Mystery surrounds Descoings death

AUTOPSY results on the mysterious death of the director of Sciences Po Paris have been "inconclusive".

It will take another 10-15 days to do further toxicology and tissue tests to determine the cause of death, said medical officials in New York, where the naked body of Richard Descoings, 53, was found in his bed at the Michelangelo Hotel on Tuesday.

He was in the US to attend a conference of university chiefs.

Police say there were no signs of a struggle and no signs of injury. Disorder found in the room initially is now thought to have been caused by resuscitation attempts by medical personnel.

However Mr Descoings' computer and telephone were reportedly found on a ledge four floors down from the seventh floor hotel room, where they appeared to have been thrown.

Deputy police commissioner Paul Browne said it was possible that "other people had been in the room at some point".

According to Le Nouvel Observateur the New York Post said "police sources" made reference to two men visiting the room, and empty alcohol bottles and anti-depressants being found. The latest version on the paper's site, however, does not mention this.

The New York Times said a family staying in a neighbouring room said they heard several people's voices from the room late at night and then heard "at least two people" talking as they left the room at around 8.00-9.00 the next day.

President Sarkozy paid tribute to Mr Descoings, who he said had "contributed more than anyone of his generation to furthering the prestige of France's higher education system." He said he turned Sciences Po into "an institution of world renown".

The investigation is the second in a year by the NYPD involving a major French personality, after the rape accusations against former International Monetary FUnd head Dominique Strauss-Kahn, which also revolved around an incident in a luxury New York hotel.

Photo: dperez.com - licensed under Creative Commons