Autopsy: Maine shooter was alive for up to 34 hours after mass killing spree

Nov. 4 (UPI) -- The man who killed 18 people and wounded 13 others in Maine last week before dying from a self-inflicted gunshot wound may have been alive for up to 34 hours after his shooting spree, autopsy results indicate.

The body of Robert Card was discovered Oct. 27 after an intense, two-day manhunt in the aftermath of the shooting during which police issued a shelter-in-place order for multiple communities in and around Lewiston, Maine.

An autopsy conducted on Card, 40, found that he had died less than a day before he was discovered dead in a trailer in the parking lot of the Maine Recycling Corp., where Card had once been employed.

Police found two firearms when they discovered his remains.

A statement issued to media outlets by the Maine Office of the Chief Medical Examiner on Friday concluded that "postmortem interval based on rigor mortis and other physical signs indicate Mr. Card was deceased likely 8-12 hours before being located."

The Sagadahoc County Sheriff's Office said Tuesday that Card's family tried to warn law enforcement that he had been suffering from mental health issues.

U.S. President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden visited Lewiston on Friday to pay their respects to the victims.

"No pain is the same, but we know what it's like to lose a piece of our soul, with the depths of a loss are so profound, some of us have been there," the president said. "Eighteen precious souls stolen, 13 wounded. Children, grandchildren, spouses, siblings, parents, grandparents... all of them lived lives of love and service and sacrifice."

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