close
close
  • Wed. Oct 23rd, 2024
    • '
    Police find body of suspected suspect
    News

    Police find body of suspected suspect

    author
    4 minutes, 15 seconds Read

    The unidentified body was found Wednesday in Laurel County, where authorities said 32-year-old Joseph Couch opened fire on vehicles on Sept. 7.

    play

    This story has been updated to add new information.

    LOUISVILLE, Kentucky — The body found Wednesday in southeastern Kentucky is believed to be that of the man suspected of shooting and wounding five people on a highway earlier this month, authorities said.

    The unidentified body was found Wednesday afternoon near Exit 49 on Interstate 75 in Laurel County, where Kentucky State Police Chief Phillip Burnett Jr. said 32-year-old Joseph Couch opened fire on vehicles on Sept. 7. The body was discovered by two police officers and two civilians in “dense brush” behind the exit, Burnett said at a news conference Wednesday evening.

    “There were items that were associated with the body that we currently believe to be Joseph Couch,” Burnett said. Police are currently investigating the crime scene and the body will be sent to the coroner in Frankfort, Kentucky, for identification on Thursday, according to Burnett.

    The discovery followed a nearly 12-day manhunt in which more than a dozen local, state and federal law enforcement agencies combed thousands of acres of rugged and densely wooded terrain in the Daniel Boone National Forest – where authorities suspected Couch was.

    “We are very confident that the search for Joseph Couch is now complete,” Burnett said.

    On Tuesday, authorities announced that search operations in the forest were being scaled back and resources were being reallocated to surrounding communities. Since the shooting, police have received more than 400 tips, most of which pointed to areas outside the forest.

    Kentucky couple and police discover body near crime scene

    At about 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, Kentucky State Police were notified that two police officers and two civilians had discovered an unidentified body near the crime scene, Burnett said.

    Police searched the area “all day” and observed vultures circling in the sky, Burnett said.

    “They continued to try to locate the area where the vultures were circling,” Burnett said. “While they were there, they noticed a strong odor that smelled like rotting flesh.”

    The officers encountered a couple named Fred and Sheila McCoy, who were also looking for Couch, according to Burnett. He added that the two officers and the McCoys then found the body “almost immediately.”

    The Lexington Herald-Leader reported that the McCoys, who are YouTube streamers, live-streamed the moment they discovered the body.

    Kentucky State Police announced on social media around 4:18 p.m. that authorities had found the body and were working to identify it. The announcement came about an hour after the McCoys posted on YouTube that they had found Couch's body after a lengthy search, according to the Lexington Herald-Leader.

    Burnett confirmed Wednesday that the couple will receive a $25,000 reward for their efforts, including $15,000 from Laurel County Crime Stoppers and another $10,000 from a private donor.

    What happened in the Kentucky highway shooting?

    Laurel County Sheriff's officers were dispatched around 5:30 p.m. on Sept. 7 after receiving reports of a gunshot victim on I-75 near Exit 49 and U.S. Route 25, about eight miles north of London, a city about 75 miles south of Lexington. Upon arrival, officers discovered several vehicles parked on the side of the road with broken windows and visible bullet holes.

    Twelve vehicles with gunshot wounds were found on both sides of the road, and five people were injured – according to authorities, all survived.

    The shooting closed the highway for hours while authorities searched for the suspect. The Laurel County Sheriff's Department designated Couch a suspect that evening and classified him as a suspect the next day as evidence against him mounted.

    Authorities found Couch's vehicle the night of the shooting, and on Sept. 8, police found an AR-15 with fully loaded magazines in the wooded area near I-75 Exit 49. Authorities said at the time that the weapon may have been used in the shooting.

    An employee at a nearby gun store confirmed to police that Couch had purchased an AR-15 and 1,000 rounds of ammunition from the store the morning of the shooting, according to an affidavit filed by the Laurel County Sheriff's Office. The firearm recovered by police matched the description of the gun Couch had purchased that day.

    Couch told his child's mother in a text message less than an hour before the incident that he planned to “kill a lot of people,” the affidavit said, adding that he planned to kill himself afterward.

    Who is Joseph Couch?

    Couch was a former member of the Army Reserve and lived south of Laurel County in Whitley County, said Gilbert Acciardo, spokesman for the Laurel County Sheriff's Department.

    Authorities offered a $35,000 reward for information leading to Couch's arrest, and the U.S. Marshals Service declared Couch a fugitive.

    Laurel County District Attorney Jackie Steele charged Couch with five counts of attempted murder and five counts of first-degree assault in connection with the incident.

    Similar Posts

    Leave a Reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *