Autopsy shows no signs of trauma to body of man found in lot

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. -- An autopsy Thursday showed no trauma to the partly decomposed body of a man found Wednesday morning by the floodwall near downtown Cape Girardeau.

Lester L. Jeffrey Jr., 59, of Cape Girardeau was reported missing Monday. City workers discovered his body about 10 a.m. Wednesday while mowing a grassy lot just north of Broadway.

Nothing in the autopsy conducted at Mineral Area Regional Hospital in Farmington, Mo., indicated any sort of trauma, Cape Girardeau County Coroner John Clifton said.

Toxicology results, expected in several weeks, may shed further light on the circumstances surrounding Jeffrey's death, but right now authorities lean toward natural causes, Clifton said.

Jeffrey's clothing, the same he had been wearing when he was last seen, a credit card in his wallet and a Social Security card helped Clifton make the identification Wednesday, before the man's identity was confirmed by the autopsy.

A time of death could not be determined from the autopsy, Clifton said.

Jeffrey had been missing since July 14, when Pastor Phillip Roop, who knew Jeffrey for just more than two years, tried to contact him at his Cape Girardeau apartment.

"He had been trying to rest -- he was exhausted that week," Roop said.

Jeffrey often had trouble sleeping at night, he said.

Jeffrey lived in a basement apartment, and didn't always receive calls on his cell phone, but he would always call back, Roop said.

When he didn't hear from him by July 20, Roop called Cape Girardeau police and asked them to check on Jeffrey. With a police officer, Roop knocked on Jeffrey's door, and when there was no answer, reported the man missing the next day.

Jeffrey didn't drive and generally walked everywhere, often refusing rides to do so.

He frequently walked by the river, especially when the weather was nice, Roop said.

"He wasn't the type of person who would ever have drawn attention to himself," he said.

Originally from Texas, Jeffrey had been living in the area for about 30 years.

Disabled from service in the Vietnam War, the veteran had been homeless for a short time in his life, but had begun to get back on his feet.

He would often buy food for neighbors he knew were struggling, Roop said.

"He really had a big heart for people that were hurting," he said.

Jeffrey had told Roop he wanted to be involved in starting a ministry for the homeless.

"He was getting to the place where he could help," Roop said.