Two Tennessee women were found dead after a car crash and police shooting in Dearborn, including one who was reported missing days earlier, authorities said.
The driver of a black Dodge Charger saw an approaching police vehicle. As the officers came in closer proximity, the car speeded up and crashed into a nearby house. Police exchanged gunfire with the suspect that was driving after the crash.
As police inspected the scene of the crash, they found something disturbing. Along with the driver, there was another person in the vehicle. However, this second woman was already dead. Her body was stored inside of the car’s trunk.
Michigan State Police have identified the woman found in the trunk of the crashed vehicle, as well as the driver who was fatally shot after the crash. Eleni Kassa, 31, was the missing woman in the trunk. Dominique Hardwick, 36, was the driver that was found dead from a gunshot wound. Her autopsy showed that the gunshot wound she died of was self-inflicted.
Kassa was reported missing by family members after she failed to pick up her daughter from school. Kassa and Hardwick were in a romantic relationship, and Kassa was believed to be traveling with her girlfriend at the time of her disappearance.
A weeklong search was conducted by Murfreesboro police, including two K-9 searches and interviews with family members and witnesses.
When police found Kassa’s body in the car, they discovered that she was already dead. Her fatal injuries were unrelated from the car crash.
Police are still interviewing witnesses, including an additional 34-year-old passenger who was detained and taken to a hospital after the crash to treat her injuries. A handgun was also recovered from the crashed car.