Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
French University Prez's Hotel Death An OD, Say Sources
By
Garth Johnston
Published Apr 6, 2012
Modified Apr 6, 2012
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Garth Johnston
Published Apr 6, 2012
Modified Apr 6, 2012
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
So who, or what, killed 53-year-old French scholar Richard Descoings in a Midtown hotel this week? We're still waiting on the toxicology report (the initial autopsy was inconclusive) but DNAinfo is citing police sources who think the late Sciences-Po president died of an accidental overdose.
Police sources tell Murray Weiss that Descoings "accidentally overdosed on a combination of pills and alcohol." Which tracks, considering the fact that pill bottles and booze were found in his hotel room in the Michelangelo Hotel.
Meanwhile, police are still looking for the two men, both reportedly in their 30s, who were seen entering the Frenchman's room for an hour the night before he died. Police are reportedly "getting close to identifying them" and hope that they may shed some light on how Descoing's laptop and cellphone managed to get out of his room and fall four flights onto a third-floor landing. As the Post reported yesterday, it appears that Descoings may have been, according to his wife, "really into men."
Tagged
manhattan
nypd
overdose
richard descoings
sciences-po
Garth Johnston
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Forest Hills Stadium can keep its concerts under deal with neighbors
Neighbors had complained of traffic and loud concerts for years.
By
Ryan Kost
Published Oct 22, 2026 at 2:49 p.m. ET
NYC Council to grill Mamdani officials on collapsed Hunts Point Produce Market deal
Council Speaker Julie Menin called the $650 million plan "mission critical."
By
Elizabeth Kim
News
NYC Council to grill Mamdani officials on collapsed Hunts Point Produce Market deal
Council Speaker Julie Menin called the $650 million plan "mission critical."
By
Elizabeth Kim
NYPD arrests 17-year-old in fatal Midtown subway platform shooting
By
Charles Lane
Ex-Adams aide accused of pocketing kickbacks from community program funds
By
Samantha Max
MTA to begin 6-year project to upgrade signal tech on A and C lines in Brooklyn and Queens
By
Ramsey Khalifeh
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .