US police: Ohio murder suspect kills self after chase

A male suspect who police said posted a video of himself on Facebook killing an elderly man in the US state of Ohio has fatally shot himself after a “brief” chase in neighbouring Pennsylvania, according to police.

Steve Stephens, 37, had been the subject of a nationwide manhunt in the wake of Sunday’s killing in the city of Cleveland. The FBI had put him on its Most Wanted list.

Stephens “was spotted this morning by PSP members in Erie County. After a brief pursuit, Stephens shot and killed himself”, Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) said on Twitter on Tuesday.

Stephens was wanted on a charge of aggravated murder in the death of Robert Godwin Sr.

In the Facebook video, which appears shaky, Stephens gets out of his car and appears to randomly target Godwin, 74, who is holding a plastic shopping bag.

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Stephens says the name of a woman, whom Godwin does not seem to recognise.

“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.

In a separate video posted on Facebook, Stephens claimed to have killed more than a dozen other people.

Facebook said the suspect did go live on the social media website at one point during the day, but not during the killing. Police had initially said that Stephens had broadcast it on Facebook Live.

The video of the killing was on the social media site for about three hours before it was removed. Stephens’s Facebook page also was eventually removed.