The cause of Tim Davlin's death Tuesday morning is still under investigation, Xinhua reported.
Davlin, who had been Springfield mayor since April 2003, was ordered to appear in a court in a pending estate case involving his late cousin Tuesday.
The two- term Democrat announced last month that he would not file to run for a third four-year term in 2011.
According to a local media report, Davlin, 53, died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, but local police didn 't confirm it.
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