Driver kills himself during traffic stop before police finds dead woman in his boot

A driver shot and killed himself after being pulled over by police, after which the body of a woman was discovered in his boot.

The driver, identified as 34-year-old Gyrth Rutan, was stopped late Thursday afternoon on Interstate 295 in Maine following reports of a car being driven erratically. A state trooper followed the car into the city of Gardiner and pulled the motorist over.

But the suspect stepped out of the car and held a shotgun to his head before pulling the trigger. Rutan, from Sturbridge, Massachusetts, died from a gunshot wound to the head, according to the state medical examiner.

When officers searched Rutan's car, they found the body of a woman in the trunk. The victim has been identified as 28-year-old Maddilyn Burgess of Massachusetts. A post-mortem showed she died of blunt force injuries.

Investigators believe Burgess was murdered in Massachusetts before Rutan drove to Maine. Burgess' relationship to Rutan is not known.