BY PETE WICKLUND

Journal Times

RACINE - Trauma has been ruled out in the deaths of two young men found Thursday morning at a Grange Avenue apartment building. But determining an exact cause of death could take a week or more, the county medical examiner said Friday.

City police Friday afternoon identified the men found at 1802 Grange Ave. as: Tue M. Tran, 20, a former Racine resident currently enlisted in the United States Army; and Joseph B. Dumont, 19, of 1802 Grange no. 103.

Autopsies were performed on both victims Friday. There were no outward signs of trauma to either victim, police and Medical Examiner Tom Terry said. The investigation is continuing as police await toxicology reports. Terry said those results could be seven to 10 days in arriving from a St. Louis laboratory.

The bodies were discovered Thursday morning after a local resident went to check on his son after he failed to show up for a Thanksgiving gathering. Police responded to the apartment, located at the intersection of Grange and 18th Street just south of Knapp Elelmentary School, at about 12:30 p.m. Thursday.

There were no obvious signs of forced entry into the apartment or trauma to the victims, police said. A man identifying himself as the building manager said Dumont was found in a chair. The bodies were taken from the apartment late Thursday afternoon and transported to the Waukesha County Medical Examiner's office, where the autopsies were conducted.

On Friday two men were observed removing possessions from Dumont's apartment, but they declined to speak to The Journal Times.

The manager, who lives directly across the hall from Dumont, declined to give his name. But he said Dumont's family took the tragedy hard.

"The old man almost lost it yesterday and I understand what he was going through," the manager said.

The manager said Dumont had lived at the 18-unit complex for about a year. He said Dumont or his mother took care of rent. He said he did not know Tran.

A fight erupted around 3 a.m. Tuesday at the apartment. Police ticketed individuals in that incident.

It was not clear at press time if the Dumont or Tran were involved in Tuesday's incident.