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Park Rangers Claim UNCW Murder Suspect Shot Himself

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RALEIGH, N.C. — Rangers at the Great Smoky Mountains National Park say John Peck shot himself before crashing his car into a ravine.

Peck was stopped at a roadblock in Cherokee Monday night after a statewide manhunt.

Police said he fired shots while they chased him and his car crashed down an embankment. They do not know whether a gunshot or the accident killed him.

Peck was wanted for the murder of his ex-girlfriend, UNC-Wilmington student Christen Naujoks, at her apartment Friday night.

An autopsy is under way at the North Carolina State Medical Examiner's Office in Chapel Hill.

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