DNA confirms body found is Kentucky highway shooting suspect, officials say
Authorities confirmed Friday that a body found earlier this week in a rural area has been identified as the suspect in the Kentucky highway shooting.
The body was identified as 32-year-old Joseph Couch using DNA extracted from bone, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear announced in a news release. The identification was made by the Kentucky State Police crime lab and Kentucky Chief Medical Examiner Dr. William Ralston.
Ralson said in a statement that because of the "extreme decomposition of the body, the soft tissue DNA test was inconclusive," but the medical examiner was then able to get a positive identification using bone.
Couch's body was found Wednesday afternoon in an area off exit 49 of Interstate 75 in Laurel County, the same exit near which the shooting occurred, Kentucky State Police Commissioner Phillip "PJ" Burnett, Jr. said in a news conference Wednesday. A weapon was found with the body as well.
"There were articles associated with the body that at this time we feel is Joseph Couch," the commissioner said at the time.
An autopsy performed on Thursday "revealed the cause of death to be a wound consistent with a self-inflicted gunshot to the head," Ralston said in a previous statement. He said toxicology tests were also being done to check for any drug use.
The body was discovered by "two troopers and two civilians" in "deep brush," Burnett disclosed.
Couch had been the subject of a manhunt in the southeastern part of the state since five people were shot on Interstate 75 on the evening of Sept. 7.
All five victims were expected to survive the shooting, which happened near London, a city with a population of about 8,000 outside Daniel Boone National Forest.
Burnett said that the two troopers — who had been taking part in a search for Couch throughout the day — saw vultures in the air, and when trying to find the source of what was attracting them, noticed "a strong odor of what was believed to be decomposing flesh."
At about that same time, the troopers heard voices and came upon a civilian couple, identified as the McCoys, who said they were also searching for the suspect as well.
"Almost immediately after that interaction…the troopers and McCoys stumbled upon an unidentified body," said Burnett, who thanked the couple for being "very cooperative" and providing troopers "with relevant information."
The McCoys appeared to have been livestreaming the discovery on social media. However, Burnett indicated that the troopers were with them when the body was found.
"We did have troopers that were right there with them," Burnett said.
Burnett said that the landscape and the thick brush made the search difficult, describing the area as "some of the most treacherous terrain that there is in Kentucky."
State police had warned people that the suspect should be considered armed and dangerous as authorities spent days searching for him in the dense forest.
Officials had urged residents to check in on their neighbors, hold off on outdoor activities and scroll through footage from their security cameras before returning home after going out. Schools were closed throughout the area in the days immediately after the shooting.
Investigators recovered from an area near the shooting an AR-15 rifle and about 1,000 rounds of ammunition that the suspect bought legally on the day of the shooting, authorities previously said.
Burnett had no regrets about how the multiday manhunt was conducted.
"I feel like we put forth our best efforts, everybody did, every day."
According to an arrest warrant obtained by CBS News last week, the suspect had sent a text message less than 30 minutes before the shooting in which he wrote that he planned to "kill a lot of people." The woman who received that text called 911 prior to the shooting and alerted emergency dispatchers, the affidavit read.
The Lexington Herald-Leader identified the woman as the suspect's ex-wife. Laurel County Sheriff John Root said Wednesday that the motive for the shooting remains under investigation.
The suspect had served in the Army Reserve for nearly six years as a combat engineer without any deployments, according to an Army spokesperson.