this is a pretty horrible situation ... some nut with a gun randomly selecting some poor innocent on the street to shoot down and broadcast while doing itCLEVELAND, Ohio -- Day two in the manhunt for a social services worker from the Greater Cleveland area accused of gunning down a 74-year-old stranger and then posting a gruesome video of the deed on Facebook ended with almost no new clues in the wanted man's whereabouts.
Monday came and went with no signs of Steve Stephens, 37, in a search that expanded from the states that border Ohio to a nationwide search for the man wanted in Robert Godwin Sr.'s death. On Monday, Stephens became one of the FBI's Most Wanted.
The only significant lead was a false alarm, as several people called 911 to say they saw Stephens in a public park in Philadelphia.
By Monday afternoon, local officials offered up a $50,000 reward in the hope that it would shake loose any information about Stephens' whereabouts. In the day since his disappearance, Stephens eluded state, local and federal authorities. He is wanted on a warrant charging him with aggravated murder, and authorities say they are now searching for his car, a white 2016 Ford Fusion that he purchased this month, that has all but vanished from the public eye.
"Our reach now is basically all over this country," police Chief Calvin Williams said at a news conference Monday afternoon. "This is what we would consider a national search for Steve. So we are not going to leave any stone unturned."
What stoked fears of ordinary citizens who have followed the details of the case through social media and news outlets is the arbitrary nature of the killing. Stephens selected his victim seemingly at random as the retired foundry worker looked for scrap aluminum cans along East 93rd Street in the city's Glenville neighborhood, filmed the shooting and posted it on Facebook, police said.
In the video, Stephens approached Godwin and made him say the name of his own estranged girlfriend. The demand puzzled Godwin, who was shot at almost point-blank range with a pistol.
Stephens also claimed in subsequent Facebook video posts that he "snapped," he killed more people and would continue to do so. Police have found no evidence linking him to any other homicides despite the churning rumor mill of amateur sleuths who have taken to social media in a cycle of endless speculation.
is this what the modern age has wrought, where public attention, even to horrible things, is so sought after?