No suspects yet in Odessa homicide

[UPDATE]: The Sheriff's Office said they don't yet have any suspects in the murder of 61-year-old lawyer Lawrence J. Higgins, of Odessa.

Today, detectives are investigating at his house, at 11523 Trotting Down Drive, where an unnamed work associate found him dead.

There was no sign of forced entry, said Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Debbie Carter. His associate had a key, and there were no signs that anyone else had forced entry, she said today.

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TAMPA -- A 61-year-old lawyer was found dead in a gated northwest Hillsborough subdivision Friday and the Sheriff's Office said tonight it was a homicide.

Lawrence J. Higgins, 11523 Trotting Down Drive in Odessa, was found dead about when a business associated went to check on him. He died of trauma to the upper torso, the Sheriff's Office said.

The agency was called to the home about 9:50 a.m. Friday.

John McGovern Jr. of Severna Park, Md., says he knew Higgins for 15 years. Higgins, he says, practiced life insurance law in Washington, D.C., before relocating to Florida.

--Times staff