Austin Massacre Suspect Hung Out in Deeply Misogynistic Corners Online

The Texas man arrested in the fatal shooting of three people in Austin on Sunday appears to have spent time in misogynistic forums on Reddit and showed an affinity for an anti-feminist podcaster and “life coach,” The Daily Beast has found.

The Daily Beast linked accused former Travis County Sheriff Stephen Broderick to two online monikers: “slammedcavi” and “slammedcavi254,” the latter of which includes his apparent area code. While the user of the first account mostly participated in car-related message boards more than a decade ago, the latter handle in recent years participated in threads on the r/seduction subreddit and started an Etsy account that favorited just one shop—that of Coach Greg Adams, who sold, among other things, T-shirts emblazoned with the slogan “The Future Is Still Male.”

Local news media identified the three victims of the shooting as Broderick’s ex-wife, daughter, and the latter’s boyfriend.

A Stephen Broderick in the area of Killeen, Texas, just north of Austin, began using the handle “slammedcavi” in the mid-2000s on three forums for aficionados of General Motors models: j-body.org, ecotecpower.com, and gmdelta.com. On all three, he identified his occupation as “military” and listed a self-quote “God, I fuggin’ hate Iraq,” The Austin-American Statesman reported that the alleged shooter has a service record.

While trying to sell vehicles on these and other car message boards, the user slammedcavi repeatedly posted the email slammedcavi254@hotmail.com, and on one occasion shared a now-defunct phone number that records associate with Broderick’s ex-wife. In 2010, a user named Spellbound, who identified his location as Austin, also posted this email in an ad in the online community e46fanatics.com.

Just last year, a Reddit user with the handle “slammedcavi254” responded to the question “What did you experience and/or witness a long time ago that still makes you laugh harder than you should?” His answer: “Blind guy refusing help across the street getting hit by a car. (Which left the scene) Circa 1998 Brooklyn NY.”

Records indicate that Broderick spent his early life in Brooklyn.

The recollection about the hit-and-run on a visually impaired man was not the darkest remark slammedcavi254 shared on Reddit. While a number of his posts are about the video game Call of Duty: Warzone, others reflected a disturbed personal and romantic life.

Answering a question six months ago about a male equivalent for the phrase “happy life, happy wife,” slammedcavi254 answered “Get divorced, get fucked by the court.” He later added: “Currently playing this game, no restarts, no extra lives, no cheat codes.”

Replying to a request for “a simple tip that could save someone’s life,” he wrote “don’t forget to pull out.” He also spent time in the r/seduction subreddit, posting approving comments in response to a thread recommending intense and continuous eye contact, and to a user who wrote “She got a hole, ain’t she? A heartbeat?” when describing a woman’s attractive traits.

Broderick’s use of the handle appears otherwise limited to Etsy. His one favorited shop, that of Coach Greg Adams, heralded “The Return of Masculinity” in its banner.” While no longer listing items on the shopping site, comments and photos show it formerly sold gear flaunting other slogans of Adams—who advises men to pursue a “Free Agent Lifestyle” and has railed against the evils of single mothers and overweight women.

Adams did not immediately respond to a request for comment made through his website.

Broderick resigned his job as a detective with the Travis County Sheriff’s Office after U.S. Marshals arrested him for sexual assault of a 16-year-old girl last June.