ERIK SANZENBACH / L’Observateur / February 11, 2000

GARYVILLE – School officials of the Garyville-Mt. Airy Magnet School onThursday discovered the body of an elderly Kenner man slumped over the steering wheel of his car on Louisiana Highway 54 right in front of the school.

The St. John Parish Sheriff’s office said that 82-year-old Charles Burga Jr.,856 Joe Yenni Blvd. dies of an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound to theright temple. The .38-caliber revolver was still in his hand when police openedthe car door.

School officials went to check the car around 10 a.m. after they noticed thegreen Saturn had been parked alongside the highway for several hours.

A list of phone numbers of family and loved ones was next to his body. Thesheriff’s office said this is usually indicative of a suicide.

Members of Burga’s family said he had been very despondent since the death of his wife 10 months ago.

Though no foul play is suspected, the sheriff’s office is treating the case as a homicide until the investigation is completed. This is standard operatingprocedure in any fatal shooting for the department. An autopsy wasperformed on Friday to determine exact cause of death and how long Burga had been dead.

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