Autopsy: Man killed in Austin apartment was strangled, beaten

CHICAGO (STMW) - A man found dead following a fight inside an Austin neighborhood apartment Wednesday morning was strangled and beaten, an autopsy Thursday revealed.

Officers responding to a report of a battery in progress at an apartment in the 800 block of North Central at 6:30 a.m. found 42-year-old Terrell Peterson unresponsive, according to Chicago Police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

Peterson, who lived on the block where he was found, was pronounced dead at the scene less than an hour later, the medical examiner’s office said.

An autopsy Thursday found he died of asphyxia and multiple blunt-force injuries, the medical examiner’s office said. His death was ruled a homicide.

A police source said the man had gotten into a fight with his fiancee’s 20-year-old son. The son was taken into custody at a downtown bus station Wednesday morning and charges were pending Thursday afternoon.