FaceBook Killer Kills Self After Police Chase

I wasn't a fan of his first killing, but he's really showed me something since then.

Erie police have confirmed the suicide in Erie on Tuesday of Steve Stephens, the Cleveland resident suspected of fatally shooting a Cleveland man on Sunday and posting video of the slaying on Facebook.

Stephens died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound while driving a white Ford Fusion near Buffalo Road and Downing Avenue around 11:10 a.m., police said.

Just when I thought this guy couldn't do anything dumber...

By the way, additional stories released over the past couple of days make it plain he killed this complete stranger as some kind of asshole "I'll make her notice me with my murders" plan. He made the victim say the name "Joy Lane" and then said something like "You made me do this, Joy." (See Update/Correction below.)

Oh yeah, that'll show her. I bet she's thinking right now, "Gee, what a great guy. I sure missed out by not jumping harder on that. I may never get the chance to know another psychotic murderer. Oh well -- if it weren't for bad luck, I'd have none at all. Sigh."

Another asshole gone, and good riddance.

Update/Correction: I found the article I meant to cite, but couldn't find it again when I posted, the one that talks about this asshole's major asshole complex.

It's at the National Laughingstock, so I wouldn't advise the click, but here's the part I was thinking of:

In the latest case, Stephens clearly hoped a specific person -- identified by him as Joy Lane, which some outlets have reported was a former romantic partner -- would watch him kill an elderly man. Stephens directly addressed Joy in the video.

Ogloff said that Stephens addressing Joy, "presumably someone he was angry with," suggested he was seeking a feeling of empowerment. He committed a murder and "wanted her to pay for it" through the guilt she might feel.

As you can see, my memory of this passage was garbled -- I thought Stephens said this stuff, while most of this is just informed speculation by an "expert." However, he did reference this poor woman and also announce to his victim "This is happening to you because of Joy Lane," or words to that effect.

posted by Ace at 12:34 PM

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