A medical examiner has ruled that Carolyn Mattingly, the victim in a murder-suicide in Potomac, and Andrew Racca, the suspect, died from gunshot wounds, police announced Friday.
The medical examiner ruled Mattingly’s death a homicide and Racca’s a suicide.
Police believe Racca drove to Mattingly’s home, shot her, then started a fire at her residence on Great Elm Drive in Potomac, which badly burned Mattingly’s body around 2:30 p.m. Tuesday. He then fled the home in a black Mercedes, which later crashed into a tree at the corner of Piney Meetinghouse Road and River Road, according to police.
Police do not know if Racca shot himself before crashing into the tree or after.
Police said ballistic testing is being done on the gun to determine if it was used in both incidents.
Police said Racca had been accused of theft at his workplace, The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation in Bethesda, on Monday by C. Richard Mattingly, an executive at the foundation and Carolyn Mattingly’s husband.