Oklahoma official: Man wanted in Kansas slayings has died

TULSA, Okla. – An Oklahoma official says a man sought in the deaths of two people in eastern Kansas has died after he shot himself as law enforcement officers approached him.

Oklahoma Medical Examiner’s Office spokeswoman Amy Elliott confirmed Saturday that Ben Converse had died and that his organs were being harvested for donation before an autopsy was conducted.

The Kansas Bureau of Investigation said Friday that Converse had been located in Tulsa and shot himself with a handgun as officers closed in on him.

Kansas authorities say Converse was a person of interest in the shootings deaths of 36-year-old Molly Wilson and her father, 69-year-old John Tadlock, in Iola, Kansas. The two were found Thursday in their home in Iola, which is about 95 miles (150 kilometres) southwest of Kansas City.