Mystery death of Mariners Harbor man in Queens is ruled a homicide

   STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A Mariners Harbor man found dead inside his son's Queens home Tuesday morning was the victim of a homicide, an autopsy revealed yesterday.

    David Powell, 46, died due to a compression of his neck, said Ellen Borakove, a spokeswoman for the city Medical Examiner's Office. Powell also suffered from heart disease, Ms. Borakove said.

    Police found Powell just after 10 a.m. Tuesday, after they were summoned to 109-39 213th St. by a 911 call.

    Powell was "unconscious and unresponsive," police said, and he was pronounced dead at Long Island Jewish Hospital.

    A relative who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Powell made the trip to Queens early that morning to visit his 23-year-old son, Tristan.

    Detectives from the NYPD's 105th Precinct indicated that Tristan may be a person of interest in the case, according to the relative, who added that other family members have not been able to reach him since Powell's death.

    It wasn't clear yesterday how Powell's assailant compressed his neck, and an NYPD spokesman could not provide additional details yesterday afternoon.