A 58-year-old man whose body was found in his McCully studio apartment Jan. 15 was murdered, according to the Honolulu medical examiner's office.

An autopsy determined that Ted Hiroshi Arifuku was strangled, and it listed the manner of death as homicide. The cause of death was formally listed as asphyxia due to neck compression from manual strangulation.

The medical examiner also found that Arifuku had multiple, nonfatal blunt facial injuries.

Arifuku's hands were tied behind his back. His landlord discovered the body lying face-down when he entered Arifuku's unit at 2526 Kapi'olani Blvd. to do scheduled maintenance work at 9:14 a.m. on Jan. 15.

Arifuku was last seen alive at 9 a.m. Jan. 13 by neighbors in the building's parking lot.

Lt. Bill Kato, head of the Honolulu Police Department's homicide investigations, said there was no evidence of forced entry or indication the apartment had been burglarized. The landlord used a master key to enter the apartment. Police are following up on some leads, Kato said.

According to Hawai'i Criminal Justice Data Center records, Arifuku was convicted in September 1999 of third- and second-degree promotion of dangerous drugs and sentenced to 70 days in jail for each offense, to run concurrently, and five years probation.

Anyone with information on the homicide case can call CrimeStoppers at 955-8300 or *CRIME on a cellular phone.

Reach Rod Ohira at rohira@honoluluadvertiser.com.