A former suburban Houston police chief has been found dead days before he was to stand trial for sexual assault of a minor.
The Houston Chronicle reports that Michael Palmer was found unresponsive Thursday in the back yard of his home in West Columbia, about 50 miles southwest of Houston.
The Galveston County medical examiner's office will perform the autopsy.
Police say a trial was scheduled to begin next week for Palmer over allegations that he sexually assaulted a minor.
Palmer briefly disappeared after he was indicted in 2013 but returned several weeks later.
Copyright AP - Associated Press
