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An Ebensburg man who police have identified as a suspect in a Hollidaysburg homicide was found dead Wednesday night at a Cambria County motel.
Police said Thursday that the suspect, Kenneth T. Kim, 39, took his own life.
Kim was a suspect in the Nov. 21 murder of Tyler R. Slippy, 27, of Hollidaysburg, Blair County District Attorney Peter J. Weeks said Thursday.
Police departments in Blair and Cambria counties coordinated to execute a number of search warrants Wednesday, and as they approached Kim to collect physical evidence, police said he stole a car and fled to Cambria County, according to a press release from the District Attorney's office.
The Altoona Police Department filed charges of theft by unlawful taking and receiving stolen property against Kim on Wednesday, and multiple departments were on the lookout for a stolen gray Kia that Kim was believed to be driving.
The vehicle was reportedly spotted at a Blair County grocery store, and police viewed surveillance video to determine the suspect's direction of travel.
Law enforcement obtained an arrest warrant for Kim related to the stolen vehicle and found him in Cambria County.
Cambria County Coroner Jeff Lees said the incident happened just after 11 p.m. Wednesday, as police were in a hallway of the Quality Inn along Route 22 in Ebensburg to question Kim. The suspect retreated back into his room and troopers heard a gunshot. Cambria County's Special Emergency Response Team was called in, and Kim was pronounced dead by suicide by Lees.
"The investigation has revealed that it appears the victim was specifically targeted and this homicide was not a random act of violence," Weeks said in a statement. "This homicide investigation remains ongoing while we continue to develop evidence."
Weeks confirmed Thursday afternoon that Slippy and Kim had worked together at Stuckey's.
Police said the homicide investigation remains open.
Officers from Hollidaysburg, Altoona, Blair Township, Logan Township and the Pennsylvania State police as well as the Blair County District Attorney's Office and the Cambria County District Attorney's Office have been working on the investigation.
Anyone with information about the homicide has been asked to call the Hollidaysburg Police Department at 814-695-3711.
Weeks said, "I would specifically commend the cooperation of the Pennsylvania State Police and Hollidaysburg Borough Police Department regarding this investigation. This is an example of how multiple law enforcement agencies working together complement one another, enabling us to investigate homicides that may otherwise remain unsolved but for the dogged determination of dedicated police officers."