Joseph Couch body of Kentucky I-75 shooting suspect who shot and wounded 5 motorists in random shooting spree found by YouTube livestreamers, Sheila and Fred McCoy of Liberty, KY in nearby dense woods.
Kentucky officials announced Wednesday night that a recovered decomposing body near Interstate 75 — where a random shooting spree earlier this month wounded five people — is that of the suspect gunman, Joseph A. Couch.
Kentucky State Police Commissioner Phil Burnett Jr. said the discovery came about 3:30 p.m. ‘in the deep brush behind exit 49.’
Items found with the body led investigators to believe the body was that of the suspect, Burnett told the Lexington Herald Leader.
How long had wanted I-75 KY shooting suspect been dead and cause of death?
At the time, Kentucky authorities had set up a manhunt for the wanted man, who seemingly eluded arrest following his random shooting spree. Teams had been sent to search for the wanted man amid the rugged terrain of the Daniel Boone National Forest.
On the Saturday morning of the September 7 shooting that led to 5 ‘random’ motorists wounded, Couch had ‘legally’ purchased over a 1,000 rounds legally at a local gun store for his AR-15 rifle. Laurel County Sheriff John Root at the time said the suspect went through all the proper paperwork, and had nothing on record that would have prevented the sale.
A pair of livestreamers, Sheila and Fred McCoy of Liberty, Kentucky, discovered the body on Wednesday and alerted police. Police said they could not yet determine how long the body had been in the woods.
The couple said they saw vultures circling nearby, and they commented on a foul smell as they walked toward the vultures.
‘We are very confident brings the closure to the search for Joseph Couch,’ Burnett said during a Wednesday night news conference.
Police also said they had not yet determined Couch’s cause of death, but an unspecified weapon was found near his body.
To date, not immediately understood is what led to the alleged gunman randomly targeting motorists along with the large cache of bullets Couch had allegedly bought on the morning of his alleged shooting spree.
