Nicaraguan diplomat found with throat slashed had human hair in his hands
Source: nydailynews.com
A Central American diplomat found dead with his throat slashed in the Bronx held human hair in both hands - suggesting a fierce struggle in his final minutes, police sources said.Nicaraguan Consul Cesar Mercado was clutching 10 hairs in his right hand and five in the left when his body was discovered, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said Friday.
Nicaragua’s consul César Mercado was found murdered in his Bronx apartment.
The evidence suggests a fight to the death, with police sources telling the Daily News that Mercado likely knew his killer. In addition to the throat wounds, Mercado was stabbed a dozen times in the stomach.
Kelly noted there was no evidence of robbery in Mercado’s blood-spattered Bronx apartment or any sign of forced entry. The apartment door was closed but unlocked, officials said.
Police investigators, in addition to focusing on the hairs, were analyzing the victim’s BlackBerry along with bloody fingerprints found in the Grand Concourse apartment.
The medical examiner’s office said preliminary findings were inconclusive. Investigators with the medical examiner’s office stopped short of ruling Mercado’s death a homicide, telling police they need more information before making an official determination.
Mercado’s driver, who was about to take him to the United Nations General Assembly, found his body around 10:30 a.m. Thursday just inside the doorway of his apartment. Two knives were found in a bathroom sink.
The medical examiner found "hesitation wounds" on the victim - injuries potentially inflicted by Mercado himself, Kelly said.
"If, in fact, there’s a wound from an assailant it’s generally very direct and is in one motion," Kelly explained. "These wounds were described to me as not being in one motion."
Mercado was last seen alive Wednesday afternoon, and a neighbor heard commotion in the victim’s apartment overnight.
Article from: nydailynews.com
