Body found near his home ID'd as surgeon

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BUFFALO, N.Y., June 15 (UPI) -- The Buffalo, N.Y., surgeon suspected of killing his former girlfriend appears to have taken his own life soon after the shooting, authorities said Friday.

The body of Dr. Timothy Jorden Jr., 49, was discovered Friday morning in a ravine near his home in Lakeview outside Buffalo, The Buffalo News reported. Police had been searching the area since a neighbor reported Thursday hearing a gunshot the day before.

At a news conference, Dennis Richards, chief of detectives with the Buffalo police, said Jorden was wearing hospital scrubs. He appeared to have shot himself.

The victim, Jackie Wisniewski, 33, worked at the Erie County Medical Center, where Jorden was a trauma surgeon. She told friends after ending an affair with the doctor that she was afraid of him.

Jorden was the target of a nationwide manhunt after the killing Wednesday morning. Investigators said he appeared to have planned the shooting and his getaway.

The news that he was a person of interest shocked many in Buffalo. Jorden, who grew up in the city, went to college and medical school after serving in the U.S. Army and then returned to the military as a surgeon.

When he returned to Buffalo, he was one of the few black doctors in the area to have been raised locally.

Friends said he lost about 75 pounds recently and grew a beard. Investigators said he took $30,000 out of the bank recently.