By DPA
Rio de Janeiro : The Brazilian police have launched an investigation into the death of US basketball player Tony Lee Harris, whose body was found in an area of dense vegetation in the central Brazilian state of Goias.
Police commissioner Norton Luis said a shoelace from Harris’ shoe was found around his neck, leading officials to the hypothesis that he may have committed suicide.
However, Luiz noted that the body of Harris – who would have turned 37 Sunday and is a former star of Washington State University – was taken to the state capital Goiania on Monday, for further tests.
“The player may have been poisoned, or may have been a victim of any other violence,” he noted.
Harris, who played for the club Universo, Brasilia, was found within an army compound in the town of Formosa, in Goias, after the authorities received an anonymous message about the location of the body.
He had been missing for two weeks, when he left Brasilia with an intention to travel to Salvador de Bahia. He took the bus to Goiania, from where he was set to take a taxi to the historic northeastern city.
The taxi driver said Harris disappeared suddenly on Nov 4, during a stop at a petrol station.
Before that, Harris had played only three games for Universo. The club’s basketball coordinator Ricardo Oliveira said his conduct had struck team-mates and club authorities as “strange”.
The basketballer’s wife, Lori Harris, who is eight months pregnant and is in the US, said her husband talked to her on the eve of his trip. She said he had told her of his desire to leave Brazil, because he was convinced he was in danger.