Details of DiMaggio's Death by FBI Gunfire Released by Medical Examiner

A double-murder and kidnapping suspect from Boulevard who was killed in a shootout with FBI agents in an Idaho wilderness preserve last weekend was felled by at least five shots, the examiner who performed his autopsy said Wednesday.

James Lee DiMaggio, 40, sustained bullet wounds to his head, chest and extremities and likely died instantly, according to Valley County Coroner Nathan Hess.

A federal hostage-rescue team tracked down DiMaggio and his captive, 16- year-old daughter Hannah Anderson of Lakeside, on Saturday afternoon at a campsite near Morehead Lake, about 80 miles northeast of Boise. When the suspect shot at them with a rifle, at least one returned fire, according to law enforcement officials.

Hannah was near where DiMaggio died but was unhurt.

The El Capitan High School junior went missing Aug. 4. That night, firefighters found the badly burned bodies of her mother, 44-year-old Christina Anderson, and brother, Ethan, 8, in the embers of DiMaggio's fire-gutted log cabin-style home in eastern San Diego County. Investigators believe the suspect killed them and torched his house before fleeing with Hannah.

Authorities began looking for Hannah and DiMaggio -- whom she and Ethan had known their entire lives and referred to as "Uncle Jim" -- in Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness Area after horseback riders reported spotting and chatting with them there.

DiMaggio's blue 2013 Nissan Versa was found hidden under a pile of brush and logs Friday morning near a trailhead about five miles from where the riders had come across the pair two days earlier.

Hannah only learned about the murders of her family members following her rescue in the rugged Idaho back country, San Diego County Sheriff Bill Gore said.

Authorities have not disclosed a suspected motive for the crimes, but family friends told reporters that DiMaggio seemed to have developed an infatuation with the teenager, a change that made her uncomfortable.

Community members plan a show of support for the Andersons Thursday, when Boll Weevil, 9471 Winter Greens Blvd., in Lakeside plans to give 20 percent of the day’s proceeds to the family.

-City News Service