TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTHR) - Police released new information Monday about the suspect they say shot and killed a Terre Haute police officer.
Vigo County Coroner Dr. Susan Amos has identified the suspect as 21-year-old Christopher Wolfe.
The cause of death was listed as gunshot wound and the manner of death is still under investigation.
Police say Wolfe shot and killed Terre Haute police officer Rob Pitts Friday night as Officer Pitts was investigating the homicide of Robert Olson.
Olson, 26, was killed on S. 18th Street. Lakrista Julian, 18, has been charged with obstruction of justice in the case.
A witness told detectives around 2 p.m. Friday that a male suspect had admitted to a third party that he'd shot and killed his male roommate on 18th Street, according to a news release from Assistant Police Chief Shawn Keen. They also said the body of the victim was still in the basement at that address.
Based on that and other information, detectives got a search warrant for the home. They found the body of a white man in the basement, but the suspect wasn't there.
Detectives learned the suspect had changed vehicles and was thought to be with a woman. About 6:20 p.m., a sergeant with the Terre Haute Police Department saw that vehicle on US-41, and called in the car's location.
Assistant Chief Keen says several officers arrived on scene and, within minutes, the suspect started shooting, killing Ofc. Rob Pitts. The suspect was hit in the return gunfire. He holed himself up in the house.
The woman who police say was with him in the car, Lakrista Julian, came out of the home on her own and was taken to the Terre Haute Police Department. When a special response team forced their way in, they found the male suspect dead.
- RELATED: Ofc. Pitts obituary
Julian was booked into Vigo County Jail on an obstruction of justice charge. She's being held in lieu of a $25,000 cash bond. She's due in court Monday morning.
The Terre Haute Police Department will continue to investigate the 18th Street homicide. Indiana State Police are investigating the officer-involved shooting.
