Man reported girlfriend missing and was then found dead – suicide

A man who reported his girlfriend missing in Hawaii was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, authorities said.

According to a press release from the Hawaii Police Department, police investigating the disappearance of 38-year-old Ashley M. Kuregian executed a search warrant for a home in Kea’au, Hawaii, on May 23. There, officers identified themselves and heard a “loud bang” inside the house that sounded similar to a gunshot.

Inside, officers found a man – later identified as Kuregian’s boyfriend Matthew A. Poole – dead from a gunshot wound, police said. A firearm was also found. A subsequent autopsy confirmed he died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, the news release said.

Two days earlier, on May 21, Poole reported Kuregian missing after not being seen for about a week, police said.

During a search of Poole’s home on the evening of May 23, police found information that led them to search for Kuregian in the Orchidland Estates subdivision. At around 7 p.m., authorities found a body “in advanced stages of decomposition,” the news release said. The remains were found on a vacant lot in Kea’au and later identified as Kuregian, police said.

A medical examiner concluded that Kuregian died from a gunshot wound to the head, and the cause of death was ruled a homicide, the release said. Police say they are currently investigating the missing person case as a murder-suicide.

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In a GoFundMe campaign launched after her death, Kuregian was remembered as the mother of an 11-year-old daughter named Delilah.

“Our sweet, beautiful Ashley (Birdie) Kuregian was tragically taken from this world at the hands of another,” wrote fundraiser organizer Michelle McDaniel.

As of June 4, the fundraiser has already raised more than $10,000 in donations, which McDaniel said will go toward funeral expenses and a college fund for Kuregian’s daughter.

If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or visit thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in more than 170 languages.