The identification, made through DNA testing, affirmed the belief of officials. The body was discovered Wednesday after a 12-day manhunt.
DNA testing of a body found this week near the site of a Kentucky highway shooting that led to an extensive manhunt confirmed the identity as the suspect, officials said on Friday.
Gov. Andy Beshear of Kentucky said in a release that the body belonged to Joseph A. Couch, 32, who authorities said shot at passing vehicles on Interstate 75 near London, a city about an hour south of Lexington. The attack on Sept. 7 seriously injured five people and hit a dozen vehicles with bullets.
Authorities had expressed confidence on Wednesday, when the body was discovered, that it had belonged to the suspect, but Friday’s confirmation officially brought closure to the case. An autopsy revealed that the cause of death appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot to the head, the authorities said.
The state’s chief medical examiner, William Ralston, said in the release that the commonwealth could now “move forward from this tragic situation.”
The attack led to an intense manhunt of nearly two weeks across tens of thousands of acres of densely forested land near where the shooting occurred, leaving the local community in fear. Several schools canceled classes, and the police stepped up their presence at sporting events, bus routes and other places where people gathered.
On the 12th day of the pursuit, the authorities announced that they, along with a married couple who had been searching for the suspect on their own, had found a body in a dense brush behind the highway exit where the shooting took place. Items were found with the body, including a weapon, that the authorities believed belonged to Mr. Couch.
According to the release, officials were initially unable to identify the body through a soft tissue DNA test because of the “extreme decomposition” of the body. (It is unclear how long the body had been there before it was discovered.) Instead, they used DNA extracted from a bone to confirm the identity, the release said.
The motive for the attack remains unclear. According to court records, Mr. Couch, who served in the Army Reserve, had several charges on his criminal record, including an arrest where he was charged with terroristic threatening in February.
Source: Elections - nytimes.com
