INSTITUTE, W.Va. (AP) - Kanawha County sheriff's deputies say a 54-year-old man killed himself after killing his girlfriend and dismembering her body.

The victim is 53-year-old Carol Ann Rhim, who is a former resident of Medina in Orleans County.

Officials say Nathaniel Roy Lawton of Institute shot himself in the head on Thursday night as police were executing a search warrant at his apartment. Deputies were investigating the death of his live-in girlfriend, 53-year-old Carol Ann Rhim.

WGRZ's sister station in Charleston, WSAZ says that authorities believe Lawton killed Rhim on Tuesday and cut up her body in the bathtub.

Kanawha County Chief Deputy Johnny Rutherford told the newspaper that Rhim's head and hands were found in the trunk of Lawton's car. Deputies believe he may have cut off her head and hands to help hide her identity if her body were found.

They are still searching for the rest of Rhim's body.

AP/WGRZ