The deceased body of a male student in his mid 50s was found on campus last Thursday, an apparent victim of a heart attack.

The body was found in a toilet stall at the first floor men’s room of the Social Sciences building.

The name of the student, Ramon Avila, was released after the family was notified.

According to Cerritos Campus Police Chief Marvin Engquist, Avila’s body was found between 5:30 and 5:40 a.m.

“It appears he simply stopped into the facilities to use the restroom, while on campus to attend a class, and expired from natural causes,” Engquist said.

All evidence indicates that Avila entered the restroom the previous night.

The following morning, a member of the custodial staff found that there was someone using the facilities, so they decided to leave for a while.

Upon returning, the custodian found that the person was still there, so they announced their presence, but got no response.

At that point, the custodian called the campus police, who upon arriving, promptly tried to determine if Avila was well, or in need of some assistance.

In the process, the police discovered that in fact he had expired.

The campus police immediately sealed off the two doors that lead to the hallway next to the restroom and began an investigation.

Through the investigation, the police were able to determine that Avila had a history of poor health, and currently had some serious health issues.

He was also under the medical care of at least one and possibly more physicians.

According to Engquist, police found that none of Avila’s personal property or valuables were missing, and they later found his vehicle unharmed in a parking lot where he had apparently parked the night before.

As a result of their investigation, the chief stressed that Avila expired from natural causes, and he emphatically stated that there was “no evidence of foul play or involvement from any other party. No criminal involvement.”

Engquist added, however, that the investigation would continue while the police gather additional details about the incident.

According to Young Chan, a Zebra Coffee employee, policemen were already in the vicinity before 7 a.m. when he arrived to prepare the coffee shop for its 7:30 opening.

In fact, no one was allowed access to the area except for professors and individuals that were admitted with permission.

Announcements had been posted since the early morning that indicated which classes had been changed to other locations as well as campus maps that directed the students to those locations.

Walking away from the Zebra Coffee Company, Marilyn Johnson, an interpreter for the deaf on campus, said she noticed something was wrong when she arrived in the C-4 parking lot, an area for staff, located in front of theSocial Science building.

“When I pulled in, the sheriff’s car was in the handicapped zone [which was the area] where I wanted to go,” Johnson says.

Amber Wilson, a social science student, was on the second floor of the Social Science building when rumors about what might have happened began circulating.

” When I learned that they found a dead body in the men’s restroom…that was scary,” Wilson says.

At 1 p.m., a Chrysler minivan belonging to a mortuary chosen by Avila’s family arrived on campus and was parked by a driver near the back doors of the social science building.

In the back section which leads to the business education building, the area surrounding the minivan was cordoned off by campus police, sheriffs, and traffic control officers.

Avila’s body was taken out of the social sciences building at 1:35 p.m.