Pursuit Of Homicide Suspect Ends In Crash

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- What started as a search for a homicide suspect led to two schools being put on lockdown and ended in a chase and crash, police said.

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Police said Michael Vance killed his wife at their home on Cozumel Court in the Blackman community.

The crime scene unit continued its investigation at the home late Thursday afternoon.

Deputies said they received a phone call from Vance, 36, at about 8:30 a.m.

“The person gave us the address on Cozumel Court…and said that a lady there had been hurt and needed help,” said Rutherford County Sheriff's Department Sgt. Dan Goodwin.

When Murfreesboro police officers arrived at the home, they found Vance’s estranged wife, 31-year-old Suzanne Vance, with a gunshot wound. She was taken to a local hospital where she later died.

“(Vance) had left the scene, and we were looking for him. He was actually apprehended a short time after we put a bolo (Be On the Lookout) out by the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Department,” said Murfreesboro Police spokesman Kyle Evans.

Deputies found him driving in the Walter Hill area, but they said he wouldn’t stop. During the low-speed pursuit, a deputy was able to get into position and place stop-sticks in Vance’s path.

Deputies said after hitting the sticks, Vance continued into Wilson County toward Nashville Superspeedway where he crashed his car into a guardrail.

Wilson and Walter Hill elementary schools were placed on lockdown because of the pursuit’s vicinity to the schools.

“He managed to find his firearm again. He placed it to his head and squeezed the trigger. They could see the hammer falling and nothing happen. He worked the action, put it to his head again, squeezed it again; nothing happened. He did it three times. At that point, he then threw the weapon out of the car,” Goodwin said.

Vance is now in police custody. He and his wife had an 8-year-old boy and a middle school-age girl.

Neighbors said the couple has had issues before.

“They have had domestic problems in the past. She has left several times and come back. So, this isn’t the first time police have been here. Unfortunately, this is the worst,” said Amy Tidwell.

In February, officers responded to the home to issue an order of protection against Michael Vance, and in the last two weeks, police said they were called to a boat ramp on Percy Priest Lake because Michael Vance was threatening suicide.

Vance is expected to face murder charges, police said, and possibly additional charges.