Chicken McNuggets and fries order led police to Facebook killer Steve Stephens after two-day manhunt

A $5.35 (£4.17) order of Chicken McNuggets and large fries led police to Facebook killer Steve Stephens after a two-day manhunt.

A female staff member recognised Stephens as the wanted gunman as he put in his McDonald's drive-thru meal order for 20 McNuggets at around 11am in Erie County, Pennsylvania.

She tipped off detectives while colleagues attempted to stall him by delaying his fries.

Stephens - who had broadcast the heinous murder of 74-year-old stranger Robert Goodwin on social media and claimed to have killed 13 more people - drove off after telling employees he "had to go".

Steve Stephens put in an order for 20 Chicken McNuggets. Credit: AP

"He said he had no time to wait, he had to go," Harborcreek McDonald's owner Thomas DuCharme Jr., told GoErie.com.

"At that point he took his Chicken McNuggets and left and turned on the Buffalo Road and the rest is what happened."

Police tracked his white Ford Fusion nearby before a two-mile pursuit that ended with Stephens shooting himself as state troopers rammed his vehicle to a standstill.

Robert Goodwin, 74, was murdered on camera by Steve Stephens. Credit: AP

Stephens, 37, had posted video of him killing Mr Goodwin in an apparently random attack after spotting him while driving in Cleveland.

Stephens said he killed "this old dude" because he was angry after a relationship with his ex-girlfriend had ended.

Police had launched a national search for the fugitive gunman and offered a $50,000 (£38,950) reward for information leading to his capture.