Massachusetts man who fatally shot himself after being pulled over by cops had a nasty surprise in car's trunk
Law enforcement authorities in Maine reported they found a woman's body in the trunk of a car belonging to a Massachusetts man who fatally shot himself after being pulled over during a traffic stop. According to Maine State Police, 34-year-old Gyrth Rutan was found driving in an erratic manner in Gardiner along Interstate-295 on Thursday evening.
Reportedly, Rutan stepped out of his vehicle with a shotgun in his hand after being pulled over by cops. He then proceeded to point the firearm towards his own head and pulled the trigger. The woman in the back of the car was identified as Maddilyn Burgess, 28. However, authorities are yet to clarify her relationship with the deranged driver.
While the Medical Examiner's office ruled her cause of death as blunt force trauma, Maine authorities said it was unlikely that she had been killed in the state.
After learning that Rutan lived in Sturbridge with his daughter, the Sturbridge police and Massachusetts state police detectives who are assigned to the Worcester County District Attorney's Office got involved in the case, according to NECN.
On Friday, Massachusetts authorities discovered what appeared to be a crime scene after entering Rutan's home. However, at the time, they declined to elaborate on what was found at the residence.
The Worcester, Massachusetts, Telegram reported that a spokeswoman for the district attorney’s office said on Friday that “the death of the woman is under investigation by state police detectives assigned to the office, and did not release any additional details.”
The newspaper also reported that “a neighbor at a small apartment complex on Fairview Park Road in Sturbridge said investigators were in and out of unit No. 12 all day Friday.”
According to Bangor Daily News, Steve McCausland, a spokesman for the Maine Department of Public Safety, said, "It is not clear why Rutan drove to Maine, but he has family located in Maine and his Facebook page indicates that he grew up in Brewer."
About a week before Thursday's incident, Rutan had allegedly visited a 38-year-old friend, who spoke to the newspaper on condition of anonymity.
"He wasn't looking too great," he said.
"He was talking about troubles he was having with his finances, with work, with his most recent girlfriend. He came up for a few days and said he wanted to go camping but he didn't end up staying."
Rutan reportedly arrived on August 1 and left the same weekend, the friend said. However, he did not speak about harming anyone. "There was no indication things were as bad as they obviously were," the man added.
That said, the friend said he was recently "accepted into the union" and was "pretty proud of that". Before this, he had last seen Rutan sometime around Christmas.
Rutan listed himself as a member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 42, on Facebook. The union is based in Manchester, Connecticut.
"He was making good money and working a lot of overtime installing power lines and running heavy equipment," the man asserted.