East St. Louis police investigate man's death

EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. (AP) — A coroner says a man whose body was found in an East St. Louis field by children headed to school hadn't been shot as police first suggested.

St. Clair County Coroner Rick Stone tells the Belleville News-Democrat (http://bit.ly/ZMFfdw) that 52-year-old David Shepherd's body was found Wednesday morning.

Police initially said it appeared Shepherd had been shot, but Stone says an autopsy showed no signs that. The coroner says the cause of death remained unclear, though he considers the death suspicious. Toxicology tests are pending.

Illinois State Police are assisting in the investigation.

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Information from: Belleville News-Democrat, http://www.bnd.com