HEBER CITY, Utah — A man who was named a suspect in a Heber City murder case was found dead in Oregon Monday afternoon, about a month after his girlfriend was found dead in her home.
Julie Ann Burns, 36, was found in her Heber City home with a gunshot wound on July 14. Shortly after she was found, police identified her boyfriend, 35-year-old Michael Grant Asman, as a suspect in the case.
Asman fled the area after the incident and for weeks, officials and family pleaded that people keep an eye out for Asman, who was to be considered "armed and dangerous."
In an update early Tuesday morning, police reported Asman had been located and was found deceased in Wallowa State Park near Joseph, Oregon. Officials said a handgun was located at the scene and it is believed Asman shot himself in the head.
“We don’t know exactly what he’s been doing for the last month and a day, how long he’s been deceased,” said Detective Joshua Weisher, with the Heber City Police Department.
His white Chevrolet pickup was found by a ranger at 12:45 Monday afternoon and after reporting it to the Sheriff's office, a deputy located Asman's body about 100 yards away from the truck.
Police told FOX 13 News that Asman was found with the same clothes he was wearing in a surveillance video from a Maverick store in Heber the day Burns’ body was found.
Det. Weisher said they think Asman had been there for several weeks, based on the state of his truck and his body.
According to the Harvard Injury Control Research Center, data shows that most men who shoot and kill their intimate partners then kill themselves. Research shows 59% of men who shot their female partners with a gun, also took their own life.
Officials still don’t know exactly where Asman was traveling between the murder and reaching Oregon. Police say he had previously lived in the state, but they could not find any substantial evidence pointing them in that direction
"We’ve been monitoring his financials and just trying to see if there are any withdrawals or anything like that,” added Weisher.
The detective said crimes like murders don’t happen much in Heber City.
“Heber City is a small town and we have our fair share of problems, but this is very uncommon for our community.”
The medical examiner’s office is expected to release the official time and cause of Asman's death on Wednesday.
