Naked, dead man found tied to chair

HOLLYWOOD, Calif. (KABC) -- A naked man was found dead and tied to a chair in an apartment building in Hollywood on Tuesday night.

Police responded to the 1700 block of Cherokee Avenue at about 5:30 p.m. after the body was discovered.

"To find out that somebody's been tied up and murdered is very scary to me," said Tyler Biddle-Barrows, the victim's neighbor.

Biddle-Barrows lives across the hall and said the body was discovered after another tenant complained about a TV blaring inside the apartment for at least two days.

The victim, identified as a 57-year-old Latino man, was discovered when an apartment manager had an employee check on the noise.

The victim's name has not yet been released, pending notification of next of kin.

Neighbors said the victim was a quiet man who kept to himself. Building residents say they last saw the victim alive on Halloween. They say he lived by himself for several years, and sent money home to family in Mexico regularly.

The official cause of death is unknown, but detectives are investigating the death as a homicide. Evidence at the scene points to a murder.

The L.A. County Coroner's Office said the cause of death has not yet been determined.

The apartment building is three blocks east of the Hollywood & Highland Center in an area that locals say has experienced a tremendous reduction of crime.

"I think they've worked very hard over the last years to make Hollywood very, very safe, and they've accomplished that goal in most the areas," said Linda Horner, a Hollywood resident.

With an LAPD substation just across the street and surveillance cameras at the intersection, it seems an unlikely place to find the bizarre murder scene that detectives encountered.

"It's Hollywood, you know? You've just got to accept it," said neighbor Scott Richmond.

"It happens. A lot of crazy things happen out here, you know," said neighbor Larinzo Johnson.

Anyone with information about the murder case is urged to call the LAPD at (877) LAPD-24-7.

Eyewitness News Reporters Lisa Hernandez and Leslie Sykes contributed to this report.

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