Police: Breakup led Buffalo doctor to kill lover, self
In the end, the gifted trauma surgeon widely beloved as a lifesaver turned to violence, killing himself with a gunshot to the head as he was being sought in the fatal shooting of his ex-girlfriend.
A two-day nationwide search for Dr. Timothy Jorden ended when police found his 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 looking for Jorden since Wednesday morning, when 33-year-old Jacqueline Wisniewski was found shot to death in a stairwell at the Erie County Medical Center, where they both worked. Friends said Wisniewski was afraid of the 49-year-old Jorden and had broken off their relationship some time ago.
Police said Timothy 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 He had withdrawn large sums of money recently and had given friends gifts.
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, Derenda said. He then ran from the hospital and drove home, where surveillance video showed him arriving about 30 minutes later.
Just 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 He had withdrawn large sums of money recently and had given friends gifts.
Police say they found body of fugitive surgeon suspected of murder
As Jorden's tailspin accelerated, friends, neighbors and colleagues painted a picture of a man in decline. Jorden, once 250 pounds and clean-shaven, had lost up to 75 pounds and let his face get scraggly. His neatly manicured lawn got overgrown. He just didn't seem the same; not as "nice" as before, was how neighbor June Dupree put it.
Dupree said she was distraught over what had happened.
"It doesn't make any sense that he did that and that he killed himself," she said. "Oh, my God, it's just terrible. I can't get over it. I'm just about in tears right now."
A two-day nationwide search for Dr. Timothy Jorden ended when police found his 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 looking for Jorden since Wednesday morning, when 33-year-old Jacqueline Wisniewski was found shot to death in a stairwell at the Erie County Medical Center, where they both worked. Friends said Wisniewski was afraid of the 49-year-old Jorden and had broken off their relationship some time ago.
Police said Timothy 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.
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, Derenda said. He then ran from the hospital and drove home, where surveillance video showed him arriving about 30 minutes later.
Just 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.
Police say they found body of fugitive surgeon suspected of murder
As Jorden's tailspin accelerated, friends, neighbors and colleagues painted a picture of a man in decline. Jorden, once 250 pounds and clean-shaven, had lost up to 75 pounds and let his face get scraggly. His neatly manicured lawn got overgrown. He just didn't seem the same; not as "nice" as before, was how neighbor June Dupree put it.
Dupree said she was distraught over what had happened.
"It doesn't make any sense that he did that and that he killed himself," she said. "Oh, my God, it's just terrible. I can't get over it. I'm just about in tears right now."