St. Louis area man up for sentencing kills self

MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. (AP) - A suburban St. Louis man apparently committed suicide while federal court officials were visiting his home.

Maryland Heights police told The St. Louis Post-Dispatch that while federal court officers were in the Maryland Heights home Friday, the man became nervous and fled to a bedroom. Police said the federal officials then heard what sounded like a gunshot.

The federal court officers called police, who found the man dead in the bedroom.

St. Louis lawyer Bill Margulis identified the dead man 44-year-old Matthew Kerns. Margulis said he had been representing Kerns in a federal child pornography case. Kerns pleaded guilty in December to two counts of receiving child pornography and was scheduled to be sentenced on March 9.

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Information from: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, http://www.stltoday.com