Autopsy inconclusive of French academic found dead in NYC

An initial autopsy performed on a well-known French academic found dead in a midtown hotel was inconclusive, the medical examiner's office said Wednesday.

Richard Descoings' nude body was discovered in his room at the Michelangelo Hotel Tuesday afternoon, in a disorderly setting that led police to initially label his death as "suspicious."

An NYPD spokesman, however, said that rescue workers caused the disorder while trying to resuscitate the Frenchman.

Descoings, 53, was the director of Sciences Po, an elite Paris university that has graduated major world figures. He was in the U.S. to participate in a Columbia University conference and was supposed to meet a colleague in the lobby on Tuesday, but never showed up.

Police have ruled out the possibility that he was robbed, although his laptop and phone were reportedly found on a ledge. Toxicology tests must still be conducted, officials said.

(With Reuters)