Facebook Live Killer Lured Women With Pet Snake, Racked Up Casino Losses, Now Dead
- Stephens killed a 74-year-old father of ten in cold blood Easter Sunday
- Killer found dead in PA Tuesday
- Stephens once petitioned for bankruptcy and would routinely lose playing at Jack Casino in Downtown Cleveland
More news has surfaced about the man who savagely shot to death an elderly gentleman while broadcasting the murder on Facebook Live.
The search for Steve Stephens, 37, extended beyond Ohio to four other states late Sunday following the Easter morning gruesome killing of 74-year-old Robert Godwin Sr. in Cleveland. On Tuesday morning, police confirmed the suspect has been found dead in Erie County, Pennsylvania.
In the video, that is believed to have remained online for up to three hours, Stephens gets out of his car and appears to randomly target Godwin, 74, who is holding a plastic shopping bag. Stephens says the name of a woman, whom Godwin does not seem to recognize.
"She's the reason that this is about to happen to you," Stephens tells Godwin before pointing a gun at him. Godwin can be seen shielding his face with the shopping bag.
Facebook said the suspect did go live on the social media website at one point during the day, but not during the killing.
Goodwin is a father of ten and a grandfather. His daughters told Anderson Cooper Monday night, at the time Stephens shot their father, he was out collecting cans to make a little extra money “even though he didn’t need it”
Those who knew Stephens described him as “creepy” and a “degenerate gambler”.
One former neighbor of Stephens told the Daily Mail that, as a teenager, he bought a python and would approach women with his slithering pet around his neck to try and win their attention.
'It was a slimy thing to do and now he's just a snake in the grass too,' said next-door-neighbor Alexis Lee, who noted that Stephens had an ongoing crush on her.
'I saw him at the casino a couple of times and he would remind me that he always had a crush on me.
'One he asked me to sit next to him at the tables saying "Be my queen... be my lucky charm". But I wasn't interested. I just went home.'
The Daily Mail also reports that Stephens blew much of his paychecks at Jack Casino in Downtown Cleveland, once even petitioning for bankruptcy.
Authorities had posted a $50,000 price on his head after law enforcement announced reward for information leading to his arrest. Police said they were engaged in a brief pursuit with Stephens before he shot himself.
- Gilbert Horowtiz, Gambling911.com
