ELK POINT, S.D. (AP) — A man accused of killing four people in Missouri, including a mother and her 11-year-old daughter, has been found dead in South Dakota, according to sheriff’s officials.
J.T. McLean, 45, was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound early Thursday in a car parked at a motel near Dakota Dunes, Union County Sheriff Dan Limoges said. The U.S. Marshals Service says McLean had family in the area.
Deputies said investigators tracked McLean to the motel using the OnStar navigation system on a vehicle he stole from one of the victims.
McLean was charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of his girlfriend, Allison Abitz, 43, and her 11-year-old daughter, Jozee. Their bodies were found Aug. 22 at their home south of Columbia in Boone County.
Evidence indicated Abitz was strangled and her daughter was drowned in a bathtub, according to authorities in Boone County.
Miller County Sheriff Louie Gregoire said McLean was also suspected of killing 74-year-old Daniel Stephan and 64-year-old Pamela Stephan in Kaiser.
Deputies were sent to check on the couple’s welfare Wednesday and found their bodies.
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