ZIONSVILLE, Ind. — An Indiana man suspected in the killings of a 31-year-old woman and her 4-year-old son Wednesday morning was found dead in a hotel room in Indianapolis, where police say he fatally shot himself after a brief standoff.

The victims in what one local law official called a “heinous and heartbreaking crime” were identified as Katherine Giehll and her son, Raymond Peter IV. Their bodies were found by a neighbor at a Zionsville home at approximately 8 a.m. Giehll’s body was found near the front door, and the child was in the living room where he had been watching television, Boone County Sheriff Mike Nielsen said.

Both were killed by gunshot wounds, according to Nielsen. The motive, he added later, is believed to be money.

Nielsen’s office identified Giehll’s paternal uncle, Lucius Oliver Hamilton III, 61, as the suspect in the killings. He was believed to be driving a white 2013 full-size Dodge van registered to Wabash College in nearby Crawfordsville.

Authorities locked the Wabash campus down for several hours in an apparent search for Hamilton, but it was not believed that he was in the area.

Police later discovered Hamilton at a Hilton hotel in downtown Indianapolis, according to the Zionsville (Indiana) Times Sentinel. After a short standoff, Hamilton shot and killed himself, Nielsen said.

Hamilton was employed at Wabash College as a major gifts officer and graduated from the school in 1976. He was last seen on the campus Wednesday morning. 

Nielsen said the motive in the killings was financial, a dispute over a family trust that involved millions of dollars.

“In my 32 years in law enforcement, I have never witnessed a crime so heinous and heartbreaking,” Nielsen said.

Nielsen said officers reached out to the U.S. Marshals’ Service, the FBI and the TSA, who are assisting with the investigation.

“This is a very tragic event,” Nielsen added. “As you can understand, this is a serious matter, and we need to handle it perfectly. We are utilizing multiple agencies to assist with solving this crime and we will exhaust every resource to help investigate this to the fullest.”

Details for this story were reported by the Zionsville (Indiana) Times Sentinel.