LINCOLN COUNTY, Colorado — The man who took his own life after investigators said he shot a Lincoln County deputy has been connected to a murder two days earlier in Ohio.
The Monroe County (Ohio) Sheriff’s Office said evidence collected from 25-year-old Tristin Ensinger’s vehicle in Colorado connected him to the May 18 death of 39-year-old Timothy Frame in Beallsville, Ohio.
Two days later, Ensinger is believed to have shot Lincoln County Deputy Michael Hutton while Hutton was investigating reports of a stolen semi-truck on Highway 40 outside of Limon.
The ensuing manhunt for Ensinger shut down a large portion of the highway in eastern Colorado and ended when he was found dead in a field with a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
> The video above is from the initial 9NEWS report about the shooting.
The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office first became aware that Ensinger had been involved in a crime in Colorado when they received a call from their counterparts in Lincoln County notifying them of his death, according to a Facebook post from the agency.
Ensinger’s family owned property near where the Ohio murder took place, the sheriff’s office said.
Two detectives from Monroe County flew out to Colorado. Meanwhile, investigators in Ohio were able to use a lineup to match Ensinger with a man who had been spotted near the crime scene.
A search warrant of Ensinger’s vehicle yielded evidence that placed him in the home where the shooting in Ohio took place, the sheriff’s office said.
No motive has been established for the murder. On Facebook, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office said Ensinger was suffering from a mental illness and drug abuse.
Hutton has been released from the hospital. He has been with the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office for seven years.
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