PUEBLO (CO)
The Pueblo Chieftain
By PATRICK MALONE
THE PUEBLO CHIEFTAIN
A former Catholic priest who was under investigation for molesting a teenage boy in the early 1970s committed suicide Wednesday by shooting himself in the heart.
An autopsy showed that Andrew Burke, 62, died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest, according to Pueblo County Coroner James Kramer.
Deputy Chief John Ercul of the Pueblo Police Department said Burke was a suspect in a sexual assault. A suicide note left by Burke did not mention the allegations, Ercul said.
According to a report by Pueblo police officer Mathieu Cantin, officers responded to Burke's residence in the 3500 block of Pecan Drive at 8 a.m. Wednesday and found him dead, lying on his back in a flower bed. Burke's chest was covered with a towel. Under the towel was a lone gunshot wound and a chrome .38 Special with a price tag still on it.