Auburn police are continuing to look into the death of an Auburn man whom a neighbor found lying on the floor of his home late Saturday morning.
The King County Medical Examiner conducted an autopsy Monday, and identified the man as Seth G. Frankel, 41. The cause of death was “incised wounds of the neck and hands,” and the manner of death was homicide. A spokesman for the Medical Examiner listed the date of death as Friday.
At about 11:57 a.m., Auburn police responded to a residence in the 100 block of D Street Northwest to assist in checking the welfare of Frankel. A neighbor checking on him could see through a window that he was lying on the floor inside the residence.
Frankel did not respond to the neighbor or officers on scene before authorities entered the house. Officers found him dead at the scene with injuries not consistent with a natural death.
The City of Kent had employed Frankel since April 2007 as a video program coordinator, making him responsible for Kent’s cable TV channel in terms of program content and production.
Previous to his work with the City of Kent, he served as director of production at KEET-TV in Eureka, Calif. and as producer/director at KTSC-TV in Pueblo, Colo.
The news hit friends and colleagues hard.
“He was an extremely well-liked person,” said John Hodgson, chief administrative officer for the City of Kent. “Everyone that knew him really liked him. He was a great guy, very fun loving. We have a lot of people around the City who are devastated by what happened.”
He had friends at Auburn City Hall as well.
“Seth had an extensive background in video and broadcast work,” said Dana Hinman, public affairs manager for the City of Auburn. “We worked with him on several projects, and he was always willing to share his knowledge and skills with us. He was great to work with and had a great sense of humor. Clearly he worked very hard. A lot of the processes we use in video services at the City of Auburn come almost directly from Seth in terms of how we manage our content. If we needed help, he was at the other end of the phone willing to help and collaborate with us on a project. He will definitely be missed.”
