Police say Dave McCann fled after killing his estranged wife and her mother and was discovered in a remote location based on a tip from a homeless person

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

A British man on the run after allegedly killing his wife and mother-in-law in California was found sleeping at a homeless encampment on the coast Wednesday, ending a four-day search for the homicide suspect.

Police in Clovis, a city three hours south-east of San Francisco, said Dave McCann, 47, fled on Saturday after killing his estranged wife Tierney Cooper-McCann, 36, and her mother Judith Cooper, 68, and was discovered in a remote location in the middle of the night based on a tip from a homeless person.

“Mr McCann went off the grid. There was no technology to be used. There was no cellphones. There was no ATM transactions or anything else to use,” Clovis police chief Matt Basgall said at a press conference, adding that police found the suspect sleeping “well off the beaten path, up a bicycle trail and behind a fence”.

The man was arrested in Seaside, a coastal city 160 miles west of Clovis, where police say he had fatally stabbed the two women early Saturday morning inside a home before fleeing in a Penske truck that he later abandoned.

Clovis Police (@ClovisPolice_CA) Double homicide suspect Dave McCann being prepared for transport from #SeasidePD to #ClovisPD at 6am this morning. pic.twitter.com/gQH1gG4Opw

Cortney Cooper Rider, the sister of Cooper-McCann, survived the attack, telling local news station KFSN-TV that her brother-in-law banged on the door and eventually kicked it in before slitting the throats of her mother and sister.

“I went in and grabbed the phone and was getting ready to call 911 and by the time I walked out he was slitting her throat,” she said. “He looked at me and said, ‘You’re next’, and I immediately ran out the front door and ran to the next-door neighbors.”

Rider told the station she was able to escape.

“My mom was hiding in the bedroom, having it locked. And he busted down the door after not being able to catch me. He went back to the house, he slit my mom’s throat in the back bedroom.”

McCann’s LinkedIn profile says he works in energy and property consultancy and lists him as CEO of SOS Energy and Property Solutions. A website for the company now says, “Due to circumstances beyond our control, this company is closing. Our prayers are dedicated to the Cooper Family.”

Basgall said a team of detectives investigated reports of several potential sightings of the suspect before they were able to track him down.

“The way this case was made was just by old-fashioned police work and getting out there and talking to people and then the citizens providing those tips.”

Clovis Police (@ClovisPolice_CA) #UPDATE 5/10/16 - 6AM- Double Homicide Suspect Dave McCann is in custody in Seaside. pic.twitter.com/UJWy1nC0jP

Asked for the family’s reaction upon learning of the arrest, Basgall said, “They were very happy that he’s in custody. However, they’re very much still grieving.”