Rap artist kills girlfriend, self in murder-suicide on I-495

METHUEN, MASS-> A rap artist took his girlfriend on a death ride on Interstate 495 yesterday, first shooting her in the head and then turning the gun on himself. Police say DiMitri A. Behrmann, 26, formerly of 127 Foster St, Lawrence, was driving north in a maroon Toyota sedan when he shot Beverly Cora, 27,then shot himself yesterday at 3:30 pm, near the Route 213 exit. The car careened off the highway, striking a tree, and flipping over several times before coming to rest on its roof. The accident caused a six-mile back-up and hours of delay for commuters. Ms. Cora worked as a hairdresser at John Charles Salon in Andover, and had recently moved from Lawrence to an apartment in Haverhill that she shared with Mr. Behrmann. State troopers recovered a handgun in a field of bloody debris a short distance from the wreckage on the side of the high-speed lane. Police do not know what led to the shooting. There was no history of trouble between the couple. Mr. Behrmann, who moved recently to Haverhill with Ms. Cora, was a well-known rapper who had released at least one album filled with lyrics about Lawrence. Essex County District Attorney Kevin Burke said investigators would await today's autopsy results before making an official ruling in the case. "We believe the shooting took placei n the car," said DA spokesman Stephen F. O'Connell. "Both had been shot in the head and a gun was recovered 20 to 30 feet from the car. The circumstances are still under investigation," he said. Mr. Behrmann was rushed to Lawrence General Hospital, where he died of a gunshot wound to the head. Ms. Cora died after being flown by Med Flight medical helicopter from Lawrence General Hospital to Boston Medical Center Hospital. State Hospital detectives assigned to the District Attorney's Office were heading the investigation into the fatal shootings. They were checking last night with Lawrence Police to determine whether Mr. Behrmann had any previous problems with police, particularly domestic complaints. He is not well knwn to local police, they said. Mr. Behrmann was involved in some minor incidents in Cambridge, according to investigators, but nothing that would indicate a criminal pattern that would lead to yesterday's tragic shootings. Mr. Behrmann's aunt, who lives at 127 Foster St. in Lawrence, said her nephew most recently lived in Haverhill. "I know nothing about it," she said. "I know nothing about his life." Mr. Behrmann was the father of at least two children, sons ages 6 and 7. In a 1994 Eagle-Tribune interview, he said that fatherhood was very important to him and he intended to be a big part of his sons' lives since he had only met his own father once for about a half hour. He had moved to Lawrence from Brooklyn, NY when he was 12. When police and fire units responded to the acident scene, they initially feared that both passengers had suffered life-threatening injuries as a result of the rollover that totaled Mr. Behrmann's car. "I didn't know about the gun or the shooting until after we had left the scene," said Haverhill's Deputy Chief David A. Meehan, who responded with the department's engine four and recue one units, which pulled Mr. Behrmann from the wrecakge. "To me, it was a complete surprise that they had been shot. I've been on the job 35 years and have never come across an accident that had turned into a shooting. But once we found out, things clicked. We knew why we were having problems (in the rescue). And it all made sense." When they arrived, the Ms. Cora was already out of the car, having been rescued by Joseph R. O'Brien, of Haverhill, and another man from that city. "The woman was bleeding profusely from her mouth, nose and ears. ANd there were chunks of flesh on the left side of her face. I had no idea she had been shot until a trooper told me later," said Mr. O'Brien, who found the woman lying inside the car, flat on her back. She was breathing, but not conscious. "It's an awful thing for something like that to happen. She was so young and beautiful. She was somebody's daughter and many peoples' friend," he said. Mr. O'Brien asid he and the other Haverhill man were unable to get Mr. Behrmann from the wreck. "Half of the vehicle was flattened like a pancake. There was no way for us to get inside," he said. After viewing the wreckage, Deputy Cheif Meehan was concerned that the accident could've been much worse. "It appears the car traveled down the grassy median a distance before it hit a tree. And in my opinion, that tree possibly kept the car from going over the median strip into the southbound lanes (of Interstate 495 North)," he said. "There would have been a lot of traffic there. If it didn't hit that tree, it also could have gone back out onto the road to the right (Interstate 495 North)," he said. State police estimate the car was traveling at about 55 mph when it flipped over.