Fugitive who confessed killing mother, friend on Facebook found dead
EAST RIDGE, Tenn. -- A fugitive appears to have killed himself in Mississippi after announcing on social media that he killed his mother and a friend in Tennessee. Casey Lawhorn apparently died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound after allegedly shooting Vi Lawhorn and his friend Avery Gaines, of Ringgold, Georgia, on Sunday in East Ridge, Tennessee, according to a statement from Jasper County Sheriff Randy Johnson.
Lawhorn's body was found Monday morning in Vossburg, Mississippi, more than 300 miles away.
Lawhorn "used social media to announce he had murdered his mother and friend," according to a statement from Mississippi Public Safety spokesman Warren Strain. He then allegedly fled the state.
East Ridge Police told CBS affiliate WDEF they are aware of a post made to the suspect's personal Facebook page in which he gives an account of the killings and in which he claims to be broken down somewhere on Interstate 59 in Mississippi. The two victims were found fatally shot in the head, WDEF reports, and Tennessee officials contacted authorities in Mississippi in an attempt to find the suspect.
Lawhorn's empty car was found Monday along Interstate 59, and officials later found what they believe to be his body near a wooded area, the Jasper County, Miss. Sheriff's office said.