Madison Murder Suspect Dead After Police Confrontation

NASHVILLE, TN -- A man wanted for shooting his girlfriend and leaving her body in a shed behind her Madison home is dead from a gunshot wound. It is not clear if he killed himself, was shot by police or both.

Metro Police arrived at a home on Rural Hill Road where Matthew McGinnis lived at 6 a.m. Thursday. McGinnis' roommate had changed the locks on the home after McGinnis was accused of killing Nicole Lee Stephens. The roommate discovered a broken window and called police to whom he had already provided keys.

Police negotiators urged McGinnis to surrender for hours, but eventually a SWAT team entered the house and encountered multiple broken locks on the home's second floor.

Metro Police spokesman Don Aaron said four SWAT officers encountered McGinnis standing in a walk-in closet with a gun to his head. Officers said McGinnis' arm "twitched" and his gun fired while, simultaneously, an officer shot his weapon.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, as is protocol with all officer-involved shootings in Metro following an agreement following the shooting death of Jocques Clemmons, has taken over the investigation. The TBI has not yet determined if the officer, in fact, hit McGinnis.

Photo via Metro Nashville Police