Brown University Suspect Died at Least Two Days Before Authorities Found His Body

The suspect behind the deadly Brown University mass shooting likely died two days before his body was found, according to government officials. 

Attorney General John M. Formella and the Chief Medical Examiner shared new information related to the timeline of Claudio Manuel Neves Valente’s death in a press release on Friday, Dec. 19.

The 48-year-old former Brown University student from Portugal “is estimated to have died on December 16, 2025,” according to the release, issued by the New Hampshire Department of Justice, citing an autopsy report.

Officials also confirmed previous reports that “Valente died as a result of a gunshot wound of the head, and that his manner of death was suicide.”

During a press conference on Thursday, Dec. 18, authorities said the suspect — who killed two people and wounded nine others on Dec. 13 — was found dead from what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound. 

His body was later found in a New Hampshire storage facility.

Brown University President Christina Paxson said Thursday that Neves Valente attended the Ivy League school from 2000 to 2001, where he was enrolled as a graduate student in the physics department.

“It is safe to assume that this man, when he was a student, spent a lot of time in that building,” she said, referring to the Barus & Holley building where the shooting occurred.

The attack happened at around 4 p.m., local time, when the lone gunman opened fire in the hallway of the building and then entered a lecture hall, where approximately 60 students had just finished a two-hour economics prep session for winter exams.

Ella Cook and Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov were identified by family members as the two students who were killed.

Neves Valente has also been linked to the death of MIT professor Nuno Loureiro. The 47-year-old Portuguese national was shot and killed in his home in Brookline, Mass. on Monday, Dec. 15.

Investigators later learned that Loureiro and Neves Valente knew each other and studied together in Lisbon, the New York Times reported.

Following a days-long manhunt, authorities were able to track Neves Valente down thanks to an anonymous Reddit user who saw the suspect walking in the area at the time of the shooting.

“I’m being dead serious,” the source wrote. “The police need to look into a grey Nissan with Florida plates, possibly a rental. That was the car he was driving.”

Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE’s free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.

The individual recalled seeing Neves Valente lock the car and then back away suddenly, which he described as “odd,” leading him to pay more attention to the suspect, according to the affidavit.

The anonymous source added that they then saw the suspect circle the block. 

In Thursday’s press conference, FBI Boston Special Agent in Charge Ted Docks said “even though the suspect was found dead tonight, our work is not done.”