On a cold Valentine's Day morning in 2015, a violent encounter in the back parking lot of a Milford, Massachusetts, Holiday Inn Express left one man dead and another seriously injured. Thomas E. Coburn III, a 50-year-old male, was pronounced dead at Milford Hospital following the shooting on February 14.
The preliminary investigation by State Police detectives assigned to the Worcester County District Attorney's Office revealed that Coburn had confronted another man, 48-year-old
Christian Nealon of Hopkinton, and a woman who was with him. The confrontation escalated, and both Coburn and Nealon, who were armed with handguns, fired their weapons.
In the aftermath of the exchange of gunfire, Nealon and the woman, who was unharmed, retreated into the motel lobby to report the shooting and seek medical assistance for Nealon's serious wounds. He was initially taken to Milford Hospital and later transferred by helicopter to UMass Medical Center in Worcester.
Authorities found Thomas E. Coburn III in his car in the parking lot. It was determined that he had an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner was tasked with determining the official cause and manner of death. The investigation into the shooting was ongoing, involving State Police Detectives, Milford Police Detectives, and various specialized State Police units. No arrests or suspects were named in connection with Coburn's death, as the wound was believed to be self-inflicted.
