A 41-year-old man suspected of killing his mother in Wyandotte, Michigan, died by suicide as police moved to arrest him in Toledo, Ohio, authorities said.
The suspect, identified by the Lucas County Coroner’s Office as Trent Stoddard, had been traced across the state line using licence-plate reader cameras after his 67-year-old mother was found fatally shot at her home.
Wyandotte murder investigation
Police were called to the property in the 800 block of Sixth Street at about 3.15am on Sunday, 6 September, after receiving further information about the woman’s welfare. She was found inside the house with multiple gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Investigators later discovered that her vehicle was missing. Flock cameras showed it travelling west from Wyandotte towards Toledo, while attempts to trace the suspect’s mobile phone were hampered after it was switched off.
At about 10am, the vehicle was seen heading back towards Michigan. A Toledo police officer spotted it and the driver pulled into a restaurant car park on Broadway, according to reports.
As officers approached, the man shot himself. The Lucas County Coroner’s Office said he died from a gunshot wound to the head and was pronounced dead at St Vincent hospital at 10.21am.
Wyandotte police said ballistic testing later indicated that the handgun found with the suspect was the same calibre as the weapon used in the shooting at the house.
The investigation has also established that the woman called 911 at about 6.20pm on Saturday to report an altercation involving her son. Officers went to the address but found the property quiet, with the blinds drawn and nobody answering the door.
Wyandotte Police Chief Archie Hamilton said officers “did not have legal grounds to force entry into the home”. Dispatchers also tried several times to contact the woman by telephone, but received no response.
Officers returned to the house hours later after receiving new information and found her body. Police believe she was killed around the time of the original 911 call.
Authorities have not publicly released the victim’s name. Police said the case was being treated as a murder-suicide.
