What did Carl Kemppainen do? Kansas man accused of strangulating 23-year-old shoplifter to death 

39-year-old Carl Kemppainen has been accused of killing Diamond Steen after allegedly strangling him. Kemppainen reportedly assumed that Steen was shoplifting at O'Reilly's Auto Parts store, where the suspect used to work. The incident allegedly took place on Tuesday, September 19, around 6 pm local time.

The 23-year-old victim was found unresponsive and was declared dead at the scene. Diamond Steen's family finally breaks the silence and spoke to KCTV, and mentioned that they are trying to cope with the tragic loss. Steen’s aunt, Sawnya Helm, described the incident as "disturbing" and "sickening". The family is now seeking justice for the deceased victim.

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O'Reilly's Auto Parts store employee Carl Kemppainen has been arrested in connection to the death of 23-year-old Diamond Steen on Tuesday

On Tuesday, September 19, authorities were called to O'Reilly's Auto Parts store in the 4700 block of Parallel Parkway. Upon arrival, they discovered the unresponsive victim. Authorities tried to administer life-saving measures to the victim, but couldn't save the 23-year-old man. The suspect, Carl Kemppainen, was arrested on Thursday, September 21.

Kemppainen, who was an employee at the store, allegedly thought that Steen was shoplifting and, thus, strangled him to death. The 39-year-old suspect currently has been charged with a count of second-degree murder. In a news conference held on Thursday, Wyandotte County District Attorney Mark Dupree made a statement regarding the matter.

"Make no mistake, it is law enforcement’s job to do the policing, no one else’s."

Auptosy was further conducted, and it determined the cause of death to be strangulation. Thus, detectives ruled Steen's death as homicide, and Carl Kemppainen has been considered as the suspect. Authorities haven't released a lot of details regarding the case. However, it has been mentioned that the victim's "airway was completely stopped" during the fatal strangulation.

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Steen has been survived by two kids, with a third child on the way

The Kansas City Star reported that the chain of events can be traced back to when the victim and another individual entered the store and were suspected of shoplifting several products. The two were allegedly confronted by the workers at the store, which eventually turned violent.

Further, footage has gone viral, capturing the scene where employees detained Steen and the other man. While one of the alleged shoplifters was in the parking area, the other one was on the sidewalk. However, it is not clear which one is Steen. Dupree stated in the news conference,

"The reasoning by which police were called out were brought to my attention. Part of that is still being investigated. If there was a potential crime that was being alleged, we do know that in this country, you still have to go to the court, and someone’s life cannot be taken."

Carl Kemppainen was booked into Wyandotte County Detention Center. However, he has been released after posting a bond of $125,000. Angela Germany, the mother of Steen's two children, said that she had a great bond with him. She described the victim as being a "great person" since they first met.