STURBRIDGE, Mass. (WHDH/AP) — Investigators believe a woman was killed in Massachusetts before being placed in a car trunk and driven to Maine, where the driver killed himself during a traffic stop.
The motorist who took his life was identified Friday as Gyrth Rutan, 34, of Sturbridge, said Steve McCausland, spokesman for the Maine Department of Public Safety.
The woman whose body was in the trunk of his Subaru was not identified.
The episode unfolded late Thursday afternoon with a report of a car driven being driven erratically on Interstate 295 in Maine.
A state trooper followed the car off the interstate and into Gardiner, where Rutan stepped out and shot himself after being pulled over by the trooper. He died from a shotgun blast to the head, according to the state medical examiner.
It’s unclear why Rutan drove to Maine, but he appears to have family in the state, McCausland said.
The woman’s death is under investigation by law enforcement officials in Worcester County, Massachusetts.
Lindsay Corcoran, a spokeswoman for the district attorney’s office, said the victim was from Massachusetts but that officials weren’t ready to disclose her name. She said Friday that the investigation is “active and ongoing.”
Massachusetts State Police troopers descended upon Rutan’s townhouse apartment in Sturbridge on Friday to search for clues as concerned neighbors looked on.
“It is a shock,” Ron Renaud said. “It’s a real good neighborhood. There are never any issues here.”
An investigation is ongoing.
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