Man found at East Ridge motel died of strangulation

EAST RIDGE, Tenn. (WDEF) – A suspicious death case in East Ridge turns into a homicide investigation.

The medical examiner’s officer says a man found dead in a motel last week had been strangled.

But a heart condition may have also contributed to the man’s death.

The body of Gino Pickett from South Pittsburg was found at the Cascades Motel after a call from his girlfriend.

Police always considered the death “suspicious.”