Student from Roosevelt found dead in Yale dorm room

A 19-year-old Roosevelt man was found dead in his Yale University dorm room Sunday morning, university officials said.

The unresponsive body of Andre Narcisse, a member of the class of 2012, was discovered by roommates in his Branford College suite, said Yale spokeswoman Linda Koch Lorimer in a statement. There was no evidence of foul play, Lorimer said.

Narcisse's death is the second of a Yale student with a Long Island connection in recent months.

In September, Annie Le, a Yale grad student in pharmacology, was found slain, hidden behind a lab wall on what would have been her wedding day on Long Island to a Huntington man.

The man accused of killing Le, Raymond Clark III, is due back in court Tuesday on a murder charge.

Lorimer's statement called Narcisse's death "a tragic event for the Yale community" and said "our hearts go out to Andre's family and friends."

According to his Facebook page, Narcisse was a 2008 graduate of the exclusive Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire. On the site, a photo shows Narcisse flashing a broad grin and holding a large cigar in his mouth.

Julie Quinn, a spokeswoman for the academy, declined to comment.

Alexander Katz, a classmate of Narcisse at Exeter, said in an e-mail: "He was an individual who combined great intellectual gifts with a wonderful sense of humor."

The Associated Press reported that Narcisse's body was found about 11 a.m. Narcisse's roommates immediately notified authorities after finding him, the university statement said. Emergency medical personnel were unable to revive him, the statement said.

Outside the Branford College dormitory complex, where Yale police were parked Sunday night, students who knew Narcisse described him as a Yankees fan who was proud of his roots in New York and at Exeter. "He was really happy about the Yankees because they were going to the World Series," said Hoan Huynh, 20, a sophomore from Orange County, Calif., majoring in political science. "He was a really sociable guy" and a really smart student, Huynh added.

Huynh, who lived in a dorm complex adjacent to where Narcisse was found, said the two recently were in a cultural anthropology class together. "It's very sad," Huynh said. "He was one of the nicest kids on campus."

Doug Steinberg, 18, of Vancouver, British Columbia, a biophysics major, said Narcisse' death, coming so soon after Le's September killing, was unnerving.

"It's just hard to take one after the other," he said. "It's just bad luck."

Narcisse's body has been sent to the state medical examiner's office to determine how he died, the AP reported. Yale College Dean Mary Miller sent an e-mail to students, notifying them of the tragedy, the AP report said.

Miller said there will be opportunities to gather to remember Narcisse, the AP reported.

Nassau police said they were not involved in the investigation. A New Haven police spokeswoman declined to comment on the case.

With Jennifer Maloney and Matthew Chayes