No determination on the manner of death of retired Judge Fred Staples was made following an autopsy Friday.

That will wait until toxicology results are available, but the manner of death is consistent with a self-inflicted gunshot wound, said Benton County Coroner John Staples.

Staples, 77, was found dead on his patio Monday afternoon, and a .38-caliber revolver was found at his Greenbrook Avenue home in Richland.

He had told friends that he had lung cancer and was believed to have been ill for about a year.

Stables was the longest-standing judge on the Benton-Franklin Superior Court bench when he retired in 1994.