Robert Godwin, Sr.
Robert Godwin, Sr.
Robert Godwin Sr. was a 74-year-old American resident of Cleveland, Ohio.
Life and Activities
Robert Godwin Sr. enjoyed fishing and was a family man. The day before he died, he went fishing with one of his sons.
In addition, he collected aluminium cans and often walked with a shopping bag to pick up ones he saw on the ground. The moment he died, he was looking for cans Sav-A-Lot bag in his hand.
Personal Life
Robert Godwin Sr. was a retired foundry worker.
He was survived by his wife Angela Small, along with his 9 children, 14 grandchildren, and multiple great-grandchildren. He had a tenth child, but he was murdered on April 17, 2015, exactly two years before Robert Godwin's premature death.
Robert Godwin Sr.'s son, Robert Godwin Jr., described his father as a "good guy" who was quiet and always respectful.
Robert Godwin first met his wife Angela when she was 18 years old.
According to news sources, he turned her life around.
They had two of his children: 8-year-old Marshawn and 10-year-old Terrell; Terrell would've turned 11 only three days before his father's death.
Death
Robert Godwin, Sr. at the scene where he was murdered
On April 16, 2017, Robert Godwin was fatally shot by Steve Stephens while he broadcasted the shooting on Facebook Live.
The incident occurred on 635 East 93rd Street in Cleveland, Ohio. Before the incident, Steve can be heard saying, "find me somebody that I'm about to kill." Steve goes up to Robert Godwin and tells him what is about to happen to him is because of "Joy Lane." Steve shoots Godwin at point blank range and shows his dead body on the sidewalk. He then returned to his car and drove away.
Around 3:00 p.m., Steve filmed another Facebook Live event saying that he snapped and "messed up."
He goes on to blame his ex-girlfriend, Joy Lane and says that after being with her for three years he reached a breaking point. Steve abruptly left her on April 14th, 2017. He claims to have killed other people too, but those have not been verified yet. Steve's Facebook has been deactivated.
In a Facebook post before the incident, Steve blames his Joy Lane for his actions. He claimed on to have killed 12 people and says, "I'm the #goodguy."
In another Facebook post, he said the number of people he killed increased to 15.
The user called it his "Easter day slaughter."
GoFundMe
Greentext Story on 4chan inspire by Robert Godwin
A GoFundMe was established to assist Robert's family with the funeral expenses. It was created by a man named Wesley Scott Alexander in Phoenix, Arizona; he has no affiliation with the Godwin family.
Several other fake accounts were created.
However, GoFundMe chose one account to make it easier for funds to be allocated.
GoFundMe released the following statement regarding the account:
"As with any event, there may be multiple people who want to help.
With regard to additional GoFundMes, we are directing everyone to the campaign above.
Regardless, all funds raised for the Godwin’s will be transferred directly to the family.
It’s important to remember that our platform is backed by the GoFundMe Guarantee, which means funds are guaranteed to go to the right place."
As of the morning of April 18, 2017, it has raised over $50,000.
Legacy
The death of Robert Godwin has sparked a debate over the culpability of Facebook Live.
In addition, a greentext story appeared on 4chan featuring a sad Pepe the Frog that was inspired by what happened to Godwin.