But according to a timeline of events pieced together by police and Facebook, Stephens posted a video on Sunday afternoon saying he meant to kill, and followed up two minutes later with video of Godwin's shooting.
The fast food employee who took Stephens' money for a drive-thru order reportedly recognized him and dialed 911 as he pulled up to the next window.
State police gave chase and the suspect shot himself "as the vehicle was spinning out of control", police said.
Stephens, accused of randomly killing a 74-year-old retiree in Cleveland on Sunday and sharing video of the murder on Facebook, died Tuesday of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in Erie, Pennsylvania. Law enforcement officials said on Monday that his cellphone was last tracked Sunday afternoon in Erie, Pennsylvania, about 100 miles (160 kilometres) east of Cleveland. It was just the latest instance of crime footage being shared on social media.
Stephens killed himself, authorities said.
Almost 48 hours after the Cleveland murder, Stephens' white Ford Fusion was spotted in a McDonald's parking lot in Erie, Pa. "She's the reason that this is about to happen to you", Stephens said.
The drive-thru attendant thought she recognized Stephens and called state police, restaurant owner Thomas DuCharme Jr. told the Erie Times-News.
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"We told him his fries were going to be a minute", said Henry Sayers, the restaurant's manager.
"I'm not happy he's dead at all, not at all".
Stephens said he had no time to wait and drove off, DuCharme said. "This is a very hard time for me and my family Please respect our privacy at this time", she said in a statement.
One of the pursuing troopers picked his spot - in front of an abandoned school - and hit Stephens' bumper to get him to stop. The one officer just shook his head.
Police said it wasn't clear whether Stephens had any help while he was on the run or where he had been and that investigators will try to retrace his steps. Within a day, authorities expanded the search nationwide and offered a $50,000 reward for information leading to his capture.
Facebook has since announced it was launching a review for reporting harmful content. Police would not speculate on what was behind the killing, but videos Stephens posted showed him talking about losing everything he had to gambling and trouble with his girlfriend.
An employee reportedly recognised the suspect and tried to keep him waiting for his order of fries while they alerted police.
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