Body found near Kentucky Highway, identified as shooting suspect

The body found Wednesday near the Kentucky Highway where a gunman opened fire on Sept. 7 was identified as suspected shooter Joseph A. Couch, officials said Friday.

In a statement, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear announced that the state's chief medical examiner, Dr. William Ralston, and the state police crime lab had confirmed that the remains were Couch's, and that Couch had been positively identified “through DNA extracted from bones.”

“We thank everyone involved in the search and are grateful that no one else was injured,” Beshear said in the statement. “We will continue to be there for those injured and for the Laurel County community as it recovers from this tragic situation.”

Ralston said in the statement that initial medical tests could not confirm that the body was Couch.

“Due to the extreme decomposition of the body, DNA testing on soft tissue was inconclusive, but today we were able to make a positive identification using bones from the suspect,” Ralston said. “I would like to thank the Medical Examiner's Office and the KSP Crime Lab for their cooperation and diligence in obtaining a positive identification so that the state can move on from this tragic situation.”

Ralston gave the cause of death as a wound consistent with a self-inflicted gunshot to the head. Personal items and a weapon were found on the body, officials said.

Authorities have been searching for 32-year-old Couch since the shooting off Interstate 75 in Kentucky that left five people seriously injured.

On Wednesday, officials said two state police troopers and two civilians simultaneously found a body while independently searching for Couch in the woods of Laurel County.

There were “items associated with the body” that led officers to believe the body was Couch, and Kentucky State Police Col. Phillip Burnett Jr. said at the time that officers were “very confident that this will conclude the manhunt for Joseph Couch.” Burnett said the “items” included personal items and a weapon consistent with the suspect.

It was unclear how long Couch's body had been there or how far it was found from the crime scene, which is 8 miles north of the small town of London.

Couch was charged with five counts of attempted murder and five counts of first-degree assault. He had no prior criminal record; a charge of making terroristic threats was dropped in March, said Jackie Steele, district attorney for the area.

The motive for the shooting remains unclear. Officials say there is no evidence that Couch was targeting a specific person or working with others.

The couple who helped search for the body, identified by police as Fred and Sheila McCoy, were livestreaming their search efforts on YouTube when they came across the body on Wednesday.

Police also pointed out that vultures played a role in the discovery of the body.

Burnett said Wednesday that officers had been searching the wooded area all day when they noticed vultures circling overhead. As search crews approached the area, they smelled what looked like rotting flesh.

As the search team “moved through the dense terrain” to locate the scent and the exact area where the vultures were circling, they heard voices belonging to the McCoys.

“Almost immediately following this interaction between the officers and the McCoys, the officers and the McCoys encountered an unidentified body,” Burnett said Wednesday.

Couch, an Army reservist, used an AR-15 rifle in the shooting. Authorities said he had purchased the rifle legally in London on the day of the shooting.

The gunman parked near a rise above the highway with the intention of shooting at the vehicles below, law enforcement said. He had about 1,000 rounds of ammunition with him, most of which were confiscated.

The Laurel County Sheriff's Office said 12 vehicles were hit and an estimated 20 to 30 shots were fired. Some drivers did not realize their cars had been hit until hours after the shooting.

Shortly before the shooting, Couch texted a woman with whom he has a child: “I'm going to kill a lot of people. Well, at least I'm trying.”

The woman called Laurel County Emergency Services to report the news.

He added: “I'm going to kill myself after this.”