Arkansas man accused of driving corpse to Missouri before getting in shootout with police, family speaks out

"I knew he wasn't right. He wasn't acting right." -Rose Davidson, grandmother to Jarrett Cousins

FLORAL, Ark. - The family of a man from Independence County, Arkansas, who was arrested after a shootout with police in Missouri is speaking for the first time.

Forty-year-old Jarrett Cousins allegedly drove the body of 45-year-old Clara Blaxton across state lines before authorities said he got in a shootout with police in Crystal City, Missouri, on Sunday.

Authorities shot Cousins, and he is currently in critical condition recovering at a nearby hospital.

Cousins was raised in Floral, Arkansas, where Nexstar's KARK 4 News met his grandmother, Rose Davidson. She said hours before his arrest, he stopped by her home, and they had an unusually short conversation.

"He said, ‘I love you. You know I love you.’ Gave me a hug and a kiss, and then he just left," Davidson said.

Cousins' family later found his best coat hung over Davidson's mailbox left with a note in the pocket for his younger brother.

"It said, 'I want you to have this. You might not want it. It's the only thing I've got that you probably could use,’" Davidson recalled.

She said it all felt too strange and tried to call Cousins but could not reach him. A family member eventually told her he had recently broken it in a fit of anger.

Hours after the goodbye, police in Festus, Missouri, responded to Cousins allegedly firing a gun from his vehicle outside a fast food restaurant.

Authorities said he led police on a short chase, but after driving over a median, the truck stopped on the highway. Witness video shows Cousins firing guns in the air, officers returning fire, hitting Cousins, and arresting him.

"I kind of got the feeling that he might wanted them to shoot him. He knew better than to do that," Davidson said.

Officers said they found Blaxton dead in Cousins' passenger seat. Deputies in Jefferson County, Missouri, and Arkansas State Police determined she was killed in northeast Arkansas, but have not released a more specific location.

Cousins' grandmother said Blaxton and Cousins were dating. Jefferson County, Missouri, Sheriff's Office said Blaxton was dating the suspect in her homicide case.

Blaxton's body is at the Missouri Crime Lab to determine the cause and manner of death which are still under investigation at this time.

According to Cousin's grandmother, he had a history with drugs and was recently released from prison but was depressed after breaking his leg and having a difficult recovery.

"I wish I could have told him, asked him what was wrong, if something was wrong with him. He wouldn't have told me anyway," Davidson said.

KARK 4 News also tried reaching the family of Clara Blaxton but is waiting to hear back from them.