Man found dead in UA-area

Ryan A. Mihalyi Arizona Daily Wildcat A Tucson resident found a dead man yesterday at a duplex on the 200 block of North Vine Avenue. Tucson Police Department officials could not identify the body or offer an age estimate.

"We don't know if we have a homicide or a suicide, all we know is we have a dead male," said Sgt. Judy Altieri, a Tucson Police Department spokeswoman.

The corpse was found in the passenger seat of a 1982 silver Honda Accord parked in a duplex driveway on the 200 block of North Vine Avenue. Police officials estimated that the body was there for a number of days.

"It's definitely been there over a day, but we won't be able to pinpoint the time until after the autopsy," she said.

Altieri said the Pima County Medical Examiner will perform an autopsy today.

Police were unable to identify the man's race or age because of the advanced decomposition, she added. Homicide detectives discovered identification in the car belonging to someone "well over college age," Altieri said.

Susan Hutchinson, who lives across the street from the duplex, said she has not noticed anything suspicious.

"Today was the first time I noticed it (the car)," she said. "Apparently it's been there a couple of days."

The residents' landlady discovered the body after hearing a number of complaints about a rotting smell, Altieri said. The Tucson woman called police after she knocked on the Accord's tinted window and did not hear a response.

Ofelia Rendon, a University of Arizona physiological science junior, said she was frightened because she often stays at a friend's house near the duplex.

"It's scary because I'm home alone a lot," she said. "It's just scary to think someone is dead four houses down."