Duncan Hodgetts: British accountant found dead in New York City after plunging from 14th floor apartment

Police said they believed the 25-year-old took his own life

Duncan Hodgetts (Facebook)

Police are investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of a young British man found after falling from a 14th floor building in New York city.

Officers said initial inquiries suggested the man, identified as Duncan Hodgetts, 25, from Birmingham, had taken his own life.

Police said they had responded at around 8.30am on Monday after receiving reports of a man, apparently unconscious, lying on the balcony on the third floor of the Michelangelo Hotel. The hotel is located opposite the Executive Plaza building.

“Officers found the victim unresponsive and with severe trauma,” New York Police Department spokesman Sgt Lee Hones told The Independent. “He was pronounced dead at the scene.”

Mr Jones said that an inquiry was underway and that a medical examiner would determine the cause of Mr Hodgetts death, though he said officers were not looking for anyone else in connection with the incident.

Reports said that Mr Hodgetts was employed as an accountant with Ernst and Young.

The company said in a statement: “We are very saddened to hear of the death of our colleague, Duncan Hodgetts.

“The matter is being investigated by the New York Police Department and they can expect our full co-operation. Our thoughts and prayers are with Duncan’s family, friends and colleagues.”

Mr Hodgetts’ LinkedIn page says that he had worked for Ernst and Young since September 2011. He was a graduate of Durham University where he had studied physics.