Police in Kentucky say they think the corpse recently discovered near exit 49 of Interstate 75 in Laurel County, Kentucky, is likely the body of a man who shot five people at the same location on September 7.
All five people are expected to make a full recovery.
Since the mass shooting police have been on a manhunt for the suspect, 32-year-old Joseph Couch, and now they believe they have found him. Along with personal effects and a gun near the body, the police concluded it is most likely Couch.
Two state troopers and two “civilians” found the body at 3:30 p.m. on September 18 in what they called “deep brush” near the highway exit. An autopsy the next day established that the man killed himself with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to his head. Toxicology tests to see what drugs or alcohol may have been in his system are pending.
Medical examiner Dr. William Ralston said the first DNA test done on the body yielded inconclusive results, so more tests are being performed. The tests are set to start on September 20 and results are expected within one or two days.
The manhunt came to an end when the search party noticed vultures flying around above the spot where the body was found. The troopers also notice a stench that they attributed to a decomposing body. At the same time, a married couple who said they were also searching for the suspect ran into the state troopers, and the foursome almost immediately discovered the body.
It is not yet known when Couch, if it is him, killed himself and how long his body has been in the bushes. Kentucky State Police Commissioner Phillip “PJ” Burnett, Jr. said thick brush and a rolling landscape had made the search difficult and long as it took place in “some of the most treacherous terrain” that exists in that part of the state.
Before finding the body, police warned the public that Couch was armed and dangerous. They advised people to check in with their neighbors, to stay home, and to check their home security camera footage for any sign of Couch.
It is not known what prompted Couch to go on a shooting spree, but an arrest warrant indicated that he had sent a text message to a friend a half-hour before the shootings started. Couch apparently wrote that he was out to “kill a lot of people.”
