Male suspect in 3 Gulf Coast slayings found dead, female suspect arrested

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Manhunt intensifying for killer couple

Pair wanted for string of murders in Florida and Alabama

A man suspected in the killings of three women is dead after a standoff with police at a Georgia motel late Tuesday, and a female suspect has been arrested, officials said.

U.S. Marshals spokesman Jim Joyner said that 44-year-old William "Billy" Boyette was dead after the standoff in West Point, Georgia and that 37-year-old Mary Rice was taken into custody after the pair, often compared to Bonnie and Clyde,  had been holed up inside a room at the motel.

The Troup County Sheriff's Office said Boyette is believed to have died from a self-inflicted gun shot wound.

Dominic Guadagnoli of the U.S. Marshals Service earlier told the Pensacola News Journal that the stolen vehicle the couple had been driving was seen at the motel, and that Rice checked into the motel using her real name.

Authorities had been searching for the couple linked to a multi-state killing spree for seven days.

Two capital murder warrants were issued for Boyette, who is suspected in the deaths of two women in Florida and one woman in Alabama, Santa Rosa County Sheriff Bob Johnson told reporters. Boyette is also suspected of wounding a young mother on Monday during a home invasion near Pensacola.

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“He is a deranged man,” Johnson said earlier Thursday.

Police are also seeking warrants for accessory after the fact for Rice, who was seen on video with Boyette since the shootings started, Johnson said.

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Rice had previously been considered a person of interest in the attacks; however on Monday she was upgraded to an official suspect. Authorities said she dyed her hair orange and did not act on multiple chances to flee or ask for help. She was spotted on surveillance video entering stores on her own.

“The fact that she was seen away from him in Walmart and then came together with him in the parking lot, she’s a willing participant without a doubt,” Johnson said.

The Florida Panhandle was on high alert since the killing spree began last week.

Two bodies turned up at the Emerald Sands Inn in Milton on Jan. 31. One of the victims, Alicia Greer, 30, was in a relationship with Boyette, while the other was identified as Jacqueline Jeanette Moore, 39.

Police said Greer is the only victim with a connection to the suspected killer.

Boyette and Rice then reportedly went to Lillian, Ala., where police said they allegedly killed Peggy Broz and stole her vehicle Friday morning.

The manhunt for Boyette and Rice escalated after the Monday morning shooting that left Kayla Crocker, 32, in the hospital in critical condition. Crocker's white Chevrolet Cobalt was stolen and video surveillance confirmed Boyette and Rice took the car to a nearby Shell station and ate at a Hardee's restaurant a short time after the attack.

Authorities believed Boyette and Rice were hiding in nearby wooden areas, which they said are well-known to the suspect.

Boyette had a history of drug trafficking and is known to be a heavy user of the drug Spice.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.