"We have closure in regards to the search for Steve Stephens," Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson said yesterday after the accused Facebook killer took his own life following a short police chase in Pennsylvania. But many questions still remain for police investigators.
A 48-hour gap exists and investigators want to know: How did Stephens manage to stay off the grid for so long? Why did he go to Erie, PA? Did he have help staying hidden in the days since he killed 74-year-old retiree Robert Godwin on a street in the city's Glenville neighborhood?
Cleveland Police Chief Calvin Williams said the department received information from as far away as Texas and had received about 400 tips nationwide during the manhunt during a Tuesday morning news conference.
Not long after the news conference, police in Pennsylvania received word that a man suspected to be Stephens was going through a McDonald's drive-thru just outside Erie.
Employees tried to stall him by pretending his french fries weren't ready while they called police, the store's manager said. Stephens drove away just as Pennsylvania state troopers arrived, Cleveland.com reports.