NEW YORK — A Nicaraguan diplomat found dead in his apartment was grasping hair in both hands that investigators were analyzing and at least some of his wounds appeared to have been selfinflicted, police said Friday.
Investigators haven’t determined whether Cesar Mercado’s death was a homicide or suicide, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said.
Mercado’s body was found Thursday by a driver who had arrived to take him to his job at the United Nations, where Mercado was Nicaragua’s general consul.
Mercado, 34, usually arrived by subway at about 7:30 a.m., but when he didn’t show up, the driver went to the apartment and discovered the door unlocked. He opened it to find Mercado’s body on the ground. His clothes were drenched in blood and he was wearing socks but no shoes. He had been stabbed and his throathad been slashed.
The bathroom sink of the studio apartment was full of blood and two knives were found, a 19-inch knife and a smaller knife inside the sink, police said.
Mercado was stabbed a dozen times in the abdomen, but it appeared from the initial autopsy that some of the wounds may have been self-inflicted, Kelly said Friday. More investigation was needed to determine a cause of death, he said.
Security cameras were not working in Mercado’s Bronx apartment building, but police were canvassing the area for any other usable video. Mercado was last seen by neighbors about 3 p.m. Wednesday.They also were examining cell-phone records.
Nicaraguan officials were working with U.S. officials to help in the investigation and arrest those responsible, Nicaragua’s Permanent Mission at the United Nations said in a statement Friday.
Front Section, Pages 3 on 09/25/2010