RYAN TOWNSHIP -- An autopsy is scheduled after a prominent attorney in Schuylkill County was found dead in his home. He was also the husband of the county treasurer.
The body of Gary Marchalk, 60, was discovered Monday afternoon at his home in Barnesville.
State police and the Schuylkill County district attorney are not saying much about the death investigation except that the community is not in any danger, but people who knew him are shocked by his death.
Marchalk's body was discovered in his home on Pear Street in Barnesville, not far from Tamaqua. Neighbors saw nearly a dozen state police cars outside the home.
"I was really surprised. You never expect anything like that in a small neighborhood, you know?" said neighbor Hunter Ganll.
Marchalk was a lawyer with an office in Tamaqua. His wife, Linda, is the Schuylkill County treasurer. Records show the two were married in 2006 and have filed for divorce twice since they have been married, once in 2010 and another time last month.
Documents show they were separated and not living together at the time of Marchalk's death.
Friends hope to learn more soon about what happened.
"I just heard that he passed away at home. I didn't know why. I was hoping it was a rumor. Found out it wasn't," said Peter Smulligan, Gary Marchalk's friend.
The autopsy on Marchalk is set for Wednesday morning.