Renogirl,
I would not say Steven was "Broke" somebody was paying him for at least all of the gas for his mysterious travels..
I don't think his travels were mysterious at all. He was a young guy and probably miserable that he could not find a decent job. He had enough money for gas and a few small Christmas presents. I've done the same exact thing before. Drove all over California when I was bored or depressed. Drove from Huntington Beach to Palm Springs, to Las Vegas to San Francisco. I did it because I didn't have anything to do, no girlfriend and a job I didn't care much for. So there's no big mystery to the driving. Men will do that to get their minds off of things. I certainly have.
This is what I think happened to Steven Koecher. I don't think that he was "lured" to that area by a homicidal maniac or anything like that.
I think that he spoke to someone or called on an ad in craig's list about a job or business opportunity of some kind. Possible a MLM (Multi-level marketing) such as Amway or Prime-America. I've personally have called on those types of jobs to find out that they were bogus interviews and ended up finding out that the person doing the "interview" simply wanted to expand their down-line.
If you know much about mlm's you'll know that they can attract people who are not the best people in our society such as people who have been convicted of a felony and can't find work else where due to their criminal record
This is what I think happened to Steven Koecher. He went to that neighborhood thinking there was an opportunity and when he found out that it was bogus and expressed a disinterest someone lost their temper and started a fight and Steven ended up dead. Maybe even by accident.
I don't think that Steven's remains were buried in that neighborhood, but taken somewhere else. Too risky to dig a hole in a backyard and risk having a neighbor see it.
I think that his voice mail was dialed unintentionally the next day by a pocket dial. You only have to hit #1 to check voice mail.
Basically someone lost their temper when Steven said he wasn't interested, a fight started and Steven Koecher ended up dead. The person panicked and buried the body possible at a construction site in the area.
I could be wrong, but I don't think so. There was no serial killer, no maniac and he wasn't lured there to be killed. I think his death could very well be manslaughter or 2nd degree murder.
I know my theory isn't sexy, but it's the likely scenario. Ultimately it's my opinion. The idea that he disappeared or committed suicide, I believe is just ridiculous. The idea there was a serial killer in the neighborhood is similarly ridiculous.
Kelly