Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Slaying suspect commits suicide
ERIE, Pa. — The man who randomly gunned down a Cleveland retiree and posted video of the crime on Facebook killed himself Tuesday after 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 prompted another round of criticism for Facebook over how 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 gave chase, bumping his car with their vehicle to try to get him to stop, authorities said. He shot himself in the head after the car spun around and came to a stop, police said.
“This started with one tragedy and ended with another person taking their own life,” said Cleveland Police Chief Calvin Williams. “We would have liked to have brought Steve in peacefully and really talked to him about why this happened.”
Stephens, 37, was being sought in the shooting of Robert Godwin Sr., 74, a former foundry worker and father of 10 who was picking up aluminum cans along a road Sunday when he was shot.
A warrant for Stephens’ arrest on a charge of aggravated murder had been issued, and wanted posters showing his face and name were appearing on digital billboards across the country. Stephens said in a video Sunday that he had killed multiple people, but police said there was only one known victim.
Stephens, who had no criminal record, had worked at Beech Brook, a behavioral health agency that serves children, since 2008, the agency said. He had been a vocational specialist since April 2015 and before that was a youth mentor.
The manhunt for Stephens had extended across the country, with widespread news coverage and social media fueling several reports of sightings, including in Detroit and Houston.
The video of Godwin’s murder 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 Tuesday, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg briefly addressed the Cleveland case, saying Facebook has “a lot of work to do” and that “we will keep doing all we can to prevent tragedies like this.”
Police would not speculate on what triggered the killing, but in the video and other footage that 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.
“I’m not happy he’s dead at all, not at all. If you did it, you have to face your crime,” she said.
The break in the case came when police received a tip that Stephens’ vehicle, a white Ford Fusion, was in the parking lot of a McDonald’s restaurant. When he drove his vehicle out of the lot, troopers tried to pull him over about 11 a.m., Williams said at a news conference Tuesday afternoon.
Employees at the restaurant recognized Stephens as he used the drive-thru to order food.
Henry Sayers, the restaurant’s manager, said Stephens bought a 20-piece order of Chicken McNuggets and a large order of French fries at the drive-thru.
Stephens received his order of McNuggets, but workers stalled by holding on to his French fries while another employee called police.
“But he just took his nuggets and said, ‘I have to go,’ and he drove off,” Sayers said, adding that Stephens did not speed away but left the restaurant at a normal speed.
State police Maj. William Teper Jr. would say only that the tip about Stephens came from a “concerned citizen.”
The police chase lasted about 2 miles before Stephens took his own life, authorities said.
Police said they were unsure how long he had been in the area. Williams said the area was rural and rich in hiding places like farms and barns.
Gail Wheeler of Erie said she was stopped at a light near the McDonald’s when Stephens came “whipping out” of the parking lot, nearly hitting her. She said state troopers weren’t far behind.
Wheeler said she followed the chase and saw a trooper’s vehicle clip Stephens’ rear bumper. His car did a half-turn and came to rest against the curb, and she heard a gunshot, she said. She then saw officers approach the car.
The officer closest to the car “just shook his head,” she said. “They had their guns out, but when he shook his head, they lowered their guns.”
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. Stephens’ cellphone had been tracked Sunday afternoon near Erie, officials said Monday.
Police had planned to search by air and on the ground there Tuesday.
Facebook said it removed the video of the shooting 23 minutes after learning about it. The company has since announced that it is launching a review for reporting harmful content.
“This is something that should not have been shared around the world. Period,” Cleveland’s police chief said.
In the video, Stephens told Godwin the name of his girlfriend and said, “She’s the reason that this is about to happen to you.” Godwin did not seem to recognize the name.
The woman, Joy Lane, told WJW-TV in Cleveland that she last talked with Stephens on Saturday night, when he told her he had quit his job and was moving out of state.