CT Football Coach's Death Was 'Suspicious,' Police Say: Reports

PROSPECT, CT — The president of Southern Connecticut Pop Warner was found dead in his home on Monday morning — and state police are calling his death "suspicious," multiple news outlets have reported.

At around 9 a.m. Monday, investigators responded to the Prospect home of 54-year-old Paul McGrath after a neighbor found him dead, WTNH reported. The injuries he sustained were "deemed to be suspicious in nature," state police said, as reported by CT Insider.

His death is under investigation by detectives with the Central District Major Crime Squad, and the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner told WFSB the cause of his death is expected to be released in 6-8 weeks.

McGrath was a longtime Pop Warner coach, CT Insider said, and according to WFSB he became president of Southern Connecticut Pop Warner in January.

The group announced his death "with extreme sadness" on Facebook Monday night.

"There are no words to express the shock and disbelief that we are all experiencing as this was so sudden," the Facebook post reads. "We do not have details at this time and will share what we know as they are made available. Paul's love for his Naugatuck Family and SCPW will truly be missed."

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According to New England Pop Warner Football & Cheer, McGrath was in his 22nd year of volunteering for Pop Warner when he died.

He started a Pop Warner program in Naugatuck in 2008 and grew it to become one of Southern Connecticut's most stable and competitive programs, the group said on Facebook.

"It is without a doubt that Paul will be profoundly missed," the Facebook post reads. "He loved Pop Warner, working with kids and most of all making a difference. May he rest knowing the immense impact he had on our Pop Warner family."