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Subscribe to RSSUpdated at 4:17 p.m., ET: SPOKANE, Wash. -- Authorities in eastern Washington say they have found the body of a 22-year-old fugitive being sought in the killings of a woman and her two young sons.
The body of Dustin W. Gilman was discovered Monday morning in the Wandermere area north of Spokane, The Spokesman-Review reported. Authorities did not say how Gilman died.
Police say Gilman was wanted in connection with Friday's killing of 32-year-old Tracy Ann Ader and her 8- and 10-year-old sons at their home, where Gilman had been staying as a family friend.
Tracy Ader's husband was in the hospital at the time with a medical condition.
Police say Gilman took off in Ader's 2007 Nissan Pathfinder, which was found Sunday afternoon at a convenience store parking lot in Spokane.
According to the Spokesman-Review, the vehicle was located a few blocks from the home of Gilman’s father, Larry Gilman. Police said a search of the senior Gilman’s residence came up empty.
Larry Gilman said he had been in contact with this son on Saturday. He told investigators that he’d spoken to his son on the telephone and heard a gunshot, according to the Spokesman-Review. Larry Gilman said he believed his son had killed himself.
Police responding to a 911 call about a dead body in a home found three bodies instead.
Dustin Gilman had been living with the Aders at their home for several months, sharing holidays and caring for the boys, the Spokesman-Review reported.
“They were just the sweetest boys ever,” Melody Ponsness, Tracy Ader’s cousin, told the Spokesman-Review. “They always gave you a hug before you had to go back home. It’s hard to find words. It’s just so shocking.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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