The 23-year-old fugitive suspected of
gunning down his mother and a friend in Tennessee before posting a
twisted account of the attack to his Facebook page has apparently killed
himself, police said.
The man's body was reportedly found Monday in neighboring Mississippi.
Casey Lawhorn apparently died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound after
allegedly shooting his mother Vi Lawhorn and friend Avery Gaines on
Sunday in East Ridge, Tennessee, according to a statement from Jasper
County Sheriff Randy Johnson.
Lawhorn had reportedly said in the online posts that he had "spent a lot
of time thinking about murder, wondering what it feels like."
Mississippi Public Safety spokesman Warren
Strain said the man's body was found Monday morning in Vossburg, a
community about 330 miles (530 kilometers) southwest of East Ridge.
Lawhorn "used social media to announce he had murdered his mother and
friend," Strain said in a statement.
East Ridge Assistant Police Chief Stan Allen said in a statement that
Lawhorn had notified authorities about the bodies before fleeing
Tennessee. His abandoned car was found along Interstate 59 in
Mississippi not far from where his body was found.
Allen said police believe the announcement about the slayings, made on
Facebook, was posted by Lawhorn because it had details only the killer
would know.
Lawhorn said in the posts that Gaines was sleeping at his house while he
left early Sunday to pick up his mother at a bar. After Lawhorn returned
home with her, he began putting his plan into action, according to the
man's post. |
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