UPDATED 4:50 p.m. ET
Police in Washington state are searching for a man suspected of killing his ex-girlfriend, and are examining graphic photos posted Tuesday on the infamous online community 4chan that purportedly show her body.
The man was identified on Wednesday as 33-year-old David Kalac.
Washington Murder Suspect David Kalac Possibly in Portland Area http://t.co/dxSwUq052s pic.twitter.com/B0RgTVY6pp— Portland Police (@PortlandPolice) November 5, 2014
Kalac is suspected of killing his ex-girlfriend, Amber Coplin, in her Port Orchard apartment, where she was later found by her 13-year-old son, according to local news reports.
Amber Coplin was murdered. Her 13 yo son found her, called his dad and 911. He's with other relatives now. pic.twitter.com/MmAY4BYj0Z— Alison Grande (@AlisonKIRO7) November 5, 2014
Kalac is still on the run, and was last seen at around 1:15 a.m. PT on Wednesday in Portland, Oregon. There, local police officers spotted the victim's car, which Kalac had reportedly stolen after fleeing the scene. Police officers went on a high-speed chase after Kalac, but lost him, according to reports.
Hours earlier, an anonymous 4chan user posted to the site photos of what appeared to be a dead woman, and a murder confession.
"Turns out its [sic] way harder to strangle someone to death than it looks in the movies," the anonymous poster wrote in his or her first message.
The original 4chan post, which appears to have been deleted, was published about 30 minutes before the death was reported, according to Kitsap County Sheriff's Deputy Scott Wilson.
A screenshot of the 4chan post, which contains photos that appear to show a dead woman, was then reposted on Reddit. (Mashable is not linking to the post, which contains graphic imagery; the following screenshot has been redacted.)
In response to other 4chan members' skepticism over whether the photos were legitimate, the anonymous poster provided details of the purported killing.
"Check the news for Port Orchard Washington in a few hours. Her son will be home from school soon. He'll find her, then call the cops," the poster wrote. "I just wanted to share the pics before they find me. I bought a BB gun that looks realistic enough. When they come, I'll pull it and it will be suicide by cop. I understand the doubts. Just check the f*cking news. I have to lose my phone now."
On Tuesday night, police confirmed that the photos are part of the investigation. However, it's still unclear whether they are authentic.
UPDATE: Social media posts reportedly showing graphic photos of the crime scene ARE part of the investigation at this point.— Heather Graf (@HeatherGrafK5) November 5, 2014
VIDEO: What is 4chan?
Additional reporting by The Associated Press and Jason Abbruzzese