Gay Hookup Sites Discovered on Murdered French Academic's Computer

New York authorities have discovered gay hookup sites on the laptop of a French scholar who was found murdered in a Manhattan hotel room Tuesday, the New York Post reported.

Richard Descoings, 53, was the director of the Paris Institute of Political Studies and a friend of France's president Nicolas Sarkozy. His body was found Tuesday afternoon in his Michelangelo Hotel room on West 51st Street after he did not show up to a conference at Columbia University. An autopsy was inconclusive pending toxicology tests.

The Post reports that Descoings' widow Nadia Marik-Descoings flew to New York from France to tell police about her husband's gay past. She said that he was "really into men" and that she knew about his interests "before she met and married him."

There were no signs of forced entry into the scholar's seventh-floor hotel room and there was no harm to his body. Authorities did find alcohol and prescription drugs in his room and Descoing's laptop and cellphone were discovered on a third-floor ledge.

Two men who entered Descoings' room Monday evening are to be questioned by detectives.

A case that mirrors Descoigns' is that of John Laubach -- a 57-year-old who was found brutally murdered inside his Chelsea apartment in March.

The insurance business executive was found bound with duct tape, tied to a bedpost with an electrical cord and gagged with duct tape. Authorities say there was no sign of forced entry into the apartment but his wallet and computer were missing.

New York police questioned a suspect who may have been involved in the murder. Surveillance footage from a bank close to the victim's apartment shows a man trying to use Laubach's credit card.

The Post reported that Laubach would sometimes meet young men at a neighborhood sex shop and would enter into "financial relationships" with them. The victim's neighbor also said that he had relations with young men that he would often bring home.

In another similar case, a teen was found guilty of second-degree murder for the stabbing of a radio newsman. John Katehis, 18, met 47-year-old George Weber through a Craigslist post. The teen agreed to be paid $60 for a night of violent sex but the night went horribly wrong after Webber was found stabbed to death more than 50 times.