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Police outside the NYC building where Mercado was found dead. David Goldman/AP/Press Association Images
Nicaragua
Diplomat found dead in NYC home with neck slashed
Nicaraguan official found yesterday morning by his driver.
A NICARAGUAN DIPLOMAT has been found dead in his apartment in New York with his throat cut.
Cesar Mercado, 34, was discovered by his driver yesterday morning when he arrived to collect Mercado and bring him to the UN General Assembly meeting.
NPR reports that Mercado was stabbed in the stomach and the neck, and detectives said that two knives were involved in the killing.
He was last seen alive on Wednesday, and police say they have not uncovered a motive for his death, but are treating it as murder. He had been working in America since 2001 for the Nicaraguan ambassador.
A neighbour living below Mercado is quoted by CNN as saying he heard shouting and banging in the apartment on Wednesday night. Local residents told NPR that the building is often noisy at night.
Ruben Beltran from the Mexican Consul described Mercado as a “generous, friendly, straightforward person, a good colleague”.
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