A woman wanted for fatally shooting her brother and transgender lover over the weekend has been found dead, cops say, following a daylong manhunt by police.
Michigan police had warned citizens to be on the lookout for 22-year-old Ruby Taverner Sunday, after finding the bodies of Ray Muscat, 26, and Bishop Taverner, 25, in the suspect’s Independence Township apartment early Sunday morning.
Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said that 5-foot-two, 115-lb. Taverner was ‘armed and dangerous’ and ‘highly dangerous to themselves or someone else.’
Her body was discovered by police Monday morning in woods near the crime scene. She reportedly died from a single, self-inflicted gunshot wound.
‘An Independence Township woman who fatally shot her live-in boyfriend and her brother Sunday was found dead today of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound near the apartment complex where the fatal shootings occurred,’ the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office said Monday in a statement.
Police did not release a motive for the killings, but said Monday that they were likely premeditated.
Police revealed that a Glock 43X handgun purchased by Taverner within the past week was found on her person, discovered by detectives searching the wooded area near Independence Square Apartments.
Authorities added she also had two other handguns registered in her name.
‘This tragic situation has now been brought to a close, and our investigators will now pivot to see if we can answer the question on everyone’s mind – why,’ Bouchard said in a press release sent after the discovery.
The suspect had been living with Ray Muscat – formerly known as Amber Muscat – cops said Sunday. It is unknown how long they had been in a relationship.
Police are investigating the circumstances that led to the shooting.
‘It’s a terrible situation,’ Sheriff Michael Bouchard said Monday. ‘ It always seems to be magnified when you get someone who commits something horrible like that – a homicide – and then kills themselves.
You almost wonder “what was the point” to this whole thing? You never get any answers that satisfy those questions because, now, all parties are deceased.’
Deputies had responded to reports of gunshots at the Clarkston apartment complex around 3:20 am Sunday, cops said. The call came from an unidentified female resident of the apartment.
‘The caller, who lived in the apartment with Taverner, said she was awaken[ed] by what she believed were gunshots,’ police’s statement Monday read.
Bishop Taverner’s body was found in the living room, and Muscat’s body was found in a rear bedroom, The Detroit Times reported.
Both victims were pronounced dead at the scene, Bouchard said Monday. The sheriff also revealed that Bishop Taverner had been shot once in the head.
Investigators say that after allegedly committing the homicides, Taverner likely fled the apartment on foot, leaving behind her cell phone and car, which were recovered from the crime scene.
Bouchard said detectives are working to determine a motive for the double slaying – which he says was likely premeditated.
‘You don’t typically find someone shot in the head one time unless they just kind of coolly and calmly walked up and did it,’ Bouchard said.
Bouchard said: ‘This tragic situation has now been brought to a close, and our investigators will now pivot to see if we can answer the question on everyone’s mind – why.’
An investigation is currently underway.