LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said Friday that the sate medical examiner confirmed the body found in the woods in Laurel County on Wednesday is that of Joseph Couch, the suspected Interstate 75 gunman.
Couch, 32, was accused Sept. 7 of opening fire on drivers on I-75. A total of 12 vehicles were hit, and five drivers were injured by the gunfire. Investigators focused their search in a rugged, wooded area near London, a city of about 8,000 people roughly 75 miles south of Lexington.
Beshear said Friday that Chief Medical Examiner Dr. William Ralston positively identified the body as Couch.
FILE - Trees stand in wooded areas alongside Interstate 75 near Livingston, Ky., Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, as police search for a suspect in a shooting Saturday along the Interstate. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley, File)
"We appreciate everyone involved in the search and are grateful no one else has been hurt," Beshear said in a news release Friday. "We will continue to be there for those injured as well as the Laurel County community as they recover from this tragic situation."
A Kentucky YouTube account belonging to Fred and Sheila McCoy streamed live video of the discovery around 4 p.m. Wednesday. The pair said they had been searching the rough terrain in Daniel Boone National Forest for six days. On Wednesday, they detected a powerful odor as they searched, and noticed vultures circling the area above where the body was found. The couple contacted troopers who were nearby after finding the remains.
Ralston said the cause of death was a "wound consistent with a self-inflicted gunshot to the head."
"Due to extreme decomposition of the body, the soft tissue DNA test was inconclusive, but today we were able use bone from the suspect to get a positive identification," Ralston said in a news release Friday. "I want to recognize the medical examiner’s office and KSP crime lab for working together and being diligent in obtaining positive identification so the commonwealth can move forward from this tragic situation."
The day after the shooting, police searched an area near where Couch's vehicle was found, with a view of I-75. That's where they found a duffel bag, ammunition and spent shell casings, authorities said in an arrest warrant affidavit.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear visited Laurel County as law enforcement continues to scour dense, hilly terrain around Interstate 75 to search for the man who opened fire on drivers. (Photo courtesy of Kentucky State Police)
A short distance away, they found an AR-15 rifle with a scope along with several additional magazines. The duffel bag had "Couch" handwritten in black marker. Couch fired 20 to 30 rounds in the attack, investigators said.
Shortly before the shooting, police said Couch wrote in a text message: "I’m going to kill a lot of people. Well try at least." In a separate text message, Couch wrote, "I’ll kill myself afterwards."
Police had urged area residents to be vigilant and look out for their neighbors as searchers try to track down the suspect. The area where Couch was presumed to be hiding had cliff beds, sinkholes, caves and dense brush.
It took 11 days for someone to find Couch in the rugged terrain. The McCoys will also receive a $35,000 reward for finding the body, officials said.
Related Stories:
- State medical examiners continue to work to identify body of suspected I-75 shooter
- Kentucky State Police believe body found in wooded area near I-75 is of suspected gunman
- Schools reopen in a Kentucky county where a gunman wounded 5 on an interstate highway
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