Murder has been ruled out in the mysterious death of a beloved Long Island college student who collapsed and died on the porch of his University of Maryland frat house.
But the preliminary autopsy conducted yesterday shed little light on how Alexander Klochkoff, 20, of North Bellmore, died.
It could take weeks for toxicology tests to reveal whether the former high-school grid star – who had no known health problems – used drugs.
Investigators said alcohol didn’t kill him, but wouldn’t talk about the possibility of drug involvement without test results.
A friend doubted drugs were the culprit.
“The consensus among Alex’s friends is that no one can imagine an overdose. It’s just not possible,” said Melina Dreyfuss, who attended Mepham HS with Klochkoff.
Klochkoff was discovered face down and “unresponsive” in a bean-bag chair on the porch of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon frat house Wednesday morning. He was later pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.
While the death has put a chill on fraternity-recruitment “rush week” activities at the large campus, cops said students needn’t fear there’s a killer in their midst.
“I can tell you he wasn’t murdered,” said Lt. Mike McQuillan of the Prince George’s County homicide squad.
Klochkoff was last seen alive at about 4 a.m. on the day he died chatting with his fraternity brothers. But it remains a puzzle what happened in the five hours before his body was discovered.
A bloody nose occurred following his death, police said, adding that earlier rumors suggesting Klochkoff had been involved in a brawl at a bar, Bentley’s, were wrong.
Bentley’s owner John Brown told The Post, “No one here recognized [Klochkoff’s] picture . . . but I wouldn’t rule out he was here.”
At the police press conference yesterday, about 20 of Klochkoff’s fraternity brothers showed up wearing purple and yellow ribbons, but said little. At the frat house, black garbage bags covered two stone lions.
Klochkoff grew up in Florida – where his mother Debbie still lives – before moving to North Bellmore, where he lived with his father, Eugene, a successful entrepreneur in the water-treatment business, his stepmother and half-siblings.
At Mepham HS, he excelled on the football field and in the classroom.
“Absolutely everyone looked up to him and adored him,” high-school friend Dreyfuss said, her voice cracking. “In football, and in life.”