CLINTON, La. (AP) — Charles A. Shropshire, the first black person elected to the office of district attorney in Louisiana, has been found dead.

Shropshire, who served as the district attorney for East and West Feliciana parishes from 1996 to 2002, was 57.

East Feliciana Parish Sheriff's Maj. Bob King says Shropshire's brother found him inside his home shortly after 9 p.m. Sunday. Ruby Castello, a spokeswoman for the sheriff's office, says a cause of death has not been released.

King has said Shropshire appeared to have suffered a heart attack. A spokeswoman for the East Feliciana Parish Coroner's Office said Monday the coroner was unavailable for comment.

An LSU history professor and a Tulane research librarian said after Shropshire's election that they could find no record of a black candidate ever serving as district attorney in Louisiana, even during Reconstruction.

___