Autopsy pending for USC student found dead in apartment near campus

An autopsy is pending for a USC student who was found dead over the weekend in his off-campus apartment.

Thu Yain “Roy” Kyaw, a 22-year-old sophomore from Singapore in the Marshall School of Business, was found dead in his bed Sunday night, said Sara Faden of the Los Angeles Police Department.

Faden said that Kyaw’s roommates came home to the apartment in the 1300 block of West 29th Street at about 9:30 p.m. and found him unconscious and not breathing. However, a spokesman for the Los Angeles County coroner’s office said Kyaw’s brother was the one who found the body.

“It appears that there’s been no evidence of any foul play,” Faden said, adding that Kyaw was declared dead at the scene.

Kyaw had been seen two days earlier at a party, but Faden said that despite reports that alcohol may have been a factor in his death, it was too early in the investigation to tell. The coroner would first need to perform an autopsy and determine the cause of death, she added.

USC officials have been cracking down on weekday parties on the campus’ nearby Greek Row after a number of student injuries were reported.

On Monday, USC Dean James G. Ellis sent out an email message, saying: “It is with enormous sadness that I write to inform you of the sudden passing of a member of our Marshall community and the Trojan Family, Thu Yain ‘Roy’ Kyaw.”

“Roy was a sophomore from Singapore, an outstanding Marshall student who made a positive impact among his friends, fellow students, and faculty.... This loss has hit our community particularly hard, as Roy’s older brother is a senior at Marshall.”

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