The body of U.S. lawyer John Sheedy, 53, was found in his rented apartment on Moscow's downtown Tsvetnoi Bulvar with a plastic bag over his head, Interfax reported Wednesday.
The death was ruled suicide because there were no traces of violence and the apartment was locked from the inside, an Investigative Committee spokeswoman told Interfax. She did not elaborate.
Interfax said Sheedy, a partner at the Moscow office of the Baker Botts law firm, apparently died Sunday. His body was discovered by Sheedy's maid late Tuesday, the report said.
Baker Botts confirmed Sheedy’s death. “Sadly John passed away over the weekend,” it said in an e-mailed statement. “Our sympathies are with his family and friends.”
Sheedy advised clients on Russian transactions since the late 1980s, when he was a founding member of the Soviet practice of Coudert Brothers, the first international law firm to open an office in Moscow, Baker Botts said on its web site.
He was recognized by the Best Lawyers International — Russia, 2010, the web site said.
