Victim in possible Citrus Heights murder-suicide identified by Sacramento County Coroner

The woman found dead in a Citrus Heights home whose has been connected with the possible suicide of a man found hanged from a tree near Interstate 80 has been identified.

The Sacramento County Coroner’s Office identified the woman as 52-year-old Lisa Anne Cushman. She was found by Citrus Heights police Thursday during a welfare check at an apartment on Auburn Oaks Court.

Investigators have linked Cushman’s death with that of Robert Rankin, 59, who police believed killed himself. He was found hanging from a tree up an embankment 30 feet away from I-80.

Their connection is not yet clear — investigators have confirmed that Rankin and Cushman were dating, but have not determined if the deaths were a murder-suicide.

Rankin’s body was found on Jan. 11, and when Cushman was found on Jan. 15, investigators said she had been dead for several days and had suffered traumatic injuries. Police said she hadn’t been seen since Jan. 8.

“It’s not confirmed if this is a murder-suicide,” Citrus Heights Police spokesman Lt. Wesley Herman said Friday. “That’s certainly a possibility and we’re not ruling that out, but we have not confirmed that.”

On Cushman’s Facebook page, photos uploaded two years ago show her and Rankin dancing together.

Rankin has a criminal record, with cases in Sacramento County dating from 2000 to 2004, including two felony counts of criminal threats which were reduced to misdemeanors, according to previous reporting by The Sacramento Bee.