ITA, jtfolden. It appears to me that, through repeated examples, his standard operating procedure when faced with challenges beyond his ability ~ he runs. As evidenced by the Moab incident: 'distance myself', 'take a breather', 'started to walk away' ~ All used explaining the violence
as he had her keys and van and wanted to 'walk away.' It's possible that the still confusing trip back to FL, purportedly to empty a storage locker, also supports this 'flight' behavior. Some here on WS have speculated that CaL might have even stopped herself in mid-sentence before confirming the same notion, ". . . that's what he does when . . ."
So, yes, I believe his ingrained reaction to problems is to run. And one runs for self-preservation. That's why I thought suicide was unlikely.
But now with the id of his body, I'm not as sure. Perhaps he had time to realize the hopelessness of escape and decided to make his final and ultimate flight. Just my mooings.