A former Vicksburg resident killed Thursday in Hattiesburg might have been trying to defend himself when he was shot in the head at his fiancee’s apartment, Forrest County Coroner Butch Benedict said Saturday.

Lance Logan, 24, a senior at the University of Southern Mississippi and 2005 graduate of St. Aloysius High School, probably died around 2 or 3 a.m. Thursday, Benedict said. His body was discovered about 12 hours later by a friend in the apartment of his fiancee, said the coroner.

Logan’s death was initially believed to have been a suicide and a weapon was found near the body, Benedict said, but the preliminary autopsy report by the state crime lab noted other significant marks on the body, primarily Logan’s arms, that authorities believe to be defensive wounds. The finding resulted in the death being called a homicide.

Both Logan and his fiancee, USM student and Vicksburg resident Allie Barfield, rented apartments in the Point O’Woods apartment complex in the 500 block of 38th Avenue, not far from the campus.

Barfield said Friday she has been working in Vicksburg this summer, so Logan frequently went to her apartment to feed and check on the rabbit the couple kept there. She said when Logan didn’t answer repeated calls, she called a friend to check on him and the friend discovered his body.

Benedict said Logan was found in the living room of the apartment, fully dressed in shorts, T-shirt and shoes. His wallet and personal items were with him, said the coroner.

It is the sixth homicide recorded in Hattiesburg this year.

Logan, who was a U.S. Army veteran and had attended West Point Military Academy in New York, was due to graduate from USM in December with a major in international business and a minor in German. His funeral will be Monday in Hattiesburg, with a memorial service in Vicksburg Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. at St. Michael Catholic Church off Fisher Ferry Road.