UPDATE: Police find missing teacher's body after husband kills himself, leaves suicide note and hand-drawn map
Authorities found the body of a Michigan teacher, missing for weeks, after her husband committed suicide and left a note behind with clues on her whereabouts, according to People.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, high school Spanish teacher Theresa Lockhart, 44, disappeared on May 18 after driving away from her family home in Portage, Michigan. After she vanished, cellphone activity and cellphone usage ceased, and none of her family heard from her. Theresa's husband, Christopher Lockhart, lawyered up immediately and refused to cooperate with police.
"He hasn't cooperated pretty much from the beginning — very little, if any," Senior Deputy Chief John Blue told People earlier this year.
Theresa Lockhart's body found in wooded area in Allegan County https://t.co/XV8WkO8FHi
— Detroit Free Press (@freep) October 26, 2017
On Tuesday, authorities found Christopher Lockhart deceased inside the basement of his home from an apparent suicide by strangulation. He left a suicide note and a hand-drawn map beside him. The hand-drawn map guided authorities to Theresa. Police followed the route and found the teacher in the Allegan Game Area, around 50 miles from the family home, deceased and buried.
In a suicide note, Chris Lockhart confessed to killing wife Theresa Lockhart, who had been missing since May 18. https://t.co/FUenoxaGTU pic.twitter.com/k5xe8xpjns
— Dateline NBC (@DatelineNBC) October 26, 2017
Lockhart admitted in his suicide note that he killed his wife. According to Portage Police Chief Nicholas Armold, Lockhart expressed remorse in the suicide note and indicated that he was arguing with his wife when he snapped and killed her. The teacher's cause of death is scheduled for release pending an autopsy, but according to Armold, the results could take a while.
"While I'm not going to go into the details of the note, Chris did state that on the night of May 18, that he killed Theresa and that the next day he disposed of her body in the Allegan Game Area," Armold said.
The story is still developing. Check back with CrimeOnline as additional details become available.
[Feature Photo: Handout]