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Mississippi State Rep. Jessica Upshaw was found dead from a single gunshot to the head at the house of a former colleague in the state house on Sunday afternoon, according to the Jackson Clarion Ledger. Her death is now being investigated by officials with the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation. WJTV News Channel 12 confirmed the cause of death with Mendenhall Police Chief Alexander McCullum. Upshaw was the chair of the state's Conservation and Natural Resources Committee.

The Ledger's Therese Apel reports the 53-year-old Upshaw was found at the Jackson home of former State Rep. Clint Rotenberry on Sunday. Rotenberry served in the state Legislature for District 77 until he lost a run-off election in 2007. Upshaw was first elected to Mississippi's District 95 in 2004. It's unclear why she was at Rottenberry's home, but Apel points out that Rotenberry's wife has a separate house registered under her name and that Upshaw was single. Rotenberry and Upshaw were both Republicans.

There's no indication yet whether it was murder or suicide, but details are ultimately pretty sketchy right now. "We can’t really call what happened yet. I don't know if it’s a suicide or what," Simpson County Sheriff Kenneth Lewis told the Ledger. [Update, Monday 11:05 a.m.: Upshaw's death is expected to be ruled a suicide. "It appeared to be self-inflicted," Lewis told WLBT-TV.]