Missing Tenn. mom found dead in trunk after police chase and crash in Michigan
11/29/2022 12:45 pm PST
DEABORN, Mich. (TCD) -- A missing 31-year-old Tennessee woman was found dead in the trunk of a car following a police chase that left the driver deceased and another person injured.
Eleni Kassa was reported missing to the Murfreesboro Police Department on Nov. 18 when she did not pick her daughter up from school and had not been seen or heard from since Nov. 17. Kassa’s cellphone and car were reportedly still at her apartment, and police said she was likely traveling in a black Dodge Charger.
Murfreesboro Police said there was a "possible domestic violence incident" involving Kassa and her girlfriend, Dominique Hardwick. Detectives reportedly launched two separate K-9 searches for Kassa, including one in a creek, and executed multiple search warrants.
According to Michigan State Police, on Sunday, Nov. 27, Dearborn Police Department officers reportedly received a notification about a missing vehicle out of Murfreesboro and saw the black Dodge Charger traveling in the area. Dearborn Police officers approached the car when it pulled off on the side of the road, but the Charger fled and police ended the pursuit.
The Dodge reportedly crashed into a residence near Tireman and Normile streets, and officers allegedly gave verbal commands to the driver. Michigan State Police said officers heard a gunshot, and they returned fire. A 34-year-old woman was taken from the passenger seat of the car and transported to a hospital for her injuries.
The driver suffered a gunshot wound to the head and was pronounced dead at the scene. Police reportedly found a woman’s body in the trunk and said she appeared "to have trauma that was not a result from the crash."
Police reportedly found a 9 mm Glock pistol in the vehicle.
Michigan State Police confirmed Kassa was the victim in the trunk and identified Hardwick as the driver. Hardwick reportedly died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, but Kassa’s cause of death has not yet been determined.
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