North Raleigh man's death labeled homicide

Raleigh police have opened a homicide investigation into the death of a 48-year-old man whose co-workers had not seen him for a week, spokesman Jim Sughrue said Saturday.

Officers making a welfare check found the body of Jurgen Dietmar Cheston inside his home at 2700 Westhampton Place around 6 p.m. Friday.

Officers found Cheston's pickup truck, a dark blue 2001 Ford Ranger, about three miles away in the 3800 block of Brentwood Road overnight Friday, Sughrue said. The license tag had been removed from the truck.

The cause of death hasn't been released, and police are working to establish a time of death, Sughrue said.

He said that Cheston was known to frequent Hispanic-oriented entertainment venues such as nightclubs, and detectives want to talk with people who knew him in that context.

Anyone with information should call Raleigh Police detectives at 919-996-3555 or Crime Stoppers at 919-834-HELP. Crime Stoppers pays cash rewards for tips that help solve crimes.