Texas Murder Suspect Killed

Texas police say his girlfriend's refusal to help conceal his criminal activity may have led Arthur Goodman to kill her and three of her friends. Now Goodman himself is dead

Authorities had been searching for the 19 year-old after charging him with capital murder Tuesday. His 20-year-old girlfriend, Sandy Witt, and three others were shot at close range the day before.

The case took an abrupt turn Wednesday night when police pulled over a car on Interstate 35 in Fort Worth for a routine traffic stop. Authorities tell CBS affiliate KTAB in Abilene that someone in the car pulled a gun and shots were exchanged. Goodman was killed in the volley of gunfire.

Three other people were in the vehicle at the time and one of them has been identified as Goodman's 16 year-old brother. Police had wanted the younger Goodman for questioning because he may have witnessed the murder of the four women.

Goodman had been the prime suspect in the Monday evening massacre in which Witt and her friends Penny Estrada, Naomi Martinez, and Erica Arispe were murdered.

Authorities said Goodman might have killed Witt because she wouldn't give a false alibi for him in connection with at least one crime in which he was a suspect. Detectives say the other victims were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.