with their dad and I think they would tell you that."
Lisa met Craig as a teenager, Greenberg said. The couple married in 1993 and separated in 1995 while Lisa was pregnant with their first child.
Lisa moved in with her parents but decided to go back to Craig, and her parents weren't happy about it, Greenberg said.
While her husband's relationship with her parents was rocky, Lisa continued to see her parents until about two years ago, Greenberg said.
"A few years ago, Craig made it clear they were not welcome at his home," Greenberg said. "It even advanced beyond that; they were not to contact (Lisa or their children)."
While Stebic has not attended the searches, vigils and fundraisers for his wife, which Davi said was his advice, Dove said she and her children have been at some searches and have put up fliers around their hometown.
"Craig would of done anything he could to help but from the beginning he was mobbed by the media and his children were very upset by all of this," Dove wrote. "There is no concern for them as far as the media is concerned.
"(Lisa's) children and husband are all suffering and just want to be left alone," she wrote. "If you look at this situation from the beginning, it was a media circus and that is really sad. I guess ratings are important and come at any cost. Very sad."
Contact Janet Lundquist at (815) 729-6014 or jlundquist@scn1.com