On April 11, 2018, Steven murdered his seven-month-old son, Bennett, at his home, hiding the infant's body in a closet. Bennett was discovered at 9:00a.m. the following day during a
welfare check and is believed to have died by
suffocation. Steven then called his mother and told her that he had murdered Katie, Anthony, and Bennett. He advised his mother that she shouldn't go into the house and encouraged her to call the police. He explained that a key was left under the mat for easy entry. Steven was found dead via a self-inflicted gunshot wound inside his van in Dover, 18miles from the shooting site. His mother called police, who found Bennett dead in Steven's home. After the killings, prosecutor Friedman stated that "nobody ever could have predicted" Steven's actions, stating that during their meetings, he showed "no indication" of possibly turning to violence. He defended his representation of Steven Pladl and the court's decision, stating "If any judge or any prosecutor or defense attorney involved in any of these cases believed that the Pladl child would be in harm's way, there would not have been any bond," adding that in his view, "the professionals care too much about children." == Burial ==