Autopsy Confirms Fla. State Attorney Committed Suicide

An autopsy has confirmed that Hillsborough County’s top prosecutor killed himself after an investigation into his finances was launched, officials said Friday.

The medical examiner’s office believes state Atty. Harry Lee Coe shot himself Wednesday night as he sat against a support column underneath an expressway.

His body was found Thursday by the television reporter who broke the stories about Coe’s seeking $12,000 in loans from employees. Coe said he considered the employees longtime friends and said he’d done nothing wrong, but Gov. Jeb Bush launched an investigation.

Police said Coe, 68, left a letter in his apartment with instructions to be carried out after his death, but they did not characterize it as a suicide note.

The investigation into Coe’s finances and allegations that he destroyed computer records related to online betting will continue, a state spokeswoman said.

A former circuit court judge, Coe was elected Hillsborough County state attorney in 1992. He was seeking his third four-year term in November.

“Whatever the problems were, he was a friend and was very much loved by this city and the whole area,” said the Rev. Ron Clark, pastor of Living Water Church and Coe’s friend for 13 years.