A Franklin man shot himself as police pulled him over as the subject of a murder investigation.
About 5 p.m. Thursday, the Greenwood Police Department responded to 645 Nicklaus Drive Apt. D on a report of shots fired. Responding officers arrived and discovered the deceased victim inside the apartment. She appeared to have been shot multiple times. The victim was identified as a Greenwood resident Rachel E. Cooke, 35. Cooke lived at that address.
Early on in the investigation witnesses gave a detailed description of a man that was observed leaving the victim’s apartment shortly after the gunshots were heard. The man was observed walking to his vehicle which was parked in front of the apartment and driving away.
From the detailed witness description detectives were able to quickly determine the suspect’s identity by interviewing friends of the victim. The suspect was identified as a 35-year-old male resident of Franklin. Detectives learned that the victim and the suspect had been involved in a romantic relationship. Both the suspect and the victim worked at the Johnson County Juvenile Detention Facility.
On Thursday, the suspect had met the victim at her apartment at approximately
4:30 p.m. after she returned home from work. Multiple gunshots were heard a short time later and then the suspect was observed leaving.
With the assistance of the United States Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force the suspect was tracked to Kentucky on Interstate 65 headed south. The Kentucky State Police were then notified and located the suspect vehicle traveling south on I-65 outside of Bowling Green.
A traffic stop was then initiated on the suspect, who initially complied and pulled his car to a stop at Exit 30. After pulling over the suspect then shot himself with a handgun and was pronounced dead at the scene. The suspect’s identity is being withheld at this time pending notification of next of kin.
This case remains active and is still under investigation by the Greenwood Police Department. Anyone with information on this case is asked to contact the Greenwood Police Department.
