THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, August 11, 1994 TAG: 9408110529
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B4 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY PERRY PARKS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: ELIZABETH CITY LENGTH: Short : 39 lines
An Elizabeth City man whose body was found in his apartment Monday accidentally strangled himself with a chain, a Pitt County medical examiner ruled Wednesday.
The naked body of Michael Kevin Arranz, 34, was discovered face down on his bed in his cramped apartment at 1212 Carolina Ave. with a chain around his neck, police said.
Elizabeth City Police Lt. Joe Tade would not reveal other details of the scene.
Homicide has been ruled out, Tade said. Police have not determined whether anyone was with Arranz when he died, although evidence suggests he was alone.
Officials have interviewed about 20 people who knew Arranz, and will review fingerprints collected at the scene, Tade said.
``The investigation is not closed as of yet,'' he said.
Arranz had lived on the third floor of the 12-unit Riverwind II apartment building for more than a year, building owner and manager Craig Barkley said.
A building employee and Arranz's brother found the body at about 1 p.m. Monday. The brother had come looking for Arranz after he failed to show up for a birthday party the day before.
Arranz had planned to leave this month for Western Carolina University, where he was enrolled as a natural resource management major. Neighbors and acquaintances said he was friendly but kept to himself. He had an affinity for baseball, and his well-kept apartment was full of literature books and compact discs.
He had recently quit working at the Budget Host Inn on the Outer Banks. Arranz had also worked for Tarheel Distributing Co. in Elizabeth City. by CNB