Ex-principal's cause, manner of death under investigation

As of Wednesday morning, authorities said there has been no preliminary determination of the cause or manner of death of the former elementary school principal found dead Monday in a Morgan City home.

Both officials with the St. Mary Parish Coroner’s Office and Morgan City Police Department said no new information had been released yet. The coroner's office sent a news release stating that the cause of death of Patricia Lynne Russo, 70, is under investigation by police and the coroner. A determination of Russo's manner of death is pending the results of the investigation, the release said.

At 10:10 a.m. Monday, Morgan City police responded to a reported medical emergency at a home on Walnut Drive in Morgan City. Officers arrived and discovered a female resident, Russo, inside the home. Emergency personnel were dispatched to the scene, but Russo was already deceased, according to a Morgan City police news release.

Russo was a former principal of Maitland Elementary and J.S. Aucoin Elementary.

Investigators discovered in their initial assessment that circumstances and evidence existed that indicated the possibility that foul play may have been involved, a police release stated Monday.