Minneapolis police are investigating the suspicious death of a 49-year-old man who was found on New Year's Day by officers conducting a welfare check at a south Minneapolis apartment, authorities said on Thursday.
It was the first homicide of the year in Minneapolis, which recorded 32 in 2014.
Authorities said the man, Ricardo Orozco Negrete, was found dead in his apartment, on the 2900 block of Cedar Avenue S., by officers who had been flagged down "by someone asking the officers to check the welfare of someone who resides in the area." Negrete was pronounced dead at the scene.
"At that time, the death was considered suspicious and the police department started investigating," a police news release said. It was unclear why authorities waited two weeks to release details about the death.
The Hennepin County medical examiner's office on Thursday ruled the case a homicide, although a cause of death had not yet been determined.
No further details were immediately available.
