The strange case of a huge Elvis fan

[Bob Of Burleson]

Owner of Elvis attraction, Graceland Too, found dead

USAtoday.com

JACKSON, Miss. — Just days after shooting and killing a man, the owner of a 24-hour Elvis Presley tourist attraction in Holly Springs, Miss., was found dead on his front porch, officials said.

A motorist called police Thursday morning after seeing Paul McLeod, 70, slumped in a chair outside the shrine known as Graceland Too, said Marshall County Coroner James Richard Anderson. He said there was no blood or trauma to McLeod's body.

(MacLeod, a Detroit-born former prison and auto worker, opened Graceland Too in 1990. Since that time, several national publications have named him the "World's Number One Elvis Fan.")

"It appears to be natural causes but it is pending until we get the autopsy," said Anderson. A cause of death has not yet been released.

McLeod attorney Phillip Knecht said the death is almost certainly natural causes. He said in a release Thursday that McLeod had been battling bad health for some time.

"We can't be sure of anything right now, but nothing points to suicide or foul play. We await an official autopsy, but his ill health, combined with the stress from ... tragedy, lead me to believe it was a very unfortunate natural occurrence," said Knecht.

McLeod heard banging at his front door around 11 p.m. Tuesday, Knecht said. When McLeod opened his door, a man broke the glass, forced his way inside and demanded money.

McLeod shot and killed Dwight David Taylor, 28, that night. Police questioned and released McLeod. No charges were filed.

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