Surgeon who killed ex-girlfriend found dead

BUFFALO -- A gifted trauma surgeon and former Army weapons expert wanted for fatally shooting his ex-girlfriend killed himself with a gunshot to the head.

After a two-day nationwide manhunt, police found Dr. Timothy Jorden's body in thick brush a half-mile from his Lake Erie shoreline home. A neighbor had reported hearing a gunshot from the area on Wednesday morning, and police with dogs found the body, dressed in surgical scrubs, on Friday morning.

Authorities had been searching for Jorden, 49, since Wednesday morning, when Jacqueline Wisniewski, 33, was found shot to death in a stairwell at the Erie County Medical Center. Friends said Wisniewski was afraid of Jorden and had broken off their relationship some time ago.

Police Commissioner Daniel Derenda said Jorden went to the hospital with a shotgun and a .357 Magnum pistol intending to kill Wisniewski because of their breakup. Jorden lured her to the hospital basement, where he shot her five times at point-blank range. He then ran from the hospital and drove home, where surveillance video showed him arriving about 30 minutes later.

Four minutes later, Jorden is seen leaving the house, down a path to a ravine and disappearing into the woods.

Derenda said Jorden killed himself with one shot to the head from the .357 Magnum and didn't leave a suicide note. He had withdrawn large sums of money recently and had given friends gifts. -- AP