Wed, Jul 1, 2026
Wed, Jul 1, 2026
Facebook killer caught after going to McDonald’s drive-thru
(New York Daily News) Fast food foiled the Facebook killer.
A drive-thru attendant at an Erie, Pa., McDonald’s tipped police off about Steve Stephens — leading to the fugitive’s police pursuit and suicide — after the wanted madman stopped to order chicken nuggets and fries.
“I am pretty sure he figured out that we were on to him,” franchise owner and operator Thomas DuCharme Jr. told GoErie.
“He didn’t want to wait for his fries.”
Police credited that tip with ending the three-day manhunt for Stephens, who was on the run since Sunday after murdering a stranger in Cleveland and posting the footage on Facebook.
As authorities nationwide hunted for Stephens, he pulled into a McDonald’s drive-thru around 11 a.m. Tuesday.
He ordered 20 chicken nuggets and a basket of fries, DuCharme said.
A drive-thru worker called in the tip, and police tried to stop Stephens about five miles from the fast food joint.
After a brief pursuit, Stephens pulled over and put a bullet in his head, police said.
Authorities have not determined why Stephens ended up in Erie or what he was doing there before his suicide.