Sentinel staff report–
Investigators with the Citrus Heights Police Department are continuing to look into whether the discovery of a woman’s body in an apartment may have been a murder-suicide connected with a man whose body was found hanging from a tree just outside the city limits.
“We are investigating this as a homicide and we have not been able to confirm that it is a murder/suicide, however that is being considered and investigated in order to confirm or rule out,” Police Lt. Michael Wells told The Sentinel in an email update on Friday.
Wells said detectives are still conducting interviews and followup as part of their investigation.
The Sacramento County Coroner’s office has since identified the deceased woman as 52-year-old Lisa Cushman. The man whose body was found hanging from a tree near Interstate 80 and Riverside Avenue on Jan. 11, was identified in area media reports as 59-year-old Robert Rankin.
Police have confirmed the two were in a dating relationship. Cushman and Rankin’s Facebook profiles also indicate the two had been dating as far back as 2003.
As previously reported on The Sentinel, officers were called to the 7400 block of Auburn Oaks Ct. on Jan. 15 at the request of the California Highway Patrol, who had found Cushman’s body inside an apartment during a welfare check that was being conducted in connection with the nearby hanging incident.
Authorities said the woman had been deceased “for a number of days” and had last been seen around Jan. 8. Police said the woman “suffered from significant trauma to her body,” but said a specific cause of death was undetermined, pending assessment by a medical examiner.
Authorities initially considered the Jan. 11 hanging incident to be “suspicious,” but now consider it to be a suicide.
A local Suicide Prevention Hotline, operated by WellSpace Health, can be reached at (916) 368-3111. The group says its hotline is also available for those concerned about friends or loved ones who may be suicidal.
According to various suicide prevention resources, warning indicators of suicide can include talking about feeling hopeless, having no reason to live, and other behavior or mood signs.
Citrus Heights police encourage anyone with related information to contact the department’s tip line at (916) 727-5524.
