‘FACEBOOK KILLER’ DIES AFTER POLICE CHASE
Commits suicide in Pennsylvania
ERIE, Pa. — The man who randomly gunned down a Cleveland retiree and posted video of the crime on Facebook killed himself yesterday during a police chase in Pennsylvania that began when a McDonald’s drive-thru attendant recognized him.
It marked a violent end to the nearly 48-hour multistate manhunt for Steve Stephens, whose case brought another round of criticism down on Facebook over how responsibly it polices objectionable material posted by users.
Acting on a tip from the McDonald’s, state troopers spotted Stephens leaving the restaurant in Erie and went after him, bumping his car to try to get it to stop, authorities said. He shot himself in the head after the car spun and came to a stop, police said.
Stephens, a 37-year-old job counselor who worked with young people, was wanted on murder charges in the killing of Robert Godwin Sr., 74, a former foundry worker and father of 10 who was picking up aluminum cans Sunday when he was shot.
The chilling video was on Facebook for three hours before it was taken down. It was just the latest instance of crime footage being shared on social media.
At a Silicon Valley conference yesterday, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg briefly addressed the Cleveland case, saying Facebook has “a lot of work to do.”
Police would not speculate on what triggered the killing, but in the video and other footage he posted, Stephens talked about having trouble with his girlfriend and losing everything he had to gambling. He said he “just snapped.” One of Godwin’s daughters, Debbie Godwin, said she wished Stephens had been captured.
Police said it wasn’t clear whether Stephens had any help while he was on the run or where he had been and that investigators will try to retrace his steps.
Facebook said it removed the video of the shooting 23 minutes after learning of it. The company has since announced it is launching a review for reporting harmful content.