In the early morning hours of December 6, 2017, in Debord, Kentucky, a sense of unease settled over Electra Glide Lane. It was there, around 3 a.m., that law enforcement responded to a call that would unravel a story of violence. Rodney Stepp, a 46-year-old man, was discovered deceased at the scene, the victim of a fatal shooting. The initial hours of the investigation were shrouded in mystery, with police releasing few details about the events that led to the deadly encounter.
The Martin County Sheriff's Office was the first to arrive, securing the area before the Kentucky State Police took the lead in the death investigation. In the immediate aftermath, one individual was taken into custody on charges that were described as unrelated to the shooting, leaving the community to wonder who was responsible for Stepp's death.
The quiet, rural landscape of Martin County was disturbed by the news, as friends and family mourned the loss of a man known to many as 'Cockeye.' Rodney Dale Stepp, born on May 28, 1971, in Prestonsburg, Kentucky, was a husband, a father to four children, and a grandfather. His sudden and violent passing left a void in the lives of his loved ones, who gathered to remember him and lay him to rest in the Stepp Family Cemetery in Inez.
As the investigation pressed on, the pieces of the puzzle began to come together. In May of 2018, a significant breakthrough occurred when 67-year-old Elwood Six, of Inez, was arrested in connection with Rodney Stepp's death. A grand jury initially indicted Six on a charge of second-degree manslaughter. However, as the Kentucky State Police continued to delve deeper into the case, new evidence surfaced. This new information was compelling enough for a grand jury to reconsider the severity of the charge. In February 2019, the charge against Elwood Six was elevated to first-degree manslaughter. Six, who had been out on bond from the original charge, was arrested again to face the more serious accusation.
