‘He was a very sweet person’: Vigil held for Kyle Stephens, victim of fatal Rockford stabbing

ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) — Family and friends gathered on Monday night in Rockford to remember Kyle Stephens, a 37-year-old man who was found stabbed to death.

The vigil was held to remember Stephens, described by his partner as a loving and caring person who would help anyone in need.

Stephens’ body was discovered early Tuesday morning, and Rockford police have charged 20-year-old Varianna Parsons and 24-year-old Shawn Bunton Jr. with his death.

“He was a very sweet person. He would help anyone he possibly could,” said Dustin Dawson, Stephens’ partner. “Even when he was homeless he would give someone else the shirt off his back if it would help them out or make their day.”

Parsons was taken into custody on Tuesday but was granted pre-trial release the following day, a decision that has sparked opposition from community members, including Mayor Tom McNamara and Winnebago County State’s Attorney J. Hanley. Hanley’s office is filing a motion for relief against the judge’s decision.

“The fact that they let her go the very next day after she was caught is disgusting to me,” Dawson said. “Like, you have people who have been in jail for weeks over traffic violations, and a murderer gets to walk free, and then they haven’t even caught the other one.”

Meanwhile, Bunton Jr. remains at large, and efforts to locate him continue.

In memory of Stephens, a GoFundMe has been created by his family, raising over $2,400 to cover cremation costs and a memorial service.

All facts in this report were gathered by journalists employed by WTVO. Artificial intelligence tools were used to reformat a broadcast script into a news article for our website. This report was edited and fact-checked by WTVO staff before being published.