BRADLEY – While police in Maine investigate one man’s death, their counterparts in Connecticut investigate the self-inflicted shooting of the man wanted in connection with their case.

Eric Niles, 19, shot himself in the head after being surrounded by Connecticut troopers following a chase on Interstate 95 in Norwalk, according to a news release issued Sunday night by Maine State Police spokesman Steve McCausland. Nile’s condition Sunday night was listed as grave.

Niles was wanted for questioning in Maine in connection with the suspicious death of Blake Michaud, 20, of Greenbush.

Early Sunday, police issued an alert that they were searching for a stolen black Chevrolet pickup truck connected to the case. McCausland said the vehicle was stolen from a home in the nearby town of Alton. A state trooper in Connecticut recognized the vehicle and gave chase.

Driving the vehicle was Kristin Cates, 18, whose parents own the home where Michaud’s body was discovered early Sunday morning. Maine State Police detectives were en route to interview Cates in Connecticut Sunday night. McCausland said Cates does not live with her parents.

“We’re hoping our interview with Kristin will help us clarify what happened,” McCausland said.

It was unclear whether or not Cates was a willing driver or had been abducted by Niles, who was described by authorities as a “person of interest” in the case.

The state medical examiner’s office was called to the Highpoint Place home in Bradley shortly before 8 a.m. Sunday to investigate the death. McCausland said authorities were not releasing a cause of death pending an autopsy.