Body found near Kentucky highway identified as shooting spree suspect

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

In a statement, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear announced that the state's Chief Medical Examiner Dr. William Ralston and the state police crime lab confirmed the remains belonged to Couch, who was positively identified "through DNA extracted from bone."

“We appreciate everyone involved in the search and are grateful no one else has been hurt,” Beshear said in the statement. “We will continue to be there for those injured as well as the Laurel County community as they recover from this tragic situation.”

Authorities have been searching for Couch, 32, since the shooting spree next to Interstate 75 in Kentucky that left five people seriously injured.

On Wednesday, officials said two state police troopers and two civilians found a body while searching for Couch separately in the woods in Laurel County at the same time.

There were "articles associated with the body" that led officials to believe the body was Couch, and Kentucky State Police Col. Phillip Burnett Jr. said then that officials were "very confident that this brings the closure in a search of Joseph Couch." Burnett said the "articles" included personal items and a weapon consistent with the suspect.

It was not clear Wednesday how long Couch's body had been there or how far the body was found from the crime scene, which is 8 miles north of the small city of London.

An autopsy of the body performed Thursday proved to be inclusive for a DNA match "due to extreme decomposition of the body," according to the Kentucky State Medical Examiner.

But examiners determined the cause of death "to be a wound consistent with a self-inflicted gunshot to the head."

Couch was charged with five counts of attempted murder and five counts of first-degree assault. He had no criminal convictions; a charge of making a terrorist threat was dismissed in March, said Jackie Steele, state prosecutor for the region.

A motive for the shooting remains unclear. Officials have said there is no indication that Couch was targeting anyone specific or working with others.

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

Police also touted the role vultures played in finding the body.

Burnett said Wednesday that troopers had been searching the wooded area all day when they noticed vultures circling overhead. When searchers closed in on the area, they began to smell what appeared to be decomposing flesh.

As the search team was "moving through the thick terrain" to try to locate the smell and the exact area where the vultures were circling, they heard voices that belonged to the McCoys.

"Almost immediately after that interaction between troopers and the McCoys, the troopers and McCoys stumbled upon an unidentified body," Burnett said Wednesday.

Couch, an Army reservist, used an AR-15 rifle in the shooting. He purchased the rifle legally in London the day of the shooting, according to authorities.

The gunman parked near a ridge overlooking the highway with the intention of firing on vehicles below, law enforcement authorities have said. He had about 1,000 round of ammunition, most of which has been recovered.

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

Just before the shooting unfolded, Couch texted a woman with whom he shares a child: "I'm going to kill a lot of people. Well try at least."

The woman called dispatchers in Laurel County to report the messages.

He followed up: "I'll kill myself afterwards."