Authorities Determine Cause Of Death For Body Found Near Kingsborough

The Medical Examiner determined the reputed gang member, whose body was found in Manhattan Beach wrapped in a plastic bag with his feet stuck in a bucket of concrete, died of asphyxiation before he was thrown in the sea, the Daily News reports.

A Kingsborough Community College student stumbled upon the body of 28-year-old Peter Martinez while walking along the shore last week. Martinez had been missing since February 3 until he turned up in a garbage bag on the rocks outside the college with his hands tied behind his back, duct tape around his nose and mouth, and his feet buried in a bucket of concrete.

The Medical Examiner’s office told the Daily News the duct tape killed Martinez. He died of asphyxiation before he hit the water.

Martinez had reportedly been arrested 31 times and was given a two-year prison sentence in 2011 for identity theft. He is also said the be affiliated with the G-Stone Crips, a gang that operates near Martinez’s home in Canarsie. The gang is also associated with the Brooklyn rapper Bobby Shmurda, according to DNAinfo.

Martinez’s girlfriend reportedly told investigators that he “owed a lot of money” before he went missing.

Authorities are still investigating the case.

A law enforcement source told the Daily News “There is a long list of people who wanted this guy dead.”