FRANKLIN—The medical examiner’s office in Norfolk continues to investigate the Jan. 26 death of Southampton County businessman Clyde Pitchford Jr., a former Richmond stockbroker who served six years in prison for stealing $1.1 million from clients and banks.

The Southampton County Sheriff’s Office said the 56-year-old’s death is an apparent suicide. Pitchford was found dead at his home on Route 258 south of

Franklin.

“The results from an autopsy could be several weeks coming back from Norfolk,” said Sgt. Wanda Covington with the Sheriff’s Office.

Donna Price, administrator with the Office of the Medical Examiner in Norfolk, said Monday the cause and manner of Pitchford’s death have yet to be determined.

“It could take several weeks to a couple of months,” Price said. “We’re waiting for laboratory results.”

Pitchford in July 1986 pleaded guilty in Richmond Circuit Court to 14 embezzlement charges and two counts of bank fraud. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison, according to the Virginia Department of Corrections, but was released in 1990. He served two additional years for federal bank fraud.

The July 28, 1986, issue of “People” magazine featured a story on Pitchford, who was described as “living the life of a Richmond blue blood.”